TVA Ash Disaster

To the Roane County Community Advisory Group December 9, 2010

2010-12-09T11:15:00.001-08:00

To the Roane County Community Advisory Group

December 9, 2010

Reconstruction of Skimmer Wall Complete

The final pours of three caisson caps for the Skimmer Wall are complete which finishes the reconstruction of the original Skimmer Wall that was destroyed by the ash spill.

Contractors Demobilize

The work of two contractors at the recovery project is finished and both are in the process of demobilizing. MACTEC, the contractor responsible for ash loading, has a target date of December 17 to complete demoblization. Aquarius Marine, LLC, the contractor hired by TVA to reconstruct the Skimmer Wall is scheduled to be demobilized by the end of December.

Utility Installation

Work to install utilities along Swan Pond Circle Bridge continues requiring one lane of the bridge to be closed intermittently. We appreciate the patience of drivers who cross the bridge and hope to have the work complete within the next couple of weeks.

If you have any questions, please call Katie Kline or me on my cell phone at 806-7688.

Jane Greenwalt

Project Manager, Community Outreach

Tennessee Valley Authority

Kingston Ash Recovery Project

Office: 865.717.1645

Cell: 865.806.7688

jmgreenwalt@tva.gov

To the Roane County Community Advisory Group December 7, 2010

2010-12-07T15:06:00.001-08:00

To the Roane County Community Advisory Group

December 7, 2010

Units Return to Service

As we told the CAG in the update we provided on November 30, and at the meeting Thursday night, Kingston Fossil Plant units 1-5 will begin an outage for maintenance tomorrow, December 8 that will continue until December 18, 2010. Due to decreased power demand, the units have been in “NID”, Not in Demand, status over the last few weeks. KIF returned units to service this past weekend due to cold weather.

If you have any questions, please give Katie Kline or me at call at 806-7688.

Jane Greenwalt

Project Manager, Community Outreach

Tennessee Valley Authority

Kingston Ash Recovery Project

Office: 865.717.1645

Cell: 865.806.7688

jmgreenwalt@tva.gov

To the Roane County Community Advisory Group November 19, 2010

2010-11-19T13:00:00.001-08:00

To the Roane County Community Advisory Group

November 19, 2010

Update on Ash Shipping

As of Wednesday, November 17, 404 trains have shipped approximately 3.9 million tons of ash to the Arrowhead Landfill in Alabama. We are still on schedule to complete shipping by early December.

Skimmer Wall Reconstruction

The last of three caissons for reconstruction of the Skimmer Wall has been poured and six of eight concrete panels have been set. Installation of the beams is scheduled for completion on Friday. After this work is completed the Skimmer Wall will be operational. Caps are to be placed next week.

MACTEC Demobilization Plan Approved

The demobilization plan for MACTEC, the ash loading contractor, has been approved by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and has been posted to the administrative record. MACTEC will continue its planning for demobilization and will have fulfilled its contract by mid-December. The contractor will be off the site soon after.

Utility Installation Along Swan Pond Circle Bridge

Installation of utilities on Swan Pond Circle Bridge is to be complete by mid-December. Utilities on the approaches to the bridge are complete and the contractor is expected to begin utility installation on the bridge by November 29. During this installation one lane of the bridge may be closed intermittently.

New Haul Road Complete

The new haul road running under the Swan Pond Circle Bridge is complete. Workers will begin using the haul road to remove ash from the northern embayment next week.

Thanksgiving Holiday

Due to the Thanksgiving holiday and short work week, we will not have a weekly update next week but will provide one the following week. We extend our best wishes to members of the CAG for a wonderful Thanksgiving!

If you have any questions please call Katie Kline or me at 717-1645.

Jane Greenwalt

Project Manager, Community Outreach

Tennessee Valley Authority

Kingston Ash Recovery Project

Office: 865.717.1645

Cell: 865.806.7688

jmgreenwalt@tva.gov

To the Roane County Community Advisory Group November 10, 2010

2010-11-10T12:22:00.001-08:00

To the Roane County Community Advisory Group

November 10, 2010

Swan Pond Circle Bridge is Open!!

The new Swan Pond Circle Bridge opened today. Over the next two weeks one lane of the bridge will be closed intermittently as workers complete utility installation. Removal of the bypass road will begin immediately.

Skimmer Wall Reconstruction

Crews are scheduled to pour the last of the three concrete caissons for the reconstruction of the skimmer wall on Friday, November 12. The original wall was destroyed during the ash spill. The reconstruction project is 65% complete.

Update on Shipping

To date 397 trains have been loaded and over 3.8 million tons of ash have been transported to the landfill in Uniontown, Alabama.

If you have any questions please give Katie Kline or me a call at 717-1645.

Jane Greenwalt

Project Manager, Community Outreach

Tennessee Valley Authority

Kingston Ash Recovery Project

Office: 865.717.1645

Cell: 865.806.7688

jmgreenwalt@tva.gov

To the Roane County Community Advisory Group November 5, 2010

2010-11-05T13:14:00.001-07:00

To the Roane County Community Advisory Group

November 5, 2010

In response to questions posed by members of the CAG to TVA in preparation for the subject meeting, the following answers were provided.

Q. Amount of ash left in Emory River

A. Leo and Craig have covered this multiple times and a link was sent to the CAG to view the areas of the river with ash. There has been no change and the river EE/CA will address any remaining ash in the river. TVA has agreed to conduct a shoreline assessment of ash over the winter.

Q. Treated sewage water discharge status in Emory River

A. TDEC was notified last week by Harriman Utility contractor that the plant has connected to the repaired 20" effluent line and is now discharging to their permitted discharge point.

Q. Status of extra rail crossings on Swan Pond Rd after ash removed to Alabama

A. Following the end of time critical ash shipping, the extra rail crossing will not be used, but there is not a plan to remove it at this time.

Q. Update on completion of train shipments to Alabama

A. Shipping of time critical ash will end in early December.

Q. Status of bridge opening

A. The bridge is projected to open no later than Wednesday, November 10, due to delay of the guardrail company.

Q. Status on pilot project of the barrier wall

A. The report was emailed to the CAG on Wednesday, November 3, 2010. A Request for Proposal has been issued for a contractor to perform the Deep Soil Mixing Project. Bids are to be submitted by November 22, 2010.

Q. When will the next public meeting be held (before or after holidays)?

A. After the holidays - early 2011

Q. Estimated date for completion on the OSC report that is being drafted?

A. March, 2011

Q. Structural integrity evaluation for East Dike will come out when?

A. The East Dike structural integrity evaluation is currently being reviewed by TVA. Following that, it will be submitted to the regulators, and once it’s approved, it will be made available to the public.

Q. Were there any samples taken during the latest storm events and when will those results be made public?

A. Samples were taken for both the October 24^th and 26^th storm events. These will be posted with other surface water data approximately 30 days after the samples were taken.

Q. Plans for repaving Swan Pond Rd, Swan Pond Circle Rd, and Hassler Mill Road

A. Late Spring of 2011. The roads have extensive patching, but if we wait until late spring 2011, much of the heavy truck traffic will be finished, the patches from the utility and other work will have time to settle, and winter impacts will be over.

Q. Expectations on the amount of continued dump-truck and heavy equipment traffic in the area

A. TVA committed to no more than 50 trucks a day and we are sticking to that. A best guess average per day is 30 - 35, but there are days we will be over and under that number.

Q. Any comments or feedback from TVA relating to requests presented by residents at the Sept 21st Swan Pond Community Town Hall Meeting

A. No more than what we said then. We still have a lot of work to do, however, we will certainly take the community’s feedback into consideration for any future plans.

Additional information provided to the CAG:

Restart of the Scrubber

In response to a question from CAG member Steve Scarbrough concerning the start up of the scrubber following the planned outage, Fossil Plant management is continuing to identify maintenance items and after that will finalize the schedule. The date for the restart of the scrubber will be provided as soon as the schedule is complete.

No Hunting Signs to be Posted

Due to safety concerns for nearby Kingston site remediation workers, beginning Monday, November 8, “NO HUNTING” will be allowed on the island out from Dike C during the 2010-2011 Waterfowl Hunting Season, and signs reflecting this will be posted. TVA does not want any of the workers performing buttressing work on Dike C to be the recipient of an errant bullet. Signs posted on the island will notify the constructors of the duck blinds located there that they should remove them by December 1 or TVA will remove them.

Coast Guard Resets Permanent Channel Markers

The U. S. Coast Guard removed temporary channel markers and reset the permanent channel markers in the Emory River today up to about ERM 3.

Ash Pile Near Swan Pond Circle By-pass

Ash was temporarily stacked near the by-pass road so that a near-by trench could be cleaned out. It will be moved back and flattened out over the weekend, if not before.

Jane Greenwalt

Project Manager, Community Outreach

Tennessee Valley Authority

Kingston Ash Recovery Project

Office: 865.717.1645

Cell: 865.806.7688

jmgreenwalt@tva.gov

To the Roane County Community Advisory Group November 3, 201

2010-11-03T16:22:00.001-07:00

To the Roane County Community Advisory Group

November 3, 2010

Scrubber to Resume Operation

The Kingston Fossil Plant scrubber will resume operation on Thursday, November 3, after being out of service since October 4 to replace a transformer. It will go into an outage again on December 18 for additional maintenance. The State is aware of the restart tomorrow.

Deep Soil Mixing Pilot Project Report

Attached is the deep soil mixing pilot report. Since that pilot, the design has changed some, the bid has gone out, a pre-bid meeting has been held, and bids are due back in around the end of November. Also, TVA has brought in the Corp of Engineers to advise us since they have done extensive deep soil mixing projects in New Orleans and other places.

Jane Greenwalt

Project Manager, Community Outreach

Tennessee Valley Authority

Kingston Ash Recovery Project

Office: 865.717.1645

Cell: 865.806.7688

jmgreenwalt@tva.gov

November 1, 2010 To Members of the Roane County CAG

2010-11-01T06:51:00.000-07:00

November 1, 2010

To Members of the Roane County CAG:

Good morning. In order to not close Swan Pond Circle Road from 8 – 3 on Tuesday for paving, TVA looked into paving at night. That would delay the project 2 – 3 more weeks due to the fact that the company doing the paving has other commitments. However, that company has revised their work sequence and schedule to help us minimize the disruptions this week.

They will pave the west side of the bridge on Monday, November 1. This will not require closure of Swan Pond Circle Road on Monday, except for minor one lane closures. On Tuesday, November 2, they will pave the east side of the bridge. They will work from the bridge east to Swan Pond Circle Road & Berkshire Road and not close the road until they are ready to make the connection. This will occur late morning-early afternoon on Tuesday, November 2, and full closure of the road will be minimized as much as possible. We think less than 1-2 hours, if that. They will position a flagman at the intersection of Swan Pond Circle Road & Lakeshore to divert traffic when closure is for any extended time.

The company’s guardrail subcontractor will perform their work by only shutting down one lane at a time from Tuesday-Friday, with the full road open by Friday.

Please contact Jane Greenwalt or me with any questions.

Katie

Katie Bell Kline

General Manager

Kingston Support Services

Tennessee Valley Authority

(Office) 865-717-1668

(Mobile) 865-621-8125

To the Roane County Community Advisory Group October 28, 2010

2010-10-28T14:56:00.000-07:00

Time Critical Ash Disposal

To date, 386 unit trains have transported approximately 3.7 million tons of ash to the Arrowhead Landfill in Uniontown. Shipping is expected to be complete by the end of November.

Update on Swan Pond Circle Bridge

The Swan Pond Circle Road Bridge will be open for public use on or before November 8, 2010. We had hoped not to do this, but on Tuesday November 2, it will be necessary to close Swan Pond Circle Road from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. to connect the east end of the underpass to Swan Pond Circle Road and to excavate, grade and apply asphalt. This will require traffic to detour around the area during these hours. On Wednesday, November 3, we will intermittently close this section of road during 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. to install the final asphalt layers, guardrails and shoulders. After we open the Swan Pond Circle Road Bridge, we will begin removal of the by-pass road. We apologize for this inconvenience and appreciate your patience as we continue to restore the areas impacted by the spill.

Air Quality Audit

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4, performed a quarterly audit of the Kingston Ash Recovery Project air monitoring program the week of October 18. No items requiring immediate attention were identified. A full audit report is forthcoming.

Skimmer Wall Reconstruction

Concrete is expected to be poured this week for the second of three caissons for the reconstruction of the skimmer wall. The original skimmer wall was destroyed during the ash spill. The skimmer wall serves two purposes. It blocks debris from entering the plant intake and allows cool water to enter for use in plant processes.

Jane Greenwalt

Project Manager, Community Outreach

Tennessee Valley Authority

Kingston Ash Recovery Project

Office: 865.717.1645

Cell: 865.806.7688

jmgreenwalt@tva.gov

Photos from the spill

2010-10-22T17:03:00.000-07:00

Kingston Mayor Troy Beets, Roane County Mayor Mike Farmer, TVA CEO Tom Kilgore, Roane County Department of Homeland Security Howie Rose.

To the Roane County Community Advisory Group October 22, 2010

2010-10-22T09:50:00.001-07:00

To the Roane County Community Advisory Group

October 22, 2010

Kingston Ash Recovery Project Comparison Video

Video and photos comparing the Kingston Ash Recovery Project site as of October 1, 2010, to the site immediately following the spill have been placed on the Recovery Website and can be viewed here.

Ash Disposal

Ash disposal work continues ahead of schedule. As of October 19, 379 unit trains have been loaded and transported offsite. Through October 19, approximately 3,658,000 tons of coal ash have been placed in the Arrowhead Landfill in Uniontown, AL.

Swan Pond Circle Bridge

Approach slabs have been installed on each side of Swan Pond Circle Bridge. Installation of utilities along each approach of Swan Pond Circle Bridge has been initiated. Swan Pond Circle Bridge and Road are scheduled to reopen the first week of November. For a few days after opening the bridge for public use, it may be restricted to one lane of traffic while workers complete utility installation.

If you have any questions, please call Jane Greenwalt or me at 865-717-1645.

Katie Bell Kline

General Manager, Kingston Support Services

Tennessee Valley Authority

865-717-1668 (Office)

865-621-8125 (Mobile)

To the Roane County Community Advisory Group October 14, 2010

2010-10-14T16:34:00.003-07:00

To the Roane County Community Advisory Group

October 14, 2010

Bridge and Underpass Construction

The bridge and underpass construction on Swan Pond Circle Road are now scheduled for completion the week of November 1, 2010. The concrete for the approach slabs to the bridge will be poured this week. The sides of the bridge are scheduled to be poured on Thursday, October 21, and the initial asphalt layer on the bridge approach will also be poured next week. For a few days after opening the bridge for public use, it may be restricted to one lane of traffic while workers complete utility installation.

Vehicle Safety in Work Zones

TVA has received a number of complaints from residents and workers about speeding and careless driving in work zones along Swan Pond Road and Swan Pond Circle Road. The speed limit in work zones is posted at 15 miles per hour. We appreciate the patience of residents while we work to restore the areas impacted by the ash spill and ask that travelers drive safely and be especially diligent where workers are present and flaggers strive to keep traffic moving. It is our goal to restore the roadways, but the safety of our employees and the public is our first priority.

Ash Shipments

We continue to load and ship ash to Alabama. To date, 371 railcars have been loaded and approximately 3.6 million tons of ash have been transported to Alabama. Shipments of time critical ash are scheduled to be finished before the end of this year.

Skimmer Wall Reconstruction

The concrete pour for the first of three caissons for the reconstruction of the Skimmer Wall is complete. The original skimmer wall was destroyed during the ash spill. Completion is scheduled for mid-December, 2010.

Update on Utility Installation and Enhancements

Installation of offsite utilities is 98% complete. All service connections to customers have been completed and the water turned on. After completion of the bridge and underpass the installation of the remaining utilities will be completed.

