EPA has released contractor reports on the hazard potential of 17 coal ash impoundments at electric power plants and the structural integrity of those impoundments.
EPA says there are 584 coal ash dumpsites across the country, concentrated in Appalachia, the Southeast, Midwest, and mountain states.
In December 2009, the failure of an impoundment at the Tennessee Valley Authority's Kingston Fossil Plant released 1.7 million cubic yards of ash and water into the Emory River, burying 300 acres in sludge.
Members of Congress subsequently called on EPA to conduct reviews, including on-site confirmatory examinations, of all coal combustion waste impoundments and landfills to ensure the safety of people and the environment located in any area that may be threatened by a release from an impoundment. Pressure is also being placed on EPA to regulate coal combustion wastes under RCRA.
In its latest announcement, EPA found that all of the 17 impoundments have a high or significant hazard potential. This is not a rating relating to structural integrity; rather, it indicates that the failure of the impoundment can cause economic loss, environmental damage, or damage to infrastructure.
The contractors also rated the structural integrity of seven impoundments as satisfactory, nine as fair, and one as poor. None of the units assessed received an unsatisfactory rating. According to dam safety experts, only impoundments rated as unsatisfactory pose immediate safety threats. Also, a structurally sound impoundment may receive a fair or poor rating based on a variety of factors, including whether structural reports were kept.
EPA says it will continue to assess through the end of 2009 all coal ash impoundments that were assigned high or significant hazard potential by electric utilities that responded to the Agency's information requests.
The coal ash impoundment reports are available at http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/nonhaz/industrial/special/fossil/surveys2/index.htm.
[Source: Environmental Manager's Compliance Advisor. Subscribe today!]