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EPA Announces Public Comment Period for TVA Phase 3 Clean-up Plan

Release Date: 08/10/2012
Contact Information: James Pinkney, 404-562-9183, [email protected]

(ATLANTA – August 10, 2012) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced the public comment period today for the Phase 3 removal action at the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) Kingston Fly Ash Release Site. The River System Engineering Evaluation/Cost Analysis, or EE/CA, is the next step in the ongoing TVA Kingston Ash Recovery Project.

A public meeting to discuss the various alternatives will take place August 21 from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. EDT in the auditorium of Roane County High School, 540 West Cumberland Street, Kingston, Tennessee. The auditorium is located in Building B on the Spring Street side of the high school.

The public is also invited to comment on the alternatives in writing or by email beginning August 11 through September 10. At the end of the 30-day comment period, a written response to all pertinent comments will be prepared in a responsiveness summary and placed in the Administrative Record for the Kingston Ash Removal Project.

The EE/CA defines the removal action objectives in the river system, and describes and evaluates available alternatives to address residual ash in the river. Approximately 500,000 cubic yards of ash remain in the river system after time-critical dredging removed roughly 3.5 million cubic yards from the Emory River and East Embayment.

This is the second EE/CA prepared for the Kingston Fly Ash Release Site during the non-time-critical removal action portion of the cleanup. The first EE/CA prepared for the embayment/dredge cell area was approved by EPA in January 2010. Kingston Fly Ash Release Site non-time-critical removal actions are currently underway and include excavation of ash from the Swan Pond Embayment, dry-stacking the ash in an onsite ash landfill, and final closure of the ash landfill.

A sampling and analysis plan (SAP), approved by EPA in June 2010 outlined the required environmental investigations to determine the nature and extent of residual ash in the river system. The EE/CA was prepared following further sampling and analysis of animals and plants; and surface water, groundwater, and sediment, and assessment of potential human health and ecological risks for the river system. The EE/CA defines the removal action objectives in the river system, and describes and evaluates available alternatives for restoration of areas having residual fly ash.

The River System EE/CA, and the Baseline Human Health and Ecological Risk Assessments can be found on EPA's project website at www.epakingstontva.com.