If you have any questions, please call Katie Kline or me at 865-806-7688.

Jane Greenwalt

Project Manager, Community Outreach

Tennessee Valley Authority

Kingston Ash Recovery Project

Office: 865.717.1645

Cell: 865.806.7688

jmgreenwalt@tva.gov

To the Roane County Community Advisory Group October 8, 2010

2010-10-08T09:37:00.000-07:00

To the Roane County Community Advisory Group

October 8, 2010

For those of you who missed the CAG meeting last evening this update includes most of the information we provided to the CAG and the information in the TVA Roane County News column today.

Scrubber to Undergo Maintenance

The Kingston Fossil Plant scrubber was removed from service Monday, Oct.4, and will be out of service through Tuesday, Oct. 19, to replace a transformer. During this period, up to five units will be on line using the south stack.

Utility Restoration and Enhancement

Residents are being connected to the new water lines along Hassler Mill Road to State Highway 70.

Other new utility lines, except those near the Swan Pond Circle Road Bridge, are being tested in preparation for their transfer to the City of Harriman. The bridge and the underpass are expected to be completed by Oct. 26, after which the remaining utility lines will be completed.

The Next Phase of Ash Cleanup, The Non-Time Critical Phase

In this phase we will continue restoration of the environment impacted by the ash spill, including area waters, upland areas and surface soils, and the embayments and tributaries west of dike two. About 2.8 million cubic yards of ash will be recovered from these areas and stored on site in an engineered containment structure designed to withstand a local 6.0 magnitude earthquake.

In preparation for this work,

· We are consolidating ash from the middle embayment to the central dredge cell where it can be dried and graded. We will begin the same action from the north embayment in November.

· We are building a steel and concrete underpass and bridge on Swan Pond Circle Road that will allow heavy trucks from the ash recovery site to pass beneath the road without impacting residential traffic.

· We have completed a new haul road from Swan Pond Circle Road underpass to the central dredge cell area.

· We are smoothing, or contouring, the surface of the central dredge cell in preparation for storing recovered ash.

Environmental Sampling

As recovery work continues so will environmental sampling. Tennessee Valley Authority, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation will continue to sample air, sediment, surface and ground water, and frogs, fish and other animals and plants that live in the river.

For sampling results and additional information on the cleanup, visit our website at www.tva.com/kingston/index.htm,

Reconstruction of the Skimmer Wall

The first of three caissons will be poured tomorrow for the reconstructed skimmer wall. The original skimmer wall was destroyed by the ash spill. Completion scheduled for mid-December 2010.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Katie Kline or me at 806-7688.

Jane Greenwalt

Project Manager, Community Outreach

Tennessee Valley Authority

Kingston Ash Recovery Project

Office: 865.717.1645

Cell: 865.806.7688

jmgreenwalt@tva.gov

TVA Presentation Public Meeting 9-23-10

2010-09-27T09:00:00.000-07:00

EPA Power Point

To the Roane County Community Advisory Group September 09, 2010

2010-09-09T15:04:00.000-07:00

· Memorial ceremony in remembrance of 09/11

TVA Kingston employees will hold a memorial ceremony at 9 a.m. Friday, September 10, at in remembrance of the victims of the September 11, 2001, tragedy. The ceremony will take place on the lawn in front of the Kingston Fossil Plant office building. The Kingston and Harriman Police and Fire Departments, the Roane County Sheriff’s Department and the TVA Police are invited guests and, if schedules permit, the Harriman VFW Military Honor Guard will bestow full military honors for those who lost their lives that day and those military members who lost their lives in the war on terror in Iraq and Afghanistan.

· Update on restoration and enhancements of utilities

o Installation of the Harriman effluent line is complete and is scheduled to be tested next week before its transfer to the City.

o The installation of all utility lines up to the Swan Pond Circle bridge, including the Hassler Mill Road lines, will be completed next week.

o In case travelers along Swan Pond Road saw a small geyser this afternoon near the ash recovery site trailers, here’s why. In the process of testing the utility lines that run along the Road, a hose ruptured on the water line of the truck that was filling the lines creating a geyser of water shooting into the air from the pressurized line. The hose was quickly repaired and the geyser was gone as soon as the pressure in the line dropped.

· Skimmer wall reconstruction scheduled to begin next week

The debris removal necessary to begin work on the skimmer wall that was destroyed by the ash spill is finished. The reconstruction of the skimmer wall will begin next week and is scheduled to be complete by the first of December.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call Katie Kline or me at 717-1645.

Jane Greenwalt

Project Manager, Community Outreach

Tennessee Valley Authority

Kingston Ash Recovery Project

Office: 865.717.1645

Cell: 865.806.7688

jmgreenwalt@tva.gov

Emory River Opened, No Wake Zone Reduced

2010-08-30T12:49:00.000-07:00

Emory River Opened, No Wake Zone Reduced

Contact Information: James Pinkney, 404-562-9183, pinkney.james@epa.gov

(Atlanta-August 30, 2010) Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) shortened the no wake zone on the Emory River. The main river channel is accessible to the public, but caution is advised. The Emory River channel has been marked as a fully enforced no wake zone by TVA Police under Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) authority from mile marker 2.1 to 1.8. Large equipment remains in the intake channel with booms separating it from the main river channel.

The initial river closure began on Aug. 11, 2009, and was last extended through May 15, 2010. The U.S. Coast Guard, EPA and TVA reevaluated river operations and concluded that an extension to the closure area was necessary for continued public safety. Emory River reopened on May 29, 2010.

For safety reasons, no trespassing signs have been posted along shorelines of the recovery site. The public will not be allowed in work zones. EPA, in consultation with the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) and the Tennessee Department of Health, has determined that any coal ash remaining in the river presents minimal health risks to recreational users.

Casual contact with ash in the river should not cause skin irritation, although long-term contact could result in some irritation from sand-like particles in the ash. River users are therefore advised to wash after exiting the river, especially in areas where ash is clearly visible.

Individuals requiring further information or instructions regarding recreational use of Watts Bar Reservoir should contact EPA Community Involvement Coordinator, Stephanie Y. Brown at 1-877-718-3752 or 865-717-1635.

To the Roane County Community Advisory Group August 27, 2010

2010-08-27T10:35:00.001-07:00

Emory River No-wake Zone Reduced

We received concurrence from EPA late yesterday on the reduced no-wake zone. Effective immediately, the posted no-wake zone in the Emory River, previously posted from Emory River Mile (ERM) 1.7 to 2.8, has been reduced to ERM 1.8 to 2.1. While the boom has been removed, the no-wake buoys in this zone will not be removed until Monday.

Some work continues at the Kingston Fossil Plant intake channel adjacent to the main channel and the work zone is boomed off. The public will not be allowed in this work zone.

These changes will be posted at local marinas and boat ramps and on the TVA Kingston Website today and an ad announcing the reduced no-wake zone will appear in local newspapers next Wednesday, September 1, 2010. A copy of the ad is attached.

If you have any questions, please call Katie Kline or me at 717-1645.

Jane Greenwalt

Project Manager, Community Outreach

Tennessee Valley Authority

Kingston Ash Recovery Project

Office: 865.717.1645

Cell: 865.806.7688

jmgreenwalt@tva.gov

TVA to the Roane County Community Advisory Group August 25, 2010

2010-08-26T16:08:00.001-07:00

Rocks to be Placed on West Side of Discharge Channel

The Kingston Fossil Plant will begin routine work to place rocks, also called riprap, on the west side of the discharge channel for erosion control on Monday, August 30, 2010. The area where the work is to be performed is visible from the river. Riprap is made from a variety of rock types, usually granite or limestone, and is used on waterways or water containment areas where there is potential for water erosion.
Mechanical Dredging Complete/New Water Surface Monitoring Plan to be Implemented
The mechanical dredging in the area where Bob Summers Boulevard was located is finished and has been approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in consultation with the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation. Bob Summers Boulevard, which has been removed, was built soon after the ash spill to help earth moving equipment reach the east embayment and the north point. With the completion of the mechanical dredging, the Revised Surface Water Monitoring Plan will be implemented on Monday, August 30, 2010.

If you have any questions, please give Katie Kline or me a call at 865-717-1645.

Jane Greenwalt

Project Manager, Community Outreach

Tennessee Valley Authority

Kingston Ash Recovery Project

Office: 865.717.1645

Cell: 865.806.7688

jmgreenwalt@tva.gov

August 20, 2010 To Members of the Roane County CAG

2010-08-20T09:21:00.001-07:00

August 20, 2010

To Members of the Roane County CAG

Emory River Buoys

On August 18, a crew checked the section of the Emory River where temporary buoys have been installed. The installed buoys are in their original place and did not appear to have drifted, and are in at least five feet of water. However, near river mile marker 1.7, it appears that the sand bar across from the skimmer wall protrudes out into the marked channel. An additional red buoy was added between the two existing red buoys to adjust the channel to avoid this obstruction. The TVA river navigation group is helping us coordinate with the Coast Guard’s buoy tender to install the final markings.

ORAU Medical Screening Results

ORAU’s report on medical evaluations of Roane County residents were announced on Tuesday, August 17. Information can be found on ORAU’s website, located at http://www.orau.org/

Please do not hesitate to contact Jane Greenwalt or me for more information.

Katie

Katie Bell Kline

General Manager, Kingston Support Services

Tennessee Valley Authority

865-717-1668 (Office)

865-621-8125 (Mobile)

To the Roane County Community Advisory Group August 12, 2010

2010-08-12T08:04:00.001-07:00

To the Roane County Community Advisory Group

August 12, 2010

As TVA continues to commission the scrubbers, part of the commissioning is to see how different blends of coal work with the new scrubbers in reducing Sulfur Dioxide emissions. Beginning August 14, the Kingston Fossil Plant will begin test burns with different types of coal. These test burns will only be performed on one unit at a time, though we will have multiple units in service.

The public will not see anything different, but we want to make sure we keep our commitment to let you know about any coal test burns we plan to do. During the test burns, the units will be continuously monitored, both inside and outside. The State has been notified about the testing.

Please contact Katie Kline or me (717-1645, or cell, 806-7688) should you have any questions.

Jane Greenwalt

Project Manager, Community Outreach

Tennessee Valley Authority

Kingston Ash Recovery Project

Office: 865.717.1645

Cell: 865.806.7688

jmgreenwalt@tva.gov

ORAU Study to be Presented

2010-08-10T10:10:00.000-07:00

http://www.orau.org/occupational-exposure-worker-health-studies/projects/kingstonproject/default.aspx
Oak Ridge Associated Universities, in conjunction with Vanderbilt University Medical Center toxicology experts, will host an open house on Tuesday, Aug. 17, to present the results of the medical screenings offered to Roane County residents who have health concerns related to the Kingston Fossil Plant fly ash spill of December, 2008.
The open house is scheduled from 4:30 to 8 p.m. at Roane State Community College.
The open house will include briefings by Donna Cragle, Ph.D. vice president for Occupational Exposure and Worker Health at ORAU, and John Benitez, M.D. medical toxicologist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
To ensure the transparency of our work on this project, we are providing the results to everyone at the same time via this project web page.
Please check back on this site at noon on Tuesday, August 17, for the report and other material, such as an executive summary and an at-a-glance brochure, to help explain the results. The presentations from the open house will be posted at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 17.
ORAU, in partnership with Vanderbilt University Medical Center, completed the initial round of medical screenings in April 2010.
More than 200 individuals were screened. The results report contains no personally identifiable information and consists of statistical data showing results of the screening population as a whole.

"The Plane, The Plane!"

2010-06-19T09:55:00.001-07:00

To the Roane County CAG

June 19, 2010

Ultralight Plane Lands at Kingston Ash Recovery Project Site

This morning there was a bit of excitment at the Kingston Ash Recovery Project when an ultralight plane, low on fuel, landed safely at the ash site. Police responded quickly, there were no injuries, and after the pilot was provided with five gallons of fuel and the plane was decontaminated, he was on his way again.

To the Roane County Community Advisory Group June 04, 2010

2010-06-04T13:33:00.000-07:00

Kingston Fossil Plant Scrubbers to be Commissioned

The Kingston Fossil Plant (KIF) will start up to five units on June 14, 2010, that will tie onto the new scrubber; the four remaining units will tie in at a later date. The scrubber is just one part of TVA’s overall air quality program that will lower sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions from burning coal by more than 95 percent. The scrubbers work by mixing limestone and water with flue gas. The limestone mixture converts the SO2 to gypsum which will be stored on site. You may see a white plume that will rise from the scrubber--this is water vapor resulting from the scrubbing process.

Commissioning activities will continue through the summer with various units to test and verify that the scrubber operates properly at varying levels of power production. All units will be removed from service in September 2010 and will remain off unless needed for system reliability.

Temporary Closure of Swan Pond Circle Road

Swan Pond Circle Road near Berkshire will close on June 16, 2010 for up to two days. The final tie-in of the bypass road, parallel to Swan Pond Circle Road, will be executed on these two days. During this time travelers will need to use the northern Swan Pond Road intersection for access to Swan Pond Circle Road. After the bypass road has been completed and is ready for use, Swan Pond Circle Road will be closed for construction of the underpass bridge. Traffic will be diverted to the bypass road until the construction of the bridge is complete. When the bridge is complete, Swan Pond Circle Road will be reopened and the bypass road will be removed.

Utility Restorations Continue

Utility work will begin at the intersection of Hassler Mill Road and Highland Drive early next week and continue east toward Swan Pond Road. One lane of Hassler Mill Road will be closed in the work zones and flaggers will be in place to direct traffic. The work is expected to be complete in about three weeks.

Also beginning next week and continuing for about two weeks, utility work will begin at the intersection of U.S. Highway 70 and Swan Pond Road. While equipment is being unloaded one lane of traffic will be closed. Flaggers will be in place during this time.

Upper Bluff Road Lease to Expire

The lease for the Upper Bluff Road facility expires at the end of June and will not be renewed. TVA has offered the Outreach Center for use by the CAG for its future meetings.

Emory River No-Wake Zone to Be Reduced

Effective immediately, the no-wake zone on the Emory River has been reduced from Emory River Mile 1.7 to Emory River Mile 2.9. The main river channel continues to be accessible to the public. For safety, work zones will be marked and boomed off. The public will not be allowed in these work zones.

Ash Consolidation

Ash consolidation work being performed at Berkshire is scheduled to be completed by the end of this month. However, other work will continue in that area for a number of weeks.

Next Public Meeting

We are looking at the August/September timeframe for the next public meeting where we will report on the status of the non-time critical work.

If you have any questions, please give Katie Kline or me a call at 865-717-1645.

Jane Greenwalt

Project Manager, Community Outreach

Tennessee Valley Authority

Kingston Ash Recovery Project

Office: 865.717.1645

Cell: 865.806.7688

jmgreenwalt@tva.gov

To the Roane County CAG

2010-05-25T11:58:00.001-07:00

To the Roane County CAG

May 25, 2010

Rain Event Sampling Results

As requested, attached are two laboratory reports for surface water samples collected from Swan Pond Embayment on April 27, 2010, and May 2, 2010. The samples collected on April 27 were part of the routine twice-weekly (Tuesday/Thursday) sampling schedule and were not associated with a storm event. A sample and a field duplicate were collected from the Clean Water Ditch (“KIF-CWDITCH”) and one sample was collected from the effluent of the Embayment settling basins for the Dirty Water Ditch (“KIF-SETTB”). The sample collected May 2 in response to a 24-hour heavy rain event was from the Clean Water Ditch. The effluent of the settling basins could not be sampled, as the effluent pipes were under about 2 feet of water and could not be accessed safely.

· The samples were analyzed for total and dissolved metals and total suspended solids (TSS).

· As expected following a storm event, the TSS shows that concentrations of two primary constituents of interest – arsenic and selenium – were higher than in the routine samples.

