After Dike Failure, TVA Cleans Area Near Kingston Coal Plant
The Tennessee Valley Authority has begun the long road to recovery at its Kingston Fossil Plant following a massive coal-ash spill on Dec. 22, 2008. The agency has pledged to make the areas “as good, if not better than they were before” in its long-term cleanup plan filed on March 2 with a Tennessee state agency.
On March 9, the Environmental Protection Agency announced it will tighten EPA coal-ash regulations by the end of the year as a result of the dike failure that caused 5.4 million cu yd of wet coal ash to flood 300 acres, including a portion of the adjacent Emory River. EPA also has asked utilities to report on the structural integrity of the more than 300 coal-ash ponds in the U.S., and it will independently evaluate those reports.