The Tennessee Valley Authority is moving forward with plans to remove coal ash stored in ash pond impoundments at the Gallatin Fossil Plant in Sumner County to a lined, permitted onsite location, pending state approval.
In June 2019, TVA and the state of Tennessee agreed to close the wet impoundments and remove the ash at Gallatin. TVA prepared an Environmental Impact Statement to consider the impacts of various options for that removal. Details are available in a Final Environmental Impact Statement released on Aug.
7 and posted at www.tva.com/nepa.
Options evaluated in the EIS include placing the coal ash in an expansion of the existing lined, dry storage landfill located onsite, removal to an offsite landfill and the potential for encapsulated beneficial reuse.
TVA’s preferred option in the Final EIS is Alternative B, with disposal in the existing onsite lined dry storage landfill; a lined, permitted expansion of the existing landfill; or both. TVA will continue to explore opportunities for encapsulated beneficial reuse of coal ash at Gallatin to determine if it could be a viable option in the future. Any conclusions are subject to review and approval by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation.
TVA’s review considered factors such as environmental impacts, economic issues and TVA’s long-term goals for managing coal ash. Various activities that support closure-by-removal were also evaluated in the Final EIS, including remediation of a former gun range, development of a new office complex and relocation of existing communications and alarm towers.