· All arsenic and selenium values reported for all of these samples were less than the Tennessee Fish and Aquatic Life Standards of 0.15 milligrams per liter for arsenic and 0.05 milligrams per liter for selenium.

Swan Pond Circle Bypass Road

The construction of the bypass off Swan Pond Circle is underway and will continue for the next few weeks. Travel along Swan Pond Circle will only be affected for a day or two or for the time required to connect the bypass to the existing road. We will give advance notice to residents before the road is closed.

Emory River Reopening

The main channel of the Emory River will reopen for public use on Saturday, May 29, at 7 a.m. Although the main river channel will be accessible to the public, caution is advised. A no-wake zone has been established from Emory River mile 1.5 to mile 3 where some large equipment may still be operating. For safety, work zones will be marked and boomed off but will only partially obstruct the main channel. The public will not be allowed in the work zones. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, in consultation with the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation and the Tennessee Department of Health, has updated the River Advisory previously issued. They have determined that any coal ash remaining in the river presents minimal health risks to recreational users. Casual contact with ash in the river should not cause skin irritation, although long-term contact could result in some irritation from sand-like particles in the ash. River users are advised to wash after exiting the river, especially in areas where ash is clearly visible. A letter to local Roane County residents will be mailed and an ad will be place in the local newspaper announcing the reopening.

If you have any questions, please give me a call at 865-717-1645.

Jane Greenwalt

Project Manager, Community Outreach

Tennessee Valley Authority

Kingston Ash Recovery Project

Office: 865.717.1645

Cell: 865.806.7688

jmgreenwalt@tva.gov

To the Roane County CAG

2010-05-24T14:28:00.001-07:00

To the Roane County CAG

May 24, 2010

Due to Transmission System reliability needs, the Kingston Fossil Plant will place two units online using the south stack this evening with the potential to stay online the remainder of the week. If you have any questions please contact me at 865-399-5298.

Michael Clemmons

Jacobs/Public Relations/Outreach

865-399-5298

TVA Proposal Does Not Isolate Coal Ash from Watts Bar Lake Watershed

2010-05-18T15:34:00.000-07:00

TVA Will Store All Ash On Site in Next Phase of Kingston Cleanup

KINGSTON, Tenn. ― The Tennessee Valley Authority will securely and permanently store onsite all ash removed in the next phase of recovery work to begin soon at Kingston Fossil Plant in Harriman, Tenn.

The decision was announced today in an Action Memorandum issued by TVA and approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation.

TVA’s work to remove more than 3 million cubic yards of ash from the Emory River will be substantially complete later this month. TVA then will immediately begin the longer-term phase of recovery of the Swan Pond Embayment near Swan Pond Road and Swan Pond Circle Road that is addressed by the memorandum. This will include closing the dredge cell that failed in December 2008 and ensuring that public health and safety continue to be protected. This work is expected to take almost four years and cost about $270 million.

Several alternatives for this work were proposed in an Engineering Evaluation and Cost Analysis released for public review and comment in January. After carefully reviewing all comments received through April 5, TVA, with approval from EPA and TDEC, selected alternative 3B which was the most effective, protective and least disruptive measure for nearby communities and the least expensive option for consumers of TVA power.

The environmental protection and beneficial economic value of the work for the State of Tennessee and Roane County was determined to be the same for each of the alternatives considered.

In the alternative to be implemented, all ash removed from the embayment will be permanently stored on site, virtually eliminating the risks and costs associated with shipping ash over public roads or rails. Keeping all the ash on site will minimize heavy truck traffic in the Roane County community, reduce wear and tear on area roads, and be less disruptive to local traffic and commerce. Onsite disposal also will address community concerns about proper disposal and management of ash in private landfills.

TVA will place the dry ash atop an engineered foundation of sand, gravel, and geo fabric enclosed by an underground perimeter wall constructed of cement mixed with subsurface soil to divert drainage and control runoff. Upon completion, the area will be capped with layers of clay and topsoil, and graded to drain in order to minimize water moving through the ash. The area then will be seeded, mulched and regularly inspected to ensure public health and safety.

The area will not include a liner system, however the long-term closure plan will include extensive groundwater monitoring of existing and new wells.

On May 4, 2010, EPA issued its proposed rules for regulating coal ash. These proposed rules do not affect TVA’s selected alternative for recovery of the ash spill site. TVA will continue to follow the Comprehensive Emergency Response, Compensation, and Liability Act guidelines as outlined in the Administrative Order and Agreement on Consent signed by TVA and EPA in May 2009.

The Action Memorandum has been posted to the Administrative Record for the Kingston Ash Recovery Project at www.tva.com/kingston. It also is available for review at the TVA Outreach Center and Kingston Public Library in Kingston, Tenn., and at the Harriman Public Library in Harriman, Tenn.

The memorandum will be the subject of a public meeting Thursday, May 20, at Roane County High School, 540 Cumberland St., Kingston, Tenn., from 5:30-8:30 p.m. EDT. Representatives from TVA, EPA and TDEC and other agencies and groups will be available to provide information and answer questions about current recovery activities at the Kingston site and those planned under the Action Memorandum.

The Tennessee Valley Authority, a corporation owned by the U.S. government, provides electricity for 9 million people in parts of seven southeastern states at prices below the national average. TVA, which receives no taxpayer money and makes no profits, also provides flood control, navigation and land management for the Tennessee River system and assists utilities and state and local governments with economic development.

# # #

Contact: Barbara Martocci, Knoxville, (865) 632-8632

TVA Media Relations, Knoxville, (865) 632-6000

www.tva.com/news

(

May 12, 2010 To the Roane County CAG

2010-05-11T15:08:00.001-07:00

Follow-up to Questions Asked at May 6, 2010, Meeting

The following information is provided as requested at the subject meeting:

1. The following link is provided for the EPA website for Nature and Extent of Ash in the River Bottom.

A. http://www.epakingstontva.com/nature_extent.aspx

2. Provide follow-up information on dust that was observed coming from railcars.

A. The dust was created from an operation used by our contractor to weight liners to keep them from blowing out of the railcars. The contractor was placing sand on the liners by forklift, dumping the entire scoop of sand at one time, increasing the amount of dust created. We have confirmed, and observed, that the contractor no longer uses this method. Crushed rock with very little dust is now being used and placed in the railcars by a front end loader. The front end loader can regulate the amount of rock that is placed in the railcar, dumping small amounts, which minimizes the creation of dust. The Construction Manager and his staff now monitor this operation. Water management will be used to control dust as needed.

As one of the many safety initiatives put into place on the recovery project site, all employees are to be aware and report any activities they observe that are creating dust or have the potential to create dust. They are authorized to stop the activity until corrective measures can be taken.

3. Drive-by 3-D models were requested in addition to the flyover 3-D models previously provided to the CAG.

A. The requested models will take some time to create but will be provided as soon as possible.

4. Procedures for mobile air monitoring were requested.

A. Attached is the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for mobile PM10 monitoring. In answer to a question posed by the CAG concerning the time needed to take a measurement , as shown in the SOP, it ranges from 15 seconds to a minute or so depending on how long it takes the monitor to stabilize.

A quality assurance program is in place that requires observation and audits of all environmental sampling.

5. Will the roads being used by TVA and its contractors for utility restorations be resurfaced?

A. Yes, road resurfacing will take place when the utility restoration is completed.

6. A question was asked regarding data results from high flows of the river during rain events over 20,000 cfs.

A. Since it was installed in December, 2009, the ISCO sampler has been triggered six times, including capturing samples at 40,000 cfs and 23,000 cfs. For more information concerning final environmental Sampling and Analysis Plans, please visit the TVA website at: http://www.tva.gov/kingston/sap/index.htm

7. In answer to a question about whether sampling was conducted in the Sportsman Club area, sampling was conducted at the mouth of the Sportsman Club cove and no ash was found.

8. In response to Don Simon’s request for results of sampling performed in his cove, we understand from Barbara Scott with TDEC that the results were mailed to Mr. Simon on Friday, May 07, 2010.

9. This is the link to the EPA website where information pertaining to the announcement of the proposed rule regarding disposition of coal fly ash. http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/d0cf6618525a9efb85257359003fb69d/4eca022f6f5c501185257719005dfb1b!OpenDocument

If you have any questions please call Katie Kline or me at 717-1645.

Jane Greenwalt

Project Manager, Community Outreach

Tennessee Valley Authority

Kingston Ash Recovery Project

To the Roane County CAG May 07, 2010

2010-05-07T12:32:00.001-07:00

· River Operations Monitoring

At about 2:30 p.m. on Monday, May 3, it was reported that river levels were very high and were expected to increase over the next 24 hours. Because it would have been unsafe to put crews on the water at that time, TVA was not able to begin monitoring until Tuesday. Boat crews reported that a large amount of debris was found to be floating down the Clinch and Emory rivers. Cenospheres were reported to be present in pockets along the Tennessee, likely being flushed off the shore because of the high water levels. No ash was visible in the water. Conditions in the Tennessee were expected to worsen as debris from the Clinch moved down river. River flows on Tuesday: Melton Hill approximately 5,100 cubic feet per second (cfs); Ft. Loudon approximately 10,700; Watts Bar approximately 50,100 cfs.

Rain Event Sampling

When sampling results from last weekend’s heavy rains and the rain events of April 27 and 28, 2010, are received from the laboratory and verified they will be provided to the CAG. As we discussed at the meeting on May 6, we will not have river sampling data for Monday, May 3, due to a malfunction of the automated sampling equipment.

· Utility Restorations Continue

Work has begun along the hillside, parallel to the railroad tracks, and across from the north entrance to the recovery project site, to build a construction road for heavy equipment that will be used for utility restoration in that area. This work will not impact travel. All utility restoration work is on track to be finished early this summer, except for the last piece, which will be completed once the Swan Pond Circle Road bridge is in place.

· Swan Pond Circle Road Bypass

The construction of the bypass off Swan Pond Circle Road began this week and will continue for about three weeks. Travel along Swan Pond Circle Road will be affected only for the time required to connect the bypass to the existing road. Community members will be given notice before the road is closed. The bridge construction that will follow is expected to take eight to ten weeks. Afterward, the bypass will be removed and Swan Pond Circle Road will be reopened.

· Bridge Construction – the Next Phase

To minimize inconvenience for motorists, a portion of Swan Pond Circle Road will be converted into a bridge to carry local traffic over a newly built underpass for trucks removing ash from the embayment. A diversion road to bypass the construction of the bridge will be installed to minimize the impact to motorists. A Request for Proposals was issued in anticipation of awarding a contract for construction of the bridge. Bids must be submitted by May 28, 2010.

· End of Time Critical

Once the dredges are out of the river, TVA will no longer remove debris that accumulates in private coves. If cenospheres are found to be accumulating in coves, the river operations crews will remove them.

· Public Meeting Notice

A Notice of Public Meeting to be held on Thursday, May 20, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the auditorium of Roane County High School will be placed in local newspapers beginning early next week. We would like for the CAG to participate as in the past - during the open house segment, in the welcome and the introductions, and on the panel.

· Emory River Closure Extended

Ads will be placed in the local newspapers and on the TVA Kingston website to announce to community members that as TVA and EPA continue recovery of the Kingston ash spill, large mechanical equipment is being used to remove ash from the Emory River at ERM 5.7 downriver to ERM 4.0. To keep users of the Emory River as safe as possible, the closure of the river has been extended and will reopen at 7:00 a.m. on Saturday, May 29, 2010. Workers will do their best to limit the distance of the river that is closed at any given time, opting to extend the closed areas only where dredging operations are taking place or where dredge pipes are located. These areas will be clearly marked and no river traffic will be allowed through these areas. For transport around the Emory River closure due to significant need, residents can contact TVA at 865-717-1635 or e-mail emoryrivertransport@tva.gov. Advance notice of three business days is required to fulfill approved requests.

· In response to your request the following website links are provided. Responses to other questions will be provided as soon as possible.

For the EPA website for Nature and Extent of Ash in the River Bottom.

http://www.epakingstontva.com/nature_extent.aspx

The link to the EPA website where information pertaining to the announcement of the proposed rule regarding disposition of coal fly ash: http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/d0cf6618525a9efb85257359003fb69d/4eca022f6f5c501185257719005dfb1b!OpenDocument

If you have any questions, please call Katie Kline or me at 865-717-1645.

Jane Greenwalt

Project Manager, Community Outreach

Tennessee Valley Authority

Kingston Ash Recovery Project

Office: 865.717.1645

Cell: 865.806.7688

jmgreenwalt@tva.gov

To Roane County CAG March 06, 2010

2010-05-06T12:39:00.001-07:00

· Confined Space Drill

Tonight there will be a confined space rescue drill at the ash loading area on the ash recovery site. The Roane County Rescue Squad will be on site, but there should be no sirens/lights or interruptions to recovery project operations or other plant activities.

· Ambulance called to recovery project site

A contractor employee was overcome by heat today. An ambulance was called as a precaution, but the worker was not transported. He is conscious and alert and appears to be okay.

Jane Greenwalt

Project Manager, Community Outreach

Tennessee Valley Authority

Kingston Ash Recovery Project

To the Roane County CAG April 28, 2010

2010-04-28T10:39:00.001-07:00

To the Roane County CAG

April 28, 2010

Utility restorations continues

Utility restorations continue along Hassler Mill Road to the Spring House, along U.S. 70 between I-40 and U.S. 70, along Swan Pond Circle Road, and from Hassler Mill to Frost Hollow Road. Work to build a construction road for heavy equipment that will be used for utility restoration began this week along the hillside, parallel to the railroad tracks, across from the north entrance to the recovery project site This work will not impact travel. All utility restoration work is on track to be finished early this summer.

Dredge Plan Addendum-Completion of Time Critical Removal Action

The approved Dredge Plan Addendum is now available on the TVA Kingston website. On March 5, 2010, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) On-Scene Coordinator (OSC) issued a memorandum documenting the final dredge depth defined by the time-critical removal action. The three primary purposes of the addendum are to (a) document the objectives of the time-critical removal action and define the completion of the action in the river and the embayments east of Dike 2, (b) provide a decision-making process for reaching agreement where no further time-critical action is required or where the time-critical removal is complete, and (c) describe the ash removal operations including the remaining tasks, equipment, and schedule required to complete the time-critical removal action in the Emory River and east of Dike 2.

Mike Scott Leaving Kingston Ash Recovery Project

Friday, April 30, will be Mike Scott’s last official day with the Kingston Ash Recovery Project. Mike has served as Deputy Manager of the recovery project since January 4, 2009. He will assume new responsibilities as General Manager of Engineering Support Services in the TVA River Operations organization in Chattanooga.

Equipment Testing on Scrubber Continues

You may see a plume from the scrubber on several days over the next weeks as the plant continues to test equipment in order to ready the scrubber for operation. No date is specified for its start-up, but we will be sure to notify you in advance of that happening.

If you have any questions, please give Katie Kline or me a call.

Jane Greenwalt

Project Manager, Community Outreach

Tennessee Valley Authority

Kingston Ash Recovery Project

New Scrubber Testing

2010-04-21T12:44:00.001-07:00

To the Roane County CAG

April 21, 2010

Equipment Testing

Beginning Thursday, April 22, and continuing Friday and Monday and Tuesday next week, the Kingston Fossil Plant will begin testing equipment. The testing could create a plume from the scrubber but it is from the testing only and not tied to power generation. The plant is not currently running units.

Jane Greenwalt

Project Manager, Community Outreach

Tennessee Valley Authority

Kingston Ash Recovery Project

Safety Blitz to Stop Traffic

2010-04-13T13:03:00.001-07:00

To Roane County Community Advisory Group

April 13, 2010

Norfolk Southern plans “Safety Blitz”

On Wednesday, April 14, Norfolk Southern (NS) Railway will conduct a “Safety Blitz” near the Kingston Fossil Plant as part of Operation Lifesaver. NS and TVA police will briefly stop traffic at various locations along Swan Pond Road, from 6:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. Wednesday to assist the local NS safety committee in distributing safety literature to motorists.

