The Tennessee Valley Authority is seeking public comment on potential environmental impacts of building a facility to remove and recirculate water used in the coal ash management process at Gallatin Fossil Plant in Gallatin, Tennessee.
TVA is proposing to build a dewatering facility for bottom ash at Gallatin as part of its commitment to convert from wet to dry storage of ash and other coal combustion residuals. The facility would include a system to recycle water, which is used to move ash, back into the powerhouse for continued use. The dry ash would then be stored onsite.
This project would also foster TVA’s compliance with current and future regulations, both state and federal, related to the management of coal combustion residuals.
TVA is inviting the public to comment on a draft Environmental Assessment which considers the potential environmental impacts of several alternatives, including construction of the dewatering facility or taking no action.
TVA’s preferred alternative is to construct the dewatering facility, which enables a wet-to-dry bottom ash conversion at Gallatin. It is the only alternative that fully complies with Environmental Protection Agency limitations on wastewater, or effluent, finalized in 2015.
TVA would implement its preferred alternative in phases, starting with the construction of the once-through dewatering facility in the first phase and then adding the recirculating system in a second phase.
Comments on the draft EA must be received or postmarked no later than April 24, 2017. You can learn more about the alternatives and provide comments online at www.tva.com/nepa or by email to arfarless@tva.gov. Comments can be submitted in writing to Ashley Farless, Tennessee Valley Authority, 1101 Market St., BR 4A, Chattanooga, TN, 37402. All information received including name, address and phone number becomes part of the official public record.
TVA's Gallatin Fossil Plant is located on 1,950 acres of land on the north bank of the Cumberland River in Sumner County, Tennessee. It has four coal-fired generating units with a combined summer net capacity of 976 megawatts, enough to supply power to more than 500,000 homes.