Operation Lifesaver is a non-profit, international, continuing public education program established to end collisions, deaths and injuries at places where roadways cross train tracks and on railroad rights-of-way. For more information on Operation Lifesaver you can visit the Website at http://www.oli.org/about/about_overview.htm.

Five hundred birdhouses to be installed

Five hundred tree swallow birdhouses that were built and purchased locally, will soon be installed at various locations near the river. Tree swallows are excellent birds to use to evaluate ecological effects of the ash on wildlife since they consume insects from the river, are attracted to the birdhouses and return to them every year.

Storm water samples for March 28, 2010

Attached are the storm water sampling results for March 28, 2010, as requested by Mrs. Timm.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call Katie Kline or me at 865-717-1645.

Jane Greenwalt

Project Manager, Community Outreach

Tennessee Valley Authority

Kingston Ash Recovery Project

River Mile 5 - 6

2010-04-09T13:19:00.000-07:00

To Roane County Community Advisory Group

April 09, 2010

North Embayment Ash Consolidation Work to begin

The Work Plan for the consolidation of ash from two outlying areas in the North Embayment to a more centralized area where it can be dried and graded has been approved, and work is expected to begin within two weeks and will continue until all the ash has been consolidated. The ash will be placed atop the existing ash in the North Embayment. Air monitoring station 6 will be relocated to the north to better serve the area, and hand-held monitoring will be used and coordinated with EPA and TDEC.

Mechanical dredging to begin between Emory River miles 5 and 6

Letters are being sent to residents living in the area between Emory River miles 5 and 6 to notify them that mechanical dredging in this area is expected to begin the week of April 12. A small amount of ash has been found that can only be removed by mechanical dredging from a barge. The work is essential to a thorough cleanup of the river. We expect that about four barge loads of material will be removed each day and that this work will continue around the clock for about four weeks. Every effort will be made to position our equipment and adjust our activities to minimize disturbance from the noise that is unavoidable with this type of work.

If you have any questions, please give Katie Kline or me a call.

Jane Greenwalt

Project Manager, Community Outreach

Tennessee Valley Authority

Kingston Ash Recovery Project

Office: 865.717.1645

Site Update

2010-04-08T13:52:00.001-07:00

To Roane County Community Advisory Group

April 09, 2010

Low altitude flyover at TVA Kingston Fossil Plant

On Friday, April 9, 2010, a low altitude flyover will be conducted by helicopter at the Kingston Fossil Plant. The purpose of the flyover is for TVA to update its aerial imagery of the site.

Storm water samples for March 26, 2010

As requested by Mrs. Timm on March 28, attached are the storm water results for rain event samples collected on March 26, 2010. Mrs. Timm also requested results for the samples collected on March 28 which have not been received. As soon as we have them they will be forwarded to the CAG.

Temporary blockages at Swan Pond Road railroad crossing

As we previously advised the CAG, Norfolk Southern (NS) began routine maintenance of its tracks near the Kingston Fossil Plant today. Without advance notice from NS, due to the track maintenance, some of the empty rail cars being delivered to the Kingston Ash Recovery Project had to be decoupled to be brought onto the site. This required temporary blockages of the Swan Pond Road railroad crossing while the railcars were being moved.

In addition, a short occurred in the electrical circuit that controls the arms at the crossing. TVA police were notified as soon as possible when the malfunction occurred and directed traffic around the arms. We apologize for any inconvenience experienced due to the delays and for the lack of advance notification to the community. We have requested NS to provide us with advance notice in the future when they become aware that these types of disruptions may occur.

NS will discontinue this maintenance work today and resume on Monday. They expect to complete this phase of the work by next week but will return to the area in May to finish the next phase.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Katie Kline or me.

Jane Greenwalt

Project Manager, Community Outreach

Tennessee Valley Authority

Kingston Ash Recovery Project

Office: 865.717.1645

Crane Operator Injured

2010-03-25T07:40:00.001-07:00

To the Roane County CAG

March 25, 2010

Emergency responders were called to the Kingston Ash Recovery Site this morning at approximately 8:55 a.m. A crane operator was injured when the bucket of his crane hit the cab. The worker suffered head lacerations but was talking and responsive. LifeStar was called as a precaution and transported him to U.T. Medical Center for treatment. We do not yet know details of the accident but an investigation is underway.

Update to the Roane County CAG

2010-03-24T11:10:00.001-07:00

Update to the Roane County CAG

March 24, 2010

Ammonia alarm sirens to be tested

On Thursday, March 25, at 10:00 a.m. the Kingston Fossil Plant ammonia alarm sirens will be tested. These sirens will be tested every week on Wednesday morning. Residents living along Swan Pond Road are being notified. They are also being advised that in addition to the weekly ammonia alarm siren testing, there may be other siren testing conducted intermittently in the future. If there is a real emergency that would affect the public, 911 will be notified, and in turn will notify the Emergency Management Agency (EMA). EMA will determine if the public should be notified and will work with 911 to do that.

Utility enhancement work

The work under the I-40 Bridge should be complete by the end of the day today. Within the next few days the heavy equipment will be moved to the intersection of Swan Pond Road and Hassler Mill Road where work is continuing.

Swan Pond Circle by-pass work

The work to build a by-pass road just off the current Swan Pond Circle Road will begin today. The by-pass road is being constructed first, followed by construction of the bridge. The bridge construction is expected to take about 6-8 weeks. When completed, the by-pass road will be removed and Swan Pond Circle Road will be reopened. While conducting this work one lane of a small section of Swan Pond Circle Road will be closed during working hours for a few days. Road signs and road crews will be on hand to direct traffic.

CIP Responsiveness Summary

The CIP Responsiveness Summary is now available on the website at http://www.tva.com/kingston/community_plan.htm.

EE/CA Public Comment Period

As a reminder, the Public Comment period for the EE/CA will end at close of business on Monday, April 5, 2010. Comments dated or postmarked after this date will not be accepted.

Jane Greenwalt

Project Manager, Community Outreach

Tennessee Valley Authority

Kingston Ash Recovery Project

Locomotives Derail at TVA Site

2010-03-23T03:45:00.001-07:00

To Roane County CAG
March 22, 2010

Tonight, as locomotives were moving empty railcars within the rail yard, 2 locomotives had 6-7 wheels leave the track. All cars remained upright, there were no injuries, and no fuel spilled. The Norfolk Southern crew is coming in tonight to move the locomotives and the repair crews arrive in the morning. The track is expected to be repaired by noon or 2 pm at the latest. This does not affect the north or south entrance to the plant. A root cause team and rail inspections will begin tomorrow. Again, all of this was onsite in the rail yard as Norfolk Southern pulled empty cars.

Inspector General Report

2010-03-19T08:28:00.000-07:00

"We recommended TVA management (1) take action to recover the $184,487 in overbilled costs..."

Full Report after the jump.

TVA's Hearing Conservation Program (HCP)

2009-12292 - February 25, 2010

We reviewed TVA's Hearing Conservation Program (the Program) to determine whether (1) the Program complied with Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) regulations, and (2) TVA organizations were in compliance with the Program guidelines. We also looked at actions taken to address recommendations in a prior, related OIG report. We found TVA's Hearing Conservation Program complied with significant provisions of 29 CFR Part 1910.95, "Occupational Noise Exposure" issued by OSHA. However, we found certain TVA sites did not (a) perform and/or use sound level surveys in accordance with the Program, (b) adhere to Program hearing protection requirements and/or discipline employees when hearing protection was not worn in designated areas, (c) ensure Program individuals' annual audiogram and training requirements were met, and (d) record loggable Standard Threshold Shifts (STS) on the OSHA 300 log. We also found TVA's current organizational structure does not allow for e
nforcement of the Program by Corporate Health and Safety. Finally, our review confirmed the existence of an employee culture which promotes the filing of hearing loss claims. This was also included in a report issued by the OIG in March 2009.

(Full Report)

Distributor Review of Murphy Electric Power Board

2008-12038 - February 19, 2010

The OIG performed a review of Murphy Power Board (Murphy), a distributor for TVA power based in Murphy, North Carolina. Our review of Murphy found issues involving customer classification and metering that could impact (1) the proper reporting of electric sales, and (2) nondiscrimination in providing electricity to members of the same rate class. We were unable to estimate the monetary effect of all the classification and metering issues because in some instances information was not available; however, for those where information was available, the monetary effect on Murphy and TVA would not be material. In addition, we found Murphy had more than enough cash on hand to cover planned capital projects and provide a cash reserve of about 12 percent. While TVA has established guidelines to determine if a distributor has adequate cash reserves (cash ratio of 5 percent to 8 percent), TVA has not established guidelines to determine if a distributor's cash reserves are excessive.

We also found improvements were needed to (1) comply with contract provisions regarding customer contracts and use of joint cost studies, and (2) strengthen internal controls. Finally, we found one TVA billing error as well as certain opportunities to enhance TVA oversight of the distributors that were also identified in previous distributor audits. TVA is in the process of addressing these findings which include a lack of: (1) guidance related to when a demand meter is required, (2) guidance on what constitutes prudent expenditures, and (3) criteria for evaluating when a distributor's cash reserves are excessive.

We recommended the Group President, Strategy and External Relations, work with Murphy to: (1) remediate classification and metering issues, (2) comply with contract provisions related to proper allocation of joint costs, and (3) strengthen its internal controls. In addition, we recommended the Group President, Strategy and External Relations: (1) recover amounts incorrectly credited to Murphy, and (2) determine if other Competitive Index Rate (CIR) customers with other distributors have been credited appropriately. TVA and Murphy management generally agreed with and are taking actions to address the recommendations. However, TVA management did not agree with the recommendation to recover incorrectly credited CIR amounts from Murphy since the customer receiving the credit is no longer in business and recovery through litigation is unlikely. In addition, TVA stated they have been focused on putting procedures and processes in place to better assure that TVA rates and pricing pr
ograms are implemented and carried out as intended in the future.

(Full Report)

Review of Green Power Marketing

2009-12296 - February 18, 2010

To facilitate public understanding of TVA's efforts to promote the use of green power in the Tennessee Valley, we reviewed the Green Power SwitchŽ program. Specifically, we reviewed the program to determine whether (1) the methods used by TVA to market the program disclosed that green power goes into the general power mix, and (2) revenue from the program exceeded related marketing expenses. In summary, while not all advertising materials reviewed directly stated that green power is part of TVA's power mix, they did direct consumers to information disclosing that the green power goes into the general power mix. In addition, for fiscal years 2007 and 2008, the revenue generated from the Green Power SwitchŽ program exceeded the related marketing expenses.

(Full Report)

Contract for Engineering and Technical Support Services for the Watts Bar Unit 2 Project

2008-11973 - February 4, 2010

We audited $10.16 million in costs billed to TVA by a contractor for providiing professional engineering and technical support services associated with the detailed, scoping, estimating, and planning study related to the potential completion of Unit 2 at Watts Bar Nuclear Plant. In summary, we found (1) the contractor directly billed TVA $175,094 for home office senior management and administrative personnel that should have been recovered through its overhead rate; (2) the contractor overbilled TVA an estimated $9,393 due to miscellaneous unsupported and ineligible billings for payroll additive costs, relocation expenses, and travel costs; and (3) TVA paid the contractor an additional $33,000 in fees due to conflicting contract language regarding the application of fees for travel costs. We recommended TVA management (1) take action to recover the $184,487 in overbilled costs, and (2) determine the appropriateness of including travel costs in the contractor's fee base.

(Summary Only)

For a complete list of all reports, please click the link below:

http://oig.tva.gov/

The following physical address is associated with this mailing list:

Tennessee Valley Authority
Office of the Inspector General
400 West Summit Hill Drive, ET 4C
Knoxville, TN 37902

CAG Tour 3-18

2010-03-19T05:56:00.000-07:00

This is the Big Picture from the top of the failed dredge cell, affectionately know as Dust Mountain

Looking over the dirtiest energy toward one of the cleanest on Wind Ridge.

The Emory River Weir is now being removed.

The view of the "clean water ditch" coming from Berkshire slough.

Lakefront property looking over the weir removal.

TVA Police No Longer Stationed on Swan Pond Circle Road

2010-03-18T17:04:00.000-07:00

March 18, 2010

Update from the Kingston Ash Recovery Project

To Members of the Roane County Community Advisory Committee

TVA Police no longer stationed on Swan Pond Circle Road

Beginning Friday, March 19, the TVA Police will no longer be stationed at the Swan Pond Circle Road rail crossing. The rail arms will remain in place and will activate when full and empty ash, coal, ammonia, or limestone trains are coming into or going out of the site.

Utility enhancement work continues

Early next week the utility enhancement work under the I-40 Bridge will continue for about four days. The work around the bridge will include the closure of a portion of the south plant entrance road. Contractors will be working from the “island” toward the plant road. None of this work will affect Swan Pond Road.

The work now being performed at the west embayment is expected to be finished by the end of next week. Late next week directional drilling will begin below Hassler Mill and Swan Pond Roads to allow utility lines to cross underneath. None of this work will affect traffic flow except for the times that material is loaded or unloaded onto trucks. Flaggers will be available to direct traffic in these instances.

Please don’t hesitate to call Katie Kline or me if you have any questions.

Jane Greenwalt

Project Manager, Community Outreach

Tennessee Valley Authority

Kingston Ash Recovery Project

Office: 865.717.1645

Swan Pond by pass

2010-03-16T15:06:00.001-07:00

March 16, 2009

Update from the Kingston Fly Ash Recovery Site

To Members of the Roane County CAG:

TVA Will Build By-pass for Swan Pond Circle Road just north of the plant

As part of the continuing cleanup efforts at the Kingston ash spill recovery site, employees will begin work on the Swan Pond Embayment restoration. In an effort to remove ash from the embayment safely and efficiently, TVA will build a bridge on the current road with plans to haul ash out under the bridge, thereby keeping trucks off of the road.

In order to build the bridge, TVA will need to route traffic off of the current road. We will soon be building a by-pass road just off of the current Swan Pond Circle Road so that traffic does not have to go completely around the Circle. The by-pass road will be constructed first, followed by construction of the bridge. The bridge construction work is expected to take about 6 – 8 weeks. When the bridge work is complete, the by-pass road will be removed and Swan Pond Circle Road will be reopened.

TVA to Temporarily Close One Lane of Swan Pond Circle Road

In order to ensure adequate stability of the embayment area for heavy equipment use during the removal of the ash and additional road construction, TVA will conduct drilling on and around Swan Pond Circle Road.

While conducting this work, beginning the week of March 21, one lane of a small section of Swan Pond Circle Road will be closed during working hours for two to three days. Road signs and road crews will direct traffic to protect vehicles on the road and workers performing the drilling operations. At the end of each workday, all equipment will be moved from the roadway, and two-lane traffic will be restored.

Wet to Dry Ash Storage

As you are now aware, there is a public meeting tonight to discuss a conversion from wet storage of coal ash to dry storage. There will be some site preparation work beginning on the south end of the plant site in the next week. You may see trucks hauling rail ties and other materials to appropriate disposal sites. We will update you as we receive more information on this project.

Road Closings to Reduce Significantly

The rail spur construction on the Ash Recovery Site is almost complete. As of today, about 60% of the road closings due to railcar switches have been eliminated and all closings due to switching will be eliminated by the end of the week. Only full and empty ash and coal trains will cause road closings on Swan Pond Road going forward. These typically run in the early morning and in the evening.

Please don’t hesitate to call Katie Kline or me with any questions.

Jane Greenwalt

Project Manager, Community Outreach

Tennessee Valley Authority

Kingston Ash Recovery Project

Cag Meeting 3-15-10

2010-03-12T11:41:00.000-08:00

Dredges work the Emory River Channel

2010-03-10T05:55:00.001-08:00

TVA Responds to CAG Questions

2010-03-05T16:41:00.001-08:00

To Roane County Community Advisory Group

March 5, 2010

The following is an update on site activities and answers to some of the questions posed by members of the CAG to TVA at its the March 4, 2010 meeting.

1. In answer to the question about the number of daily hours routinely worked by site employees, the number of hours worked each day by site employees are decided by each contractor supervisor, in consultation with individual employees. The supervisor evaluates the employees fitness for duty and determines the number of hours they are capable of working. The Kingston Ash Recovery Project expects to implement a requirement that employees who want to work more than 60 hours per week must get the approval of their supervisor. The supervisor will consider the request based on the evaluation of the employee’s fitness for duty.

2. The CAG requested maps showing the Vibracore sampling locations. When the Dredge Plan has been finalized and a copy provided to the CAG it will contain the information regarding these sampling locations.

3. In response to complaints that the TVA Police are harassing citizens taking photographs “. . . while on public right of way and private property.” The rules followed by the TVA Police officers mostly relate the safety of the public and are related to:

· People on TVA property – i.e. trespassing especially on the purchased property

· People standing and or parking on the roadway {SP Road or SP Circle Road} – after it has been posted, by Roane County, not to stop or stand

· People on private property i.e., Swan Pond Church, inside the cemetery. The church requested that the TVA Police watch this area because they did not want people inside the cemetery.

We have reminded TVA Police of these rules, but please, in the future, contact us immediately if something happens.

4. The TEOM air monitors have been ordered and are to be delivered within the next month. The advantage of this type of air monitoring is that it provides hourly measurements without requiring samples to be collected and sent to a laboratory for analysis.

5. We are continuing to work on the 3-D imaging requested by the CAG for its March 15, 2010, public meeting and are expecting their completion by the end of next week.

If you have questions please give Katie or me a call.

Jane Greenwalt

Project Manager, Community Outreach

Tennessee Valley Authority

Kingston Ash Recovery Project

Office: 865.717.1645

Cell: 865.806.7688

jmgreenwalt@tva.gov

2010-02-26T15:00:00.000-08:00

To Roane County Community Advisory Group

February 26, 2010

1. On February 25, on behalf of the CAG, S. D. Simon requested a map showing the location of all air and water sample locations. The maps were provided by Email to Mr. Simon and the CAG on the same day. In addition, the maps were enlarged and will be delivered to the CAG at the March 4 meeting. These maps and others are available at the following TVA/ EPA websites.

· Air monitors
·

Time Critical map

2. Mr. Simon also requested river bottom mapping locations of where and how much ash is yet to be removed from the river. The river bottom mapping location of where and how much ash is yet to be removed from the river is currently in draft form. It will be released, along with the dredging schedule, when it is finalized.

3. Heavy equipment operating in the gypsum stilling pond disturbed an overflow pipe that connects the main gypsum pond to the stilling pond. While neither pond is in use, the disturbance allowed a very small amount of rainwater to seep along the outside of the pipe (rather than inside the pipe as designed) into the stilling pond. Repairs are underway and should take less than a week.

4. Repair work on the dredge located in the cove adjacent to several Swan Harbour residences is expected to be completed within the next few days. After the repairs are made and the dredge begins operating it will begin moving south and will soon be out of this area. We apologize for any disturbances this work has caused.

5. The offsite utility work to install a 10” waterline between I-40 and Swan Pond Road crossing continues. The portion of the work affecting travel along Swan Pond Road is projected to be completed in May. The contractor is attempting to minimize impact from the work as much as possible and will continue to only close one lane of traffic to vehicles and clean up any remaining construction debris each day after work is completed.

Attached is a copy of the Kingston Ash Recovery Project Weekly Report. Please give Katie or me a call if you have any questions.

Jane Greenwalt

Project Manager, Community Outreach

Tennessee Valley Authority

Kingston Ash Recovery Project

Swan Pond Road Affected

2010-02-19T14:01:00.001-08:00

To Roane County Community Advisory Group
February 19, 2010
Kingston Ash Recovery Project

Utility work along Swan Pond Road continues. At 5:15 p.m. after the contractor finishes work for the day, street sweeping operations will begin. Water trucks will be at the work site to minimize any dust that might be created. Only one lane of traffic will be affected while the sweeping is being done.
If you have any questions please give Katie or me a call.

Jane Greenwalt
Project Manager, Community Outreach
Tennessee Valley Authority
Kingston Ash Recovery Project

Update: On Friday afternoon as they travelled on Swan Pond Road, some members of the Roane County Community Advisory Group complained that an excessive amount of water remained on the road after the utility contractor had finished with its sweeping. I am told that it was necessary to use more water than usual on Friday to get the road clean since a large amount of dirt and mud had been left from the previous day’s work. Today there will be less water used by the water truck.

Please accept our apology for any inconvenience this may have caused. The appropriate individuals have been contacted and advised to use less water and to keep the water left on the road to a minimum. Please contact us if it occurs in the future.

Emergency Notification System Test

2010-02-17T08:15:00.003-08:00

To Roane County Community Advisory Committee

Kingston Fossil Plant

Emergency Notification System Test

Thursday, February 18, 12:30 p.m.

On a regular basis, the Kingston Fossil Plant works with community emergency responders to test its emergency notification systems. These tests are run so that in the event of a site emergency of any kind, we know the system works and that proper notifications are made.

A test of this system is scheduled for Thursday, February 18, at 12:30 p.m. The test, which will last about 10 minutes, will utilize sirens and loudspeakers. The loudspeakers will be site-wide and will alert site personnel as to what the mock emergency is. Please do not be alarmed. This is a test and only a test. Please share this information with your neighbors.

Residents living on Swan Pond Road across from the Kingston Fossil Plant are also being notified.

If you have any questions please give me a call.

Katie

Katie Kline

TDH on Selenium

2010-02-09T07:17:00.001-08:00

I have reviewed the paper that was a source of concern and some of the literature behind the recommendations in it.

http://www.fda.gov/Food/LabelingNutrition/LabelClaims/QualifiedHealthClaims/ucm072780.htm

First I have to say that many of the fish from Watts Barr should not be consumed because of the advisories already in place. The advisories for PCB and other contaminants are likely of greater concern than selenium. I understand the concept of not adding to a problem already present, but I can in no way let a largely theoretical discussion of selenium detract from the larger issue of people ignoring fish advisories for much more potent contaminants.

That said, I can find no reference for acute toxicity by selenium at the levels represented in eating even a rather large meal of fish with a selenium level at the Risk Based Screening Level. This theoretical dose would of course be higher than the recommended daily consumption level by several fold, but the averaging out of the dose as presented in EPA’s Selenium Factsheet is how the measure of chronic toxicity was intended to work. One would not eat a selenium meal each day but rather get a dose on an occasional basis. The studies on which the recommendations are based show that people with average daily intakes as high as 850 micrograms of selenium per day showed no signs of ill effects. Of course, some of the days/ meals would have been significantly higher.

The screening level set by EPA should be quite protective. The exposure medium is fish tissue which would not be as effective as a designed capsule that would be used in a clinical trial. The chronic toxicity studies from which FDA tolerance limits are derived use estimates and reconstruct doses in a manner similar to the risk assessment. At two large meals per week the rate of fish consumption is should be an adequate for most fish consumers and represents a reasonable maximum exposure (RME).

RME refers to people who are at the high end of the exposure distribution (approximately the 95th percentile). The RME scenario is intended to assess exposures that are higher than average, but are still within a realistic range of exposure. Screening values are set according to EPA guidance to estimate RME.

As always Tennessee Department of Health will continue to follow the cleanup of the ash spill and will work with TDEC on fish advisories and other environmental public health concerns.

Sincerely,

Brad Parman
Environmental Epidemiologist
East TN Regional Health Office
1522 Cherokee Trail
Knoxville, TN 37920
Front Desk: 865-546-9221
Phone: 865-549-5234
Fax: 865-594-5738

Report on water quality sampling from recent high water

2010-02-09T05:43:00.001-08:00

Below is an update on water sampling from heavy rains at the end of last week. I apologize for not getting this to you yesterday, but I was out unexpectedly.

Routine surface water monitoring at the ten fixed river locations on the Emory, Clinch, and Tennessee occurred on Friday February 5. Local rainfall exceeded 1.0” early Friday morning, so the February 5 routine monitoring coincided with a storm sampling event. In addition, the automated sampler at Emory River Mile 0.5 was activated to collect four samples over the 24-hour period commencing at 7:30 a.m. on February 5, with the final sample collected at 7:30 a.m. on February 6. Observed peak flow (~32,000 cubic feet per second) of the Emory River at Oakdale occurred at 11:30 p.m. on February 5; peak Emory River velocity measured at the ERM 0.5 float occurred at 12:15 a.m. on February 6.

The combination of fixed station monitoring on Friday and the 24-hour automated sampling on Friday/Saturday provides reasonable sampling coverage of the event.

Katie Bell Kline

Senior Manager, Community Relations

Tennessee Valley Authority

TVA update 2-05-2010

2010-02-05T15:20:00.001-08:00

To Roane County CAG

February 5, 2010

We reported most of this to you last night, but a couple of additions are included. The ad that announces the river closure is attached and will appear in the paper next week. Also, we had estimated a number of air samples that were invalid and we now have an actual number, which is in #7 below.

If you know of a group who would like to hear a presentation on the EE/CA alternatives, let us know. We are currently scheduling civic groups, church groups, senior citizen groups, and others in order to get the word out.

1. To date, we have removed just over 2.5 million cubic yards of ash from the river and transported 1.35 million tons from the site via 148 trains.

2. The Root Cause Analysis of the non-compliant air sampling data has been completed. We are awaiting a final report from the team on its findings, and we’ll share it with you after we receive it.

3. TVA will award a contract this month, for fly ash drying operations. The drying process will reduce the moisture in the fly ash and allow for easier handling and transfer into rail cars for transport.

4. Early next week maintenance will be performed on the scrubber absorbers. This will create a plume from the scrubber; however, it still is not tied to power generation. Note: The plant is not currently running units. Units can only run for system reliability.

5. Utility work --The utility project work has begun with land clearing for the construction of a water line for the Kingston Water Department. Utility line work is beginning now. The line will run from behind the dance studio near Bluff Road, down Hwy. 70 (between Interstate 40 and State Route 70), and will cross under I-40 at Swan Pond Road. It will run parallel to Swan Pond Road to Frost Hollow Road. Flaggers will be in place as needed during the work. This part of the utility construction is scheduled for completion in mid-April.

6. River closure – EPA and TVA are authorized to close the river between Emory River mile markers 0 – 6 between February 10 and May 15. See attached ad. We have requested a dredge schedule and we will forward to you when we receive it, but I have been told they will be setting up the dredge next week just past ER Mile Marker 4. Letters will go out to residents who live along the river.

7. We previously estimated 600 invalid air samples from mid-September to mid-January. That number is actually 369. There were nearly 100,000 valid redundant samples taken.

Katie Bell Kline

Senior Manager, Community Relations

Tennessee Valley Authority

Kingston Coal Fired Units to go online Saturday

2010-01-28T12:47:00.000-08:00

January 28, 2010

To members of the Roane County CAG,

1. Due to demands on the TVA power production system, and cold temperatures, it will be necessary for units at the Kingston Fossil Plant (KIF) to go online Saturday, January 30, 2010, to help meet the need for electricity throughout the system.

We anticipate having to turn units on and off during the next month or so, but they will only remain on for as long as needed to meet demand. Since the scrubber is not operational yet, the units will run through the south stacks.

Any fly ash produced from the plant will go through the normal sluicing process. Due to the anticipated short term of the units being on, the additional fly ash introduced into the system will not cause an undue burden to the sluicing process.

TVA has notified the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation of this action and a representative from TDEC will be present to observe the start-up. We have shared this information with residents living across from the plant along Swan Pond Road.

Please call me if you have questions.

2. Mayse Construction will be working in the following areas beginning February 1, 2010:

· Easement along US 70 - Clearing right-of-way (ROW) and setting up directional drilling operations.

· Intersection US 70 and Swan Pond Road – Clearing ROW and setting up boring operation under I-40.

· ROW along Swan Pond Road from I-40 underpass – Installing water line north toward ash recovery project.

· Easement along the church slough (north of the first intersection of SP Road and SP Circle Road) – Installing water line.

***Note: All work is subject to weather delays, but we will work hard to stay on schedule. Some activities may require partial lane closures. Flagman will direct traffic around activity. No complete road blockages will be required.

These are the activities Mayse Construction will be performing over the next few weeks. They will be informing the public through message boards and signage.

Katie Bell Kline

Senior Manager, Community Relations

Tennessee Valley Authority

PHA Pre-release Comments from TVA Posted

2010-01-25T12:00:00.000-08:00

The initial draft of the Tennessee Department of Health's Public Health Assessment on the TVA ash disaster was not released to the public for comment but WAS given to TVA for its comments. Here are the official comments from all the agencies which had Pre-release input.

It is a concern of the CAG that this promotes the perception that TVA is being given access to and input into public documents on a level that supersedes the local community and those that are affected by the disaster.

Arrests at Kingston TVA Plant

2010-01-20T15:23:00.000-08:00

To Members of the Roane County CAG:

1. Today, at approximately 3:45 p.m., three people, a man and two women, were arrested on the TVA Kingston Plant site. TVA Police found the three offenders in and on top of ash-loaded rail cars located on tracks adjacent to the middle road entrance to plant. They were taken to the Roane County jail for processing and charges. An investigation of the rail cars is underway to ensure nothing was compromised. Additionally, Norfolk Southern was about to move the train to couple the cars when the arrest occurred, resulting in a serious safety issue.

2. Yesterday, while clearing between I-40 and Highway 70, the crew identified a tree that must be removed. Because of the position of the tree, there is a good possibility that it will be damaged or uprooted when installing the Kingston Water line. The problem is that it is so tall that it could either fall into the east bound lane of I-40 or it could knock down other trees that would fall into the east-bound lane of I-40.

After looking at the tree with Mayse Construction and the Tennessee Department of Transportation, it was determined that the tree has to be removed. Mayse is contacting a tree service to remove the tree in place from the top down. Their contact is a company that TDOT has used for similar conditions. All permits to do the work have been obtained and the tree removal will take place either tomorrow or Friday.

Please feel free to contact me if you have questions.

Katie Bell Kline

Senior Manager, Community Relations

Tennessee Valley Authority

Highlight Information from the CAG Meeting 1- 19-10

2010-01-19T20:46:00.000-08:00

This is a preliminary report to inform the public of information that came to light in tonight's CAG meeting. We had presenters from several agencies with the highlights as follows:

TVA will reroute rail switch lines to eliminate all road crossings by rail cars except for whole trains entering or leaving. This will eliminate 30 – 60 road closings daily by mid February. TVA police will not normally be involved with the road closings after that point.

Emory River dredging still expected to finish May 2010

The joint Public meeting will have EE/CA presentations and Public Health assessment Tuesday Jan 26, 5:30 at Roane Coounty High School Cafeteria.

The storm water pond that receives water outflow from the Gypsum pond will have a vinyl liner added since no actual leak point could be located. Two feet of clay will be removed and replaced and compacted in addition to the installation of the vinyl liner.

A CAG member asked about feasibility of adding vinyl liner to gypsum pond since percolation seems to be the problem with leakage. TVA will look into this.

TDH: TVA, EPA and TDEC were given the preliminary draft of the Public Health Assessment on the same date prior to release to the public. They were allowed to comment on the entire report and request changes prior to publication. Concerned with the perception of TVA influence, TVA’s comments, CAG members requested that TVA's comments be made public. Also at the CAG request, the initial release of the Public Health Assessment received by TVA will be released so that the changes that were made after TVA comments can be assessed by the public. A number of errors and omissions in the current report were noted by the CAG members.

EPA will get the majority of the ash from the Emory River in a May 2010 time frame. They are about 2/3 complete. After this period some ash will remain and will be dealt with in the non time critical phase of the clean up.

The Emory River closure will be extended beyond the February 10 date currently posted. A review will be conducted in early February at which point a more firm date will be set.

The temporary ash storage area at the ball field is currently at 15 feet. Approval has been granted to raise the storage height to 30 feet. This consists of 40 acres of which 30 acres could reach the 30 foot height. This is due to the dredge capability being higher than the ability to dry and ship the ash to a permanent storage location. These plans have been reviewed and approved by the Bureau of Land and Reclamation (Dam Safety responsibility at the Federal level).

Regarding: EPA proposed regulation of coal combustion wastes

2010-01-19T13:46:00.001-08:00

January 8, 2010

To: Mr. Cass R. Sunstein, Administrator
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs
US Office of Management and Budget
Washington, DC

Regarding: EPA proposed regulation of coal combustion wastes

Dear Mr. Sunstein,

My colleagues and I, who have undersigned this letter, have a combined 100+ years of research experience on the environmental fate and toxic impacts of coal combustion wastes (CCW). We have studied everything from minnows to alligators and we have a full understanding of the toxic pollution that has taken place and the ecological risks that exist. Make no mistake about it,
CCW is a deadly poison to fish and wildlife, and a threat to human health when improperly managed. We are writing to point out and correct some major flaws and misrepresentations in the reports that have been put forward by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI, see references 1 & 2) regarding environmental damage from CCW, the hazards posed by current disposal practices, and the cost to implement a “C” designation for regulating CCW.

Despite virtually no federal or state requirement for monitoring of CCW disposal sites, numerous damage cases have come to light simply as a result of the general public or public advocacy groups…..they noticed that something wasn’t right with the surrounding environment. Subsequent investigative research by the academic community has been instrumental in identifying and characterizing toxic impacts and ecological risks of CCW. The power industry
has largely been in a reactionary mode, responding to contamination issues after they were pointed out, and typically when mandated by the states. Of course, some pollution events have been so extensive and destructive that the problem is immediately obvious to all, the latest being the massive ash spill at the TVA-Kingston Fossil Plant in December of 2008, which will cost ratepayers billions for cleanup efforts.

Even though there has been no systematic or comprehensive monitoring of CCW disposal, information sufficient for a technical evaluation has emerged for about 89 sites. USEPA reviewed this information during the period 1999-2009 and concluded that 80% (71 of 89) either had proven damage (off-site groundwater, surface water, and/or ecological impacts) or potential damage (contamination above relevant standards in groundwater has been documented on-site, extent of off-site movement not determined yet; see USEPA reference 3 and subsequent). The implications of this finding are immense. Only 89 sites were evaluated, yet 80% are an environmental hazard and include DRY as well as wet disposal. Multiply this percentage by the
number of CCW disposal sites across the country (2000+) and you will get a perspective on the extent of the problem. There are literally hundreds of hazardous coal combustion waste sites out there, very few of which have been monitored or investigated at all. The EPRI reports cited previously make several statements, inferences, and conclusions that misrepresent facts and falsely downplay the ecological impacts and risks associated with CCW disposal. We wish to correct these fallacies.

(1) Fallacy of disposal type.....EPRI implies that ”it’s only a problem with wet disposal”.
In fact, dry disposal can be just as deadly as wet disposal unless composite landfill liners (most often, today’s new facilities are using inadequate “CCB liners” instead of true landfill liners), impermeable caps, and leachate collection AND treatment systems are used. Most states do not require this level of control and thus numerous “dry” sites are producing highly hazardous leachate which is not treated before draining into off-site groundwater and surface water (for example, the Dominion Power golf course “dry” dump in Chesapeake, VA, see reference 4; or “dry” mine fills, see reference 5; or “dry” landfills such as Pines Alternative Superfund Site).
(2) Fallacy of age......EPRI concludes that ”it’s only a problem at old sites where old disposal practices were used”. In fact, new and proposed coal combustion waste disposal complexes pose grave, unacceptable risks to the environment. For example, the US Fish and Wildlife Service recently issued a biological assessment for the proposed Desert Rock Energy Project, NM
(USFWS, see reference 6). It points out that even with the use of DRY waste disposal, off-site migration of selenium would pollute the San Juan River and poison two federally listed endangered fish.....the Colorado pikeminnow and razorback sucker. This pollution will happen because of a failure of the Navajo Nation EPA and US Office of Surface Mining to require adequate containment measures for coal combustion waste....i.e., composite liners, impermeable
caps, leachate collection AND treatment systems. Major pollution issues have developed from post-2000, state-approved “dry” disposal practices; for example, in mine fills (see reference 5). Moreover, many of these “dry” sites are simply open dumps that are approved as “structural fills” and they are completely unregulated and unmonitored.
(3) Fallacy of location......EPRI contends that ”it’s only a problem on utility’s property”.
In fact, there are numerous well documented cases of significant off-site migration of pollution and resultant impacts to fish and wildlife. For example, the Gibson Coal Plant, IN, polluted a wildlife refuge (see reference 7). USFWS is now involved in an on-going cleanup/remediation. Pollution from the Savannah River site contaminated wetlands and deformed amphibians for miles (see reference 8). The Colstrip Plant, MT, and many other facilities have contaminated off-site groundwater in addition to surface water (see reference 9). This will perpetuate hazardous conditions because once groundwater is polluted, it creates a seepage plume that can move toxic materials into surface water and expose fish and wildlife for decades and over considerable
distances.
(4) Fallacy of the “permits”…….EPRI asserts that “utility industry pollution from CCW is controlled in permit regulations for modern disposal sites”. In fact, at the large majority of permitted CCW disposal or management sites, relevant criteria for the control or monitoring of constituents of concern in CCW are simply not being specified in the permits. This includes the failure to enforce drinking water standards or state groundwater standards for RCRA
metals as corrective action standards in groundwater, and failure to set effluent limits in surface discharges that would prevent exceedances of surface water quality standards for ash constituents. Not only are there no limits to prevent concentrations of heavy metals and other highly hazardous substances (e.g., selenium) from increasing to harmful levels in waters
receiving drainage from the large majority of CCW placement areas, there is often not even a requirement to monitor for these constituents in the CCW itself.
(5) Fallacy of EPA criteria......EPRI often states that “our industry’s discharges meet EPA guidelines”. In fact, EPA’s aquatic life criterion for selenium, one of the most toxic CCW pollutants, is not protective at all.....and their own research shows that less than half of the currently permissible level of 5 parts-per-billion (ug/L) can be toxic (see reference 10). A CCW/selenium expert workshop held in 1998 recommended that EPA use tissue-based
criteria, and EPA is moving to do that (see references 11-12). So, if EPRI and the coal utility industry say they are meeting EPA’s criterion for selenium, they are simply stating that they are poisoning fish and wildlife “legally”. An excellent example of this is the recent Kingston TN ash spill. Selenium levels in the Emory River are well below 5 ug/L, yet fish contain toxic concentrations in their tissues (see reference 13). Remarkably, and despite the documented
hazard at this site, there is no limit for selenium in the NPDES permits for any discharges from the Kingston Plant, including the ash disposal cell that discharges into the Emory River next to the one that collapsed and filled the river with coal ash.
(6) Fallacy of no effects.......EPRI often asserts ”we have no evidence of biological effects”. EPRI uses this statement as a way to “confirm” there is no problem. This form of word trickery is used to persuade the uninformed that there is no problem by turning the ABSENCE OF DATA into a “finding” when, in fact, EPRI/Industry haven’t even monitored to see if there is a problem.
Having no evidence of adverse effects is totally different than evidence of no effects.
Compare these “findings”......only the latter is scientifically correct.
(A) No monitoring/assessment (no data) = no evidence of effects => no problem
(B) Proper monitoring/assessment (data) = evidence of no effects => no problem
Statement A is called the Null Fallacy......it produces a false “no effect” finding.
Don’t be fooled by this tactic….demand to see the DATA that show no effects. You will soon discover that problems DO exist at most sites where detailed biological monitoring and assessment have taken place….even though only a small fraction of CCW disposal sites have been investigated at all.

(7) Fallacy of cost........EPRI alleges that ”the cost of CCW disposal under a “C” hazardous waste regulation would be too expensive”. In fact, the cost of the “unregulation” that exists now is out of control and even more expensive. Case after case shows that cleanup and mitigation costs are millions (e.g., Gibson, Colstrip, etc.) to over a billion dollars (TVA-Kingston) per site. These
cleanup and mitigation efforts can only be partially effective. Also, these costs do not include the perpetual maintenance costs of toxic leachate from landfills that don’t have composite liners and leachate collection and treatment (at least 75% of existing landfills don’t even have composite liners according to EPA, see reference 9). States are not requiring adequate liner/leachate/treatment standards for existing or planned landfills (e.g., Desert Rock). Thus, landfill hazards are an inevitable and increasing cost. Also, remember that OVER 99 PERCENT of CCW disposal sites HAVE NOT been technically evaluated. Based on what science tells us from the tiny fraction that have been studied, the cost of as-yet unrecognized or ignored harm to human health and wildlife can be reasonably anticipated to exceed all the previously mentioned costs combined.
CONCLUSIONS: Fish and wildlife are being poisoned by the toxic leachate from CCW......the more we look, the more cases we find. Consequently, ecological liability and associated costs are on the rise. So-called “improvements” in disposal and management of CCW touted by EPRI and the coal power industry are based on a series of claims that are empirically disprovable fallacies. The future is grim unless fundamental, far reaching changes take place in the way CCW is regulated and controlled. Furthermore, designating “wet” disposal as hazardous while exempting “dry” is not the answer because dry disposal merely moves the pollution problem from one place to another, but does not lessen the threat unless composite liners and leachate collection and
treatment systems are used. Most states DO NOT require this level of pollution abatement. The facts speak for themselves. Some of the most destructive and pressing environmental problems with CCW are not “in the distant past” but are taking place NOW using “state approved” disposal
practices. Threats and impacts are not being addressed by the coal power industry and they will not go away. They will be a recurring, escalating problem unless adequate regulatory controls are put in place. State efforts are inadequate….federal regulatory oversight is necessary. Experience shows that CCW’s will need to carry a hazardous waste “C” designation if they are to
be regulated and disposed in a manner that will afford adequate protection to fish and wildlife, as well as humankind.
In the interest of sound environmental protection, we urge you to carefully consider and reflect on the information in this letter. After 40+ years of “getting it wrong” by the coal power industry and states, the Office of Management and Budget and EPA have a golden opportunity to “get it right” as federal regulations for CCW are finalized. Please let us know if you have questions. We would be glad to meet with you and discuss our information in more detail if that would be helpful.

Sincerely,

A. Dennis Lemly, Ph.D. Christopher L. Rowe, Ph.D.
Research Professor of Biology Associate Professor of Environmental
Wake Forest University Chemistry and Toxicology
Winston-Salem, NC 27109 University of Maryland,
Chesapeake Lab
336-758-4532 Solomons, MD 20688
lemlyad@wfu.edu 410-326-7227,
rowe@cbl.umces.edu

Shea R. Tuberty, Ph.D. Charles H. Norris, P.G.
Associate Professor of Biology Geo-Hydro, Inc.
Appalachian State University Denver, CO 80206
Boone, NC 28608 303-322-3171
828-262-6857 cnorris@geo-
hydro.com
tubertysr@appstate.edu

Bryce F. Payne Jr., Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Environmental
Engineering and Earth Sciences
Wilkes University
Wilkes-Barre, PA 18766
570-408-4612
bryce.payne@wilkes.edu

Cc: Lisa Jackson, EPA Administrator
Mathy Stanislaus, EPA Office of Solid Waste and Emergency
Response Assistant Administrator
Cortney Higgins, Office of Management and Budget
Mabel Echols, Office of Management and Budget

References Cited:

(1) EPRI (Electric Power Research Institute). 2009. Evaluation of coal
combustion product damage cases. Volume 1: Data summary and conclusions.
Report 1020553. EPRI, Palo Alto, CA.
(2) EPRI (Electric Power Research Institute). 2009. Evaluation of coal
combustion product damage cases. Volume 2: Site information. Report
1020554. EPRI, Palo Alto, CA.
(3) USEPA (United States Environmental Protection Agency). 2007. Coal
combustion waste damage case assessments. USEPA, Office of Solid Waste,
Washington, DC.
(4) http://hamptonroads.com/2009/08/lawsuit-claims-dominion-saw-golf-
course-coal-ash-dump.
(5) http://www.catf.us/publications/reports/DSS-CCWinWV.pdf
(6) USFWS (United States Fish and Wildlife Service). 2009. Desert Rock
Energy Project - Biological Opinion. Section C. Effects of selenium on the
federally endangered Colorado pikeminnow and razorback sucker. U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, New Mexico Ecological Services Field Office, Albuquerque, NM.
(7) http://www.fws.gov/refuges/mediatipsheet/June_2009/03.html.
(8) http://www.cnah.org/pdf_files/819.pdf.
(9) http://www.earthjustice.org/library/reports/epa-coal-combustion-
waste-risk-assessment.pdf.
(10) http://www.springerlink.com/content/pq60j2x16kh8u1g1/.
(11) www.epa.gov/nrmrl/std/mtb/mwt/scitosci/scifiles/21...
(12) http://www.epa.gov/waterscience/criteria/selenium/pdfs/complete.pdf.
(13)
http://www.appvoices.org/resources/AppVoices_TVA_Ash_Spill_Report_May15.
pdf

Technical Qualifications Statement
Dr. A. Dennis Lemly

I have spent over 30 years investigating the effects of aquatic
pollution from coal combustion wastes (CCW). I have extensive experience
conducting field and laboratory research on selenium, which is one of the most
toxic trace elements in CCW. My studies have focused on aquatic cycling,
bioaccumulation, and effects on fish. These studies include intensive
investigations of the two most substantial cases of selenium pollution that
have taken place in the USA: (1) Belews Lake, North Carolina, where 19
species of fish were eliminated due to selenium in CCW, and (2) Kesterson
Marsh, California, where thousands of fish and aquatic birds were poisoned.
My career began in the late 1970's with studies of the landmark pollution
event at Belews Lake, which established the fundamental principles of
selenium bioaccumulation and reproductive toxicity in fish resulting from CCW.
In the 1980's, I was a research project manager for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, directing studies that determined impacts of selenium from
agricultural irrigation drainage on fish and aquatic birds at Kesterson and in 14
other western states. In the 1990's, the emphasis of my research shifted to
the development of methods and guidelines for hazard assessment and water
quality criteria for selenium, which led to the publication of a reference book
(see item 42 below). This handbook contains the first comprehensive
assessment tools for evaluating selenium pollution from CCW on an ecosystem
scale. I have consulted on selenium contamination issues ranging from CCW
landfill leachate in Hong Kong to mountaintop removal coal mining in West
Virginia. I provide the methods and technical guidance necessary to identify,
evaluate, and correct aquatic selenium problems before they become
significant toxic threats to fish and wildlife populations. I have Masters and
Doctorate degrees in biology from Wake Forest University.

PUBLICATIONS ON SELENIUM TOXICITY FROM COAL COMBUSTION WASTES,
COAL MINING, AND OTHER SOURCES:
1. Lemly, A.D. 1982. Response of juvenile centrarchids to sublethal
concentrations of waterborne selenium: I. Uptake, tissue distribution, and
retention. Aquatic Toxicology 2: 235-252.
2. Lemly, A.D. 1982. Determination of selenium in fish tissues with
differential pulse polarography. Environmental Technology 3: 497-502.
3. Lemly, A.D. 1983. A simple activity quotient for detecting pollution-
induced stress
in fishes. Environmental Technology 4: 173-178.
4. Lemly, A.D. 1985. Ecological basis for regulating aquatic emissions from
the power industry: The case with selenium. Regulatory Toxicology and
Pharmacology 5: 465-486.
5. Lemly, A.D. 1985. Toxicology of selenium in a freshwater reservoir:
Implications for environmental hazard evaluation and safety. Ecotoxicology
and Environmental Safety 10: 314-338.
6. Lemly, A.D. 1986. Effects of selenium on fish and other aquatic life.
Pages 153-162 in J.B. Anderson and S.S. Anderson, editors. Toxic Substances
in Agricultural Water Supply and Drainage: Defining the Problems. U.S.
Committee on Irrigation Drainage, Denver, CO.
7. Lemly, A.D., and G.J. Smith. 1987. Aquatic Cycling of Selenium:
Implications for Fish and Wildlife. Fish and Wildlife Leaflet 12. U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, Washington, DC. 10 pages.
8. Lemly, A.D. 1989. Cycling of selenium in the environment. Pages 113-123
in A.Q. Howard, editor. Selenium and Agricultural Drainage: Implications for
San Francisco Bay and the California Environment. The Bay Institute of San
Francisco, Tiburon, CA.
9. Lemly, A.D., and G.J. Smith. 1991. Selenium in aquatic ecosystems:
Potential impacts on fish and wildlife. In R.C. Severson, S.E. Fisher, Jr., and
L.P. Gough, editors. Proceedings of the Billings Land Reclamation Symposium
on Selenium in Arid and Semiarid Environments, Western United States. U.S.
Geological Survey Circular 1064: 43-53.
10. Lemly, A.D. 1993. Subsurface agricultural irrigation drainage: The need
for
regulation. Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology 17: 157-180.
11. Lemly, A.D., S.E. Finger, and M.K. Nelson. 1993. Sources and impacts of
irrigation drainwater contaminants in arid wetlands. Environmental Toxicology
and Chemistry 12: 2265-2279.
12. Lemly, A.D. 1993. Guidelines for evaluating selenium data from aquatic
monitoring and assessment studies. Environmental Monitoring and
Assessment 28: 83-100.
13. Lemly, A.D. 1993. Teratogenic effects of selenium in natural populations
of freshwater fish. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 26: 181-204.
14. Lemly, A.D. 1993. Metabolic stress during winter increases the toxicity
of selenium
to fish. Aquatic Toxicology 27: 133-158.
15. Lemly, A.D. 1994. Agriculture and wildlife: Ecological implications of
subsurface irrigation drainage. Journal of Arid Environments 28: 85-94.
16. Lemly, A.D. 1994. Irrigated agriculture and freshwater wetlands: A
struggle for coexistence in the western United States. Wetlands Ecology and
Management 3: 3-15.
17. Lemly, A.D. 1995. A protocol for aquatic hazard assessment of selenium.
Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 32: 280-288.
18. Lemly, A.D. 1996. Selenium in aquatic organisms. Chapter 19 (pages
427-445) in W.N. Beyer, G.H. Heinz, and A.W. Redmon-Norwood, editors.
Environmental Contaminants in Wildlife: Interpreting Tissue Concentrations.
Lewis Publishers, Boca Raton, FL.
19. Lemly. A.D. 1996. Winter Stress Syndrome: An important consideration
for hazard assessment of aquatic pollutants. Ecotoxicology and Environmental
Safety 34: 223-227.
20. Lemly, A.D. 1996. Identifying and reducing environmental risks from
agricultural irrigation drainage in developing countries. Proceedings of the
World Congress of Toxicology in Developing Countries 3: 177-190.
21. Lemly, A.D. 1996. Assessing the toxic threat of selenium to fish and
aquatic birds. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 43: 19-35.
22. Lemly, A.D. 1996. Wastewater discharges may be most hazardous to
fish during
winter. Environmental Pollution 93: 169-174.
23. Lemly, A.D. 1996. Evaluation of the hazard quotient method for risk
assessment of selenium. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 35: 156-162.
24. Lemly, A.D. 1997. Ecosystem recovery following selenium contamination
in a freshwater reservoir. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 36: 275-
281.
25. Lemly, A.D. 1997. Environmental hazard of selenium in the Animas La
Plata Water Development Project. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety
37: 92-96.
26. Lemly, A.D. 1997. Role of season in aquatic hazard assessment.
Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 45: 89-98.
27. Lemly, A.D. 1997. A teratogenic deformity index for evaluating impacts
of selenium on fish populations. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 37:
259-266.
28. Lemly, A.D. 1997. Environmental implications of excessive selenium.
Biomedical and Environmental Sciences 10: 415-435.
29. Lemly, A.D. 1998. Pathology of selenium poisoning in fish. Chapter 16
(Pages 281-296) in W.T. Frankenberger and R.A. Engberg, editors.
Environmental Chemistry of Selenium. Marcel-Dekker Press, New York, NY.
30. Lemly, A.D. 1998. A position paper on selenium in ecotoxicology: A
procedure for deriving site-specific water quality criteria. Ecotoxicology and
Environmental Safety 39: 1-9.
31. Lemly, A.D. 1998. Belews Lake: Lessons learned. Pages 3-6 and E15-
20 in U.S. EPA Publication EPA-822-R-98-007. Report on the Peer
Consultation Workshop on Selenium Aquatic Toxicity and Bioaccumulation.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Water, Washington, DC.
32. Lemly, A.D. 1999. Case study: Contaminant impacts on freshwater
wetlands at Kesterson National Wildlife Refuge, California. Chapter 6 (pages
191-206) in M.A. Lewis et al., editors. Ecotoxicology and Risk Assessment for
Wetlands. SETAC Press, Pensacola, FL.
33. Lemly, A.D. 1999. Selenium transport and bioaccumulation in aquatic
ecosystems: A proposal for water quality criteria based on hydrological units.
Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 42: 150-156.
34. Lemly, A.D. 1999. Irrigation drainage. Pages 304-307 in M.A. Mares,
editor. Encyclopedia of Deserts. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, OK.
35. Hamilton, S.J., and A.D. Lemly. 1999. The water-sediment controversy
in setting environmental standards for selenium. Ecotoxicology and
Environmental Safety 44: 227-235.
36. Lemly, A.D. 1999. Selenium impacts on fish: An insidious time bomb.
Human and Ecological Risk Assessment 5: 1139-1151.
37. Lemly, A.D., R.T. Kingsford, and J.R. Thompson. 2000. Irrigated
agriculture and wildlife conservation: Conflict on a global scale.
Environmental Management 25: 485-512.
38. Lemly, A.D. 2001. Irrigation-induced demise of wetlands. Pages 399-
410 in R.E. Munn and I. Douglas, editors. Global Environmental Change,
Volume 3: Causes and Consequences of Global Environmental Change. John
Wiley & Sons Ltd., Chichester, United Kingdom.
39. Lemly, A.D. 2002. Symptoms and implications of selenium toxicity in
fish: The Belews Lake case example. Aquatic Toxicology 57: 39-49.
40. Lemly, A.D., and H.M. Ohlendorf. 2002. Regulatory implications of using
constructed wetlands to treat selenium-laden wastewater. Ecotoxicology and
Environmental Safety 52: 46-56.
41. Lemly, A.D. 2002. A procedure for setting environmentally safe Total
Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) for selenium. Ecotoxicology and Environmental
Safety 52: 123-127.
42. Lemly, A.D. 2002. Selenium Assessment in Aquatic Ecosystems: A Guide
for Hazard Evaluation and Water Quality Criteria. Springer-Verlag Publishers,
New York, NY.
43. Lemly, A.D. 2004. Aquatic selenium pollution is a global environmental
safety
issue. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 59: 44-56.
44. Kingsford, R.T., A.D. Lemly, and J.R. Thompson. 2006. Impacts of dams,
river management, and diversions on desert rivers. Chapter 8 (pages 203-
247) in R.T. Kingsford (editor). Ecology of Desert Rivers. Cambridge
University Press, UK.
45. Lemly, A.D. 2007. A procedure for NEPA assessment of selenium hazards
associated with mining. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 125: 361-
375.
46. Lemly, A.D., and J.P. Skorupa. 2007. Technical issues affecting the
implementation of US Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed fish tissue-
based aquatic criterion for selenium. Integrated Environmental Assessment
and Management 3: 552-558.
47. Lemly, A.D. 2008. Aquatic hazard of selenium pollution from coal mining.
Chapter 6 (Pages 167-183) in G.B. Fosdyke (editor). Coal Mining: Research,
Technology, and Safety. Nova Science Publishers, New York, NY.
48. Palmer, M.A., E.S. Bernhardt, W.N. Schlesinger, K.N. Eshleman, E.
Fonfoula-Georgious, M.S. Hendryx, A.D. Lemly, G.E. Likens, O.L Louck, M.E.
Power, P.S. White, and P.R. Wilcock. 2010. Mountaintop mining
consequences. Science 327: 148-149.

Public Meeting for the Roane Community Advisory Group

2009-12-12T06:27:00.001-08:00

The Roane County Community Advisory Group (RC CAG) will be holding their first public meeting on December 14th, 2009 @ Roane State Community College.

The meeting will start with a meet and greet with the interim Technical Advisor and CAG members at 6:00 with the meeting starting at 6:30 PM.

The meeting will cover issues with the Engineering Evaluation Cost Analysis (EE/CA) Work Plan and the Community Involvment Plan (CIP). These two documents are out for Public Comment until December 20, 2009.

This is a chance for your voice to be heard.

Swan Pond Community Press Conference

2009-12-12T06:25:00.000-08:00

SWAN POND RESIDENTS PRESS CONFERENCE
THE ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF THE TVA COAL ASH SPILL

The Swan Pond Community residents would like to meet with the members of the press to express the past, present and the future direction they would like to see the Swan Pond Community take. The residents of the Swan Pond Community were the first to be affected by the ash spill on 12/22/08 and continue to be affected to this day.

When: Saturday December 19, 2009
Where: 993 Swan Pond Rd Harriman, TN (behind the Swan Pond Baptist Church)
Time: 2 PM eastern

Background Information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingston_Fossil_Plant_coal_fly_ash_slurry_spill

Comments for TDH Public Health Assessment

2009-12-12T06:24:00.000-08:00

The PHA (Public Comment Draft) for the Kingston Ash Spill is now available on the web for download.

http://health.state.tn.us/coalashspill.htm

You may submit comments by email at: EEP.Health@tn.gov

Public participation is encouraged please forward to those you feel would be interested. The public comment period will last until February 9, 2010.

Many thanks for your interest and input.

BP

Brad Parman
Environmental Epidemiologist
East TN Regional Health Office
1522 Cherokee Trail
Knoxville, TN 37920
Front Desk: 865-546-9221
Phone: 865-549-5234
Fax: 865-594-5738

Dec. 10

2009-12-10T17:17:00.001-08:00

Update on Kingston Site Activities

December 10, 2009

New Rail Spurs

New railroad spurs will be installed south of Swan Pond Road and closer to the Kingston Fossil Plant, which will allow the switching to take place away from the road itself. Currently, there are about 25 rail crossings on Swan Pond each day that cause traffic delays for local residents and workers at the Kingston plant and site recovery areas. The new spurs will reduce the temporary blockages on Swan Pond Road. TVA officials studied various options to help alleviate the railroad crossing problems, including building an overpass near the recovery site. The time it would take to construct such an overpass, along with the cost, made that project unfeasible. The new rail spurs are much more cost effective and can be completed by the end of January 2010.

”Curfew” times, in which train crossings are prohibited on Swan Pond Road, will be strictly enforced by the management staff at the recovery site. The current curfew times are:

6:30 – 7:15 a.m.

3:30 – 4:15 p.m.

5:00 – 5:30 p.m.

These times will be reviewed and any changes will be communicated.

Drying Systems

New ash drying systems will be installed at the Site to expedite the removal of fly ash. The benefit to the drying systems is that the sooner moisture can be removed from the stockpiled ash that has been removed from the river, the sooner it can be transported to the Perry County, Alabama, landfill.

The first system to be installed will be a filter press system. A filter press reduces the volume and weight of a slurry waste by separating liquid from the solid. The liquid passes through filter cloths and exits the press leaving behind the filtered solids, called a filter cake. After the desired moisture content is achieved, the press is opened and the filter cake is released.

The second system will be a Genesis Rapid Dewatering System. The system works in stages. First, the ash material passes through a course debris screen, which eliminates and disposes of large objects such as rocks and debris. The next step uses centrifugal force to spin the solids away as the water drains down. Then a computer monitors the changes in the density and flow and injects polymers at various points to produce larger masses of the solids. The rapid dewatering system then captures the fine grain sediments and recovers the water.

Having these new systems will greatly increase our ability to process the fly ash and prepare it for transport to the landfill in Alabama.

Residents in the immediate area as well as plant and site workers can expect a temporary increase in large transport trucks which will be bringing in the filtration and drying equipment, as well as materials to construct the rail spurs. This will begin as early as Friday, December 11 and should last just a few weeks.

Dike C Buttressing Update

Dike C buttressing has begun. Materials needed for this project will come in by truck from the local quarry and from a quarry outside of Roane County. Currently, 46 loads a day will be brought in, half from each quarry. The quarry from outside of Roane County will transport materials in via the interstate and up Swan Pond Road. The local quarry trucks will turn right off of Quarry Road and come onto Swan Pond Road from the North.

Rain Event on December 8

On the day of the high flow event TVA collected a river sample near the Kingston water plant intake. This is in addition to the daily raw water and finished water samples taken by the plant. We contacted the plant operator and he stated he had not noticed any changes in the output from the plant treatment processes.

Excavator

It was pulled out of the river today – there were some delays due to weather and other issues. It will be washed and the plan is to transport it to the south dock for removal on Friday.

Let me know if you have questions.

Katie

Katie Bell Kline

Senior Manager, Community Relations

Tennessee Valley Authority

Heavy Equipment Buried in Emory to be Removed

2009-11-30T11:36:00.001-08:00

Kingston Site Activity Update:

1. When the ash spill occurred last December, a TVA excavator (large piece of equipment) was pushed into the river. We are now at a point that in order for dredging operations to proceed without delay, the excavator must be removed.

We will begin this removal process on Thursday, December 3, and it could take as long as a week to complete. The plan for removal begins by putting a barge-mounted crane in place at the Site. A dive team will be on-hand to perform all underwater rigging. They will rig the crane equipment to the proper points on the excavator. The crane will then lift the excavator from the water, and crews will thoroughly wash the excavator before placing it onto the barge. The barge will then take it to the south dock at the Kingston Fossil Plant where it will be offloaded onto a flatbed truck for transport to TVA’s Watts Bar Plant.

Turbidity curtains will surround the work area to control turbidity issues during work operations. A spill boom will be used in the event of any fluid leakage during excavator removal.

All personnel, vehicles and equipment are subject to decontamination requirements as required by the Site Health and Safety Plan prior to leaving the Site.

2. You may see this…TVA Police will be escorting a barge through the work area in the next day or so. The barge will be hauling materials used to build a dock for a near-by resident.

3. A Report to our Roane County Neighbors is in print and will be mailed soon. The information contained in this report is information you all have. It is intended to update those who have not been involved in what’s happening at the Site.

Please let me know if you have questions and if not, we’ll see you Thursday night.

Katie

Katie Bell Kline
Senior Manager, Community Relations
Tennessee Valley Authority

Boiler Maintenence Completed 11-28-09

2009-11-28T14:40:00.001-08:00

As part of our continuing commitment to keep you informed about the plant maintenance this past week, we want to let you know we completed the boiler maintenance successfully.

Once we confirmed that the particulate found in the plant parking lot on Wednesday was iron oxide (rust), and after cleaniing the ductwork again, we made a decision to use the scrubber stack in order to complete the work.

The boilers were fired beginning Friday about noon and the work was completed early Saturday morning. We kept a close eye on the scrubber stack and everything went well. There was no particulate emission from the stack. We appreciate your patience and will continue to communicate workthat is being done to operate the plant and carry out the ash spill recovery.

Katie Kline

Official to the CAG from TVA

2009-11-25T14:24:00.001-08:00

To members of the CAG,

Kingston Fossil Plant plans to continue maintenance work on units 6 – 9 this Friday, November 27, in order to bring units back into normal operations in the near future.

As winter weather sets in, cold temperatures can have a negative effect on plant equipment. To maintain equipment in the best working order, units are running water through the boiler tubes and heating them by burning oil. Because TVA will also perform some testing on its scrubber, the new scrubber stack will be used and a plume will be visible.

TVA found some particulate material in the plant parking lot after operating the units to perform maintenance activities on Tuesday, Nov. 24. To minimize any releases of particulates, TVA is inspecting and cleaning ductwork and fans on the units.

TVA is analyzing samples of the material found in the plant parking lot and expects to know the composition this week.

As we continue this work and return the plant to normal operations, we will ensure the public is informed.

Please let me know if you have questions. Thanks,

Katie Kline

TVA Rust Rains on Worker's Vehicles

2009-11-25T04:56:00.000-08:00

To the CAG,

As we emailed you yesterday, TVA began performing maintenance activities today on four of the nine units at the Kingston Fossil Plant. Part of this maintenance, which is designed to maintain units that have not been in service, is filling water-carrying tubes in the boilers with water, heating the water with fuel oil, and then draining the water out of the tubes. This helps minimize rusting.

This afternoon at 3:15pm, an employee reported that a rust-colored material was found on employees’ cars in the parking lot next to the plant lobby. At the time, we had oil fire in two units. We shut down the oil fires and the fans in the units. We took samples of the material and sent them to a lab for analysis. We inspected areas on-site and off-site to determine how far the material traveled, and it appears to have been contained to the main parking lot area for the plant. TVA has notified TDEC of this issue.

Again, we have shut down the oil fires and fans, and will not continue this maintenance work until we have investigated this incident. As soon as we have more information, we will share it with you.

Thank you,

Gretchen

__________________

Gretchen Wahl

Jacobs

Senior Communications Specialist

Report of Activities on the Kingston Site November 23, 2009

2009-11-23T11:31:00.000-08:00

We’ll be sharing the information below with elected officials and the media today, and we’ll go door-to-door with this information in the neighborhood near the plant on Swan Pond Road.

Kingston Boiler Maintenance on Units 6-9 will Take Place

TVA will be performing specific maintenance activities on the remaining four of the nine Kingston units on Tuesday and Wednesday, November 24 & 25. Much like November 17, TVA needs to maintain the condition of the units at Kingston that have not been in service. These maintenance activities will cause smoke to be emitted out of the South stack (stack 2).

The smoke is primarily carbon, but will also contain some nitrogen, water vapor, carbon dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide. TVA will continue to meet all state air quality requirements.

TVA’s air quality permits, issued by the state of Tennessee, allow for the plant to perform this type of maintenance on the plant. Kingston will constantly monitor the stack emissions during this activity. Below is information about how it works that was sent out earlier, but it’s a good reminder.

How it works

In order to help ensure the units perform better when they do come back into service, plant staff will perform several activities. One activity involves filling the water-carrying tubes in the boilers with water, heating the water and then draining the water out of the tubes. This helps minimize rusting.

In order to heat the water in the boiler tubes, the plant will burn fuel oil. This burning of fuel oil is what will cause the gray to black plume of smoke to be discharged from the north stack for a period of about eight hours each day. It is similar to the smoke from an oil lamp, only on a larger scale, as has been seen many times in the past when the Kingston units started operation.

The plant will not be generating power, and coal will not be burned during this activity. There may be additional maintenance of this kind with all of the boilers prior to any scrubber or unit start up.

Storm Water Retention Pond Work

During routine checks for start-up of the Kingston scrubber, TVA personnel observed fluctuating water levels in the storm water retention pond, which is adjacent to the gypsum storage area. This is being investigated.

TVA has drained the retention pond and we will continue to investigate the cause. If we determine corrective actions are necessary, we will take the appropriate steps. However, while the pond is drained, TVA has decided to install a synthetic liner on top of the clay liner, pending approval.

Kingston scrubber start up tests and associated discharges into the gypsum storage area will continue in preparation for full system start up at a later date, which will be communicated in advance. No discharge from the storage area to the storm water pond will be allowed until all work is complete. As we receive more information, we will share it with you.

Ash Recovery Site Shutting Down for Thanksgiving

Other than some onsite dredging, the Kingston Ash Recovery Site will be shut down for the Thanksgiving holidays beginning Wednesday evening, November 25, at 7 p.m. Work will resume as normal on Monday morning, November 30. This will provide relief to the road closing due to train crossings.

Katie Bell Kline

Senior Manager, Community Relations

Tennessee Valley Authority

East Embayment Update

2009-11-20T11:48:00.001-08:00

As part of the revised work plan for time-critical ash removal from the East Embayment, TVA will be moving fish from the Embayment to the Emory River beginning Monday, November 23.

A significant number of fish and some turtles are believed to live in the East Embayment. These fish will be electro-shocked (this is a standard practice for moving fish) and then the fish and turtles will be relocated to the Emory River.

Then, clean water will be pumped directly to the Emory River starting the week of November 30. Water in contact with ash will be redirected to the onsite settling basins. When the water level in the embayment has been drawn down, there will be another round of electro-shocking in order to relocate any fish that may remain. Also, any remaining turtles will also be relocated at this time. It may be necessary to recover some of these animals on foot. This work is slated for December 3 or 4, but depending on weather, this could go into the next week.

After the above steps are complete, time critical ash removal from the East Embayment will begin.

Katie Bell Kline

Senior Manager, Community Relations

Tennessee Valley Authority

865-717-1668

Harriman Quarry to enclose Crusher to reduce noise

2009-11-16T12:00:00.000-08:00

In response to questions about quarry work, TVA received this answer from the Harriman Quarry last week.

November 11, 2009

Linda Pratt

Tennessee Valley Authority

Linda,

The Roane County quarry did not crush during the month of October. They started back Monday November 2^nd with a shift running at night. The purpose of running at night is to allow the crew to do their maintenance work during the daylight hours.

They are currently making several changes at the quarry. They are in the process of enclosing the crushing plant in order to drastically reduce the noise of crushing. In addition they are replacing the back up alarms with strobe lights on all the equipment on the yard so there will no longer be warning beeps when a piece of equipment is backing up.

This schedule was developed as part of the normal operating plan and does not have anything to do with TVA. They plan to continue this schedule for the foreseeable future.

Let me know if you have any questions or need further information.

Thanks, Bill

11-13-09

2009-11-13T07:21:00.000-08:00

On Tuesday, November 17, the Kingston Fossil Plant will be performing maintenance on some of the units at the plant that are not being used right now. The units are not going to be started up, but smoke will be coming out of the stack for about 16 hours. The fact sheet below explains the procedure. We’re sending this information to elected officials and the media today, and we’ll go door-to-door with this information in the neighborhood near the plant on Monday.

Thanks for your interest in the plant, and please call me at (865) 202-7479 if you have any questions.

Gretchen

Kingston Boiler Maintenance Fact Sheet

November 2009

TVA power system demand is low, and all of the units from the Kingston Plant are not needed right now. In order to maintain the condition of the units at Kingston that are not needed, Kingston Plant will perform specific maintenance activities on four of the nine units on November 17.

These maintenance activities will cause smoke to be emitted out of the north stack (stack 1) for a period of about 16 hours.

The smoke is primarily carbon, but will also contain some nitrogen, water vapor, carbon dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide. TVA will continue to meet all state air quality requirements.

TVA’s air quality permits, issued by the state of Tennessee, allow for the plant to perform this type of maintenance on the plant. Kingston will constantly monitor the stack emissions during this activity.

How it works

In order to help ensure the units perform better when they do come back into service, plant staff will perform several activities. One activity involves filling the water-carrying tubes in the boilers with water, heating the water and then draining the water out of the tubes. This helps minimize rusting.

In order to heat the water in the boiler tubes, the plant will burn fuel oil. This burning of fuel oil is what will cause the gray to black plume of smoke to be discharged from the north stack for a period of about 16 hours. It is similar to the smoke from an oil lamp, only on a larger scale, as has been seen many times in the past when the Kingston units started operation.

The plant will not be generating power, and coal will not be burned during this activity.

The plant may perform these activities to preserve the other boilers in the future, and the public will be made aware of this beforehand.

Updated Kingston Fossil Plant Scrubber Information November 9, 2009

2009-11-09T14:54:00.001-08:00

To Roane County Community Advisory Group Members:

The schedule for bringing the first scrubber online at Kingston has changed. Instead of starting it up on Friday, November 13, it will be delayed for a short period of time. There are a couple of reasons for this delay.

1. TVA power system demand is low and the power from the Kingston Plant is not needed right now. Due to the economic conditions, lower cost generating assets, mild weather and increased hydro generation, there are multiple coal-fired generating units off-line throughout the TVA system.

2. On the Ash Recovery Site, we continue to remove material from the Emory River faster than we are able to dry it and ship it off site. Increased ash production from the plant would further impact this situation.

TVA’s primary focus at Kingston is the removal of ash from the Emory River as quickly as possible. Given this priority, coupled with low system load demand, the decision has been made to delay the startup of generating units and, consequently, the first scrubber.

Until the scrubber comes online, equipment testing will continue on an almost daily basis as pumps, fans and other types of equipment are run. These tests, like previous tests, will create a water vapor emission from the stacks, but we want to make sure you know that these are just tests, and that no units are connected to the scrubber.

Please don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions.

Thanks,

Katie

Katie (Bell) Kline

Senior Manager, Community Relations

Tennessee Valley Authority

400 W. Summit Hill Dr., WT 7D

Knoxville, TN 37902

865-717-1668

Scrubbers to be tested tomorrow

2009-10-28T13:11:00.001-07:00

Update for Community Advisory Group About Kingston Fossil Plant

Scrubber Equipment Testing

October 28, 2009

Consistent with the information we provided you on October 19, the process of bringing the Kingston Fossil Plant scrubber unit online is continuing. As an update, tomorrow, the plant will be running pumps which will circulate water within the scrubber. Water from a one-million gallon tank will run through sprays and fountains, including a bed of 1700 fountains that shoot water 20 feet high.

Again, if the air is cool, the warmer water coming into contact with the cooler air will create a water vapor inside the scrubber that will likely exit the unit through the stacks. This water condensation is like the steamy water vapor that comes off the surface of the river when the air temperature cools below the water temperature.

There are still no furnaces operating and no coal is being burned. No flue gas has passed through the scrubber, and nothing will exit the stack other than water vapor. The scrubber has not started up; this is still scheduled for mid- to late November.

Equipment testing will continue until the scrubber starts up. You may see this vapor again, but we want you to know it is only water vapor.

We will give you plenty of notification prior to the scrubber going into service.

As always, let me know if you have questions. Thanks,

Katie

Katie (Bell) Kline

Senior Manager, Community Relations

Tennessee Valley Authority

Tennessean Article on EPA Final Report

2009-10-28T08:04:00.000-07:00

Coal ash poses significant risk: EPA report says

The Tennessean article.

Barge Maintenance Involves Lead Paint Removal

2009-10-27T16:20:00.000-07:00

The Recovery Site will be doing maintenance work on a barge tomorrow. The barge is docked at the South boat ramp near the plant discharge channel. Part of the work includes scraping some lead paint off one side of the barge in order to weld handrails onto it. This work will be done in accordance with requirements for lead-based paint which includes capturing the paint chips and use of appropriate clothing worn by the workers (could see Tyvek suits).

I just want you to know what you might see is typical of what is done when dealing with lead-based paint (such as you might see when a highway bridge is being re-painted).

Katie (Bell) Kline

Senior Manager, Community Relations

Tennessee Valley Authority

400 W. Summit Hill Dr., WT 7D

Knoxville, TN 37902

TVA Bidding Swan Pond Road Work

2009-10-23T16:25:00.000-07:00

To Members of the CAG,

I want to let you know that TVA is in the process of bidding the work for replacing the City of Kingston and HUB water, gas and effluent lines that were affected by the spill. The repairs will take place along Swan Pond Road from Highway 70 past the plant and on parts of Hassler Mill Road. This work should begin in early December. Once we award the work, the contractor is required to give us an overall schedule. Within the contract specs we included a requirement for the contractor to minimize any impact to traffic flow. In addition, they will give us at least a week’s advance notice about any work that will affect the road, which we will pass on to you.

We will keep you up to date as we get more information during the bid and award process. We have directed the contractor to include in their bid an expedited restoration of that segment of the 10” Kingston Utility Board line which will improve the water pressure. If you have any questions or want to know more about this, we’ll do our best to provide them. We may not know the answers right now, but we’ll get them to you as soon as we have them.

Site Tour Report

2009-10-21T11:15:00.000-07:00

From CAG Member Andy Avel:

I toured the site yesterday with Mike Scott and am passing on the following observations:

1. The trains should have resumed yesterday because the site is now using the additive that Steve McCracken told us about last Thursday. The additive that absorbs any free water that may migrate from the fly ash on its journey to Alabama. So, trains should have started moving yesterday.

2. Mike talked about the vapor from the new scrubber stack and told me that the closer the plant gets to actual operation, the more testing of the system (using material that does not originate from the combustion of coal) will be done, and the more common the emission of water vapor will be. He did emphasize that the scrubbers are not connected to the combustion process, yet.

3. The 20 inch dredge is broken down and will be soon be replaced by another 20 inch dredge. The replacement dredge is sitting on the Clinch River across the channel from the Red Bone restaurant while the site is doing final safety and environmental inspections.

4. The Plant entrance and exit to the site exclusion zone, located close to the new scrubbers, is being improved to allow access to the exclusion zone for service and maintenance equipment. This will help alleviate traffic congestion on Swan Pond Road.

5. The height of the ash piles on the ball field is increasing because of improved dredging. However, limitations in the ability to move fly ash off site is causing more fly ash to accumulate on the site. The accumulation of the fly ash is being monitored carefully by both TVA and EPA to assure no problems arise. The additive to absorb water from the ash in the trains, will help to accelerate the transportation of the ash off site.

6. TVA is continuing to widen the ash drainage ditches to improve drainage in the failed dredge cell and the embayment and is cleaning out the settling pond.

7. I also visited the proposed visitor overlook. It will be located about 500 yards up the "driveway" that used to go to the house that was located in that area. The overlook will consist of a parking lot, a roofed area, and placards that identify areas of interest at the site. It looked to me like most of the excavation work was done.
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Information 10-21-09

2009-10-21T06:06:00.000-07:00

Two new documents have been added to the Administrative Record, and a public comment period on both documents begins today and runs through November 20:

The Engineering Evaluation/Cost Analysis (EE/CA) Work Plan describes the process TVA will use to evaluate removal action alternatives at the site. Those alternatives will be explained in detail in the EE/CA Report, and further public comment will be solicited at that time.

The Draft Community Involvement Plan (CIP) specifies outreach activities TVA will use to address community concerns and expectations. It also explains the opportunities for public involvement in the decision-making process at the site.

The details on the public comment period can be found here: http://www.tva.com/kingston/admin_record/public_comment.htm

Also, TVA has released to TDEC and posted on the Kingston website the event analysis report for the release of material from the Kingston Fossil Plant stack on September 18, 2009. The report details the event and includes photos and a timeline of the incident as well as root cause analysis information and actions being taken to prevent a similar occurrence in the future. Here is the link: http://www.tva.com/kingston/pdf/kingston_deposition_incident.pdf.