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Environmental Affairs
Ash Management from Coal Fired Power Plants
Current Practices and Potential Impact of Proposed EPA Regulation
Rochelle Routman, PG
Environmental Specialist
Georgia Power
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Environmental Affairs
Georgia Power: Who we areLargest of four Southern Company electric utilities 2.3M+ customers8,600 employeesNearly 13,000 miles of
transmission lines 70,000 miles of distribution
linesHigh customer satisfactionRates below the national average
Georgia
Power
Alabama
Power
Gulf PowerM
ississippiPow
er
GeorgiaPower
AlabamaPower
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Environmental Affairs
CoalUS Resources
The US has the largest reserves of coal in the world
Based on current consumption, there is about 200 years of accessible coal remaining to generate energy
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Environmental Affairs
Energy GenerationCoal is Vital
45% of energy generated in the US is from coal– About 11% renewables,
including hydro Energy efficiency, clean
coal technology, and renewables are necessary to meet energy needs of the future
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Environmental Affairs
AshA coal combustion byproduct
Bottom Ash •Falls to the bottom of the furnace•Sluiced to an ash pond
Fly Ash•Collected by electrostatic precipitators•Either sluiced to an ash pond or handled in a dry landfill
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Environmental Affairs
Composition of Ash
Dependant on coal source, combustion, etc.Generally consists of silicon, aluminum, iron,
and calciumAlso contains trace amounts of heavy metals,
such as arsenic, selenium, chromiumIs classified as an industrial solid waste
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Environmental Affairs
Ash Handling Facilities
Ash Landfill Ash Pond
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Environmental Affairs
Southern Co Ash Handling Practices
Fly Ash Production 2009: 3.9 Million Tons
Bottom Ash Production 2009: 1.0 Million Tons
Fly Ash Management 2009 (% of total)
Bottom Ash Management 2009 (% of total)
Wet -- 29% Wet --74%Dry -- 71% Dry -- 26%
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Environmental Affairs
Southern Co. Beneficial ReuseAbout 30% Annually
Bottom Ash Replacement for naturally mined
aggregate (clay and shale)– Road base– Concrete block
Top Ash Cement manufacturing Ready-mix concrete
One ton of fly ash used as replacement for cement conserves landfill space to hold about 1200 lbs of waste, reduces the equivalent of 2 months of an automobile’s CO2 emissions, and saves the same amount of energy used by an average home for 19 days(US EPA, April 2005, EPA-530-K-05-002)
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Environmental Affairs
Georgia Power Ash Dam Safety
Inspections– Annual– Weekly– Daily
TrainingVegetation control Instrumentation Ash dam inspection by plant personnel
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Environmental Affairs
CCB Regulation
Currently exempt from RCRA regulation–Bevill Amendment
Regulated as an industrial waste in GeorgiaDecember 2008: Tennessee Valley Authority
impoundment failure– Triggered ash pond dam inspections and proposed
CCR rule
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Environmental Affairs
TVA Kingston, TN Spill
December 22, 2008– Failure of dam
containing fly ash– Approximately 5.4
million cubic yards of fly ash sludge were released into branch of Emory River
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Environmental Affairs
TVA Kingston, TN Spill
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Environmental Affairs
TVA Ash SpillRoot Cause Analysis
According to TVA’s web site:1. High water content of the wet ash2. Increasing height of ash3. Construction of the sloping dikes over the wet
ash4. Unusual bottom layer of ash and silt
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Environmental Affairs
EPA Ash Pond Inspections
As a result of TVA spill, EPA contractors inspected ash impoundment dam integrity
Tremendous effort by both EPA and the utilitiesEach ash pond received condition ratingReports are posted on EPA web site
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Environmental Affairs
EPA Ash Dam InspectionsCondition Ratings
Rating What it means EPA rating of 228 units inspected to date (www.EPA.gov)
Satisfactory No safety deficiencies
106
Fair Acceptable performance
67
Poor Remedial action/ investigations needed
55
Unsatisfactory Unsafe; immediate action required
0
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Environmental Affairs
Georgia Power Ash Dam InspectionsCondition Ratings
Rating What it means EPA rating of 25 units inspected to date (www.EPA.gov)
Satisfactory No safety deficiencies
22
Fair Acceptable performance
2
Poor Remedial action/ investigations needed
1 - Conditional
Unsatisfactory Unsafe; immediate action required
0
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Environmental Affairs
New Ash Rules Propose to RegulateCCRs = Coal Combustion Residues
CCRs generated by electric utilities and independent power producers
CCRs destined for disposal in– Landfills or–Surface impoundments
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Environmental Affairs
EPA’s Proposed Ash Rule: Two Main Options
RCRA Subtitle C Option: Hazardous waste regulation
RCRA Subtitle D Option: Non-hazardous, solid waste regulation
RCRA Subtitle D “Prime” Option–Slight variation of Subtitle D Option—“Useful Life”
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Environmental Affairs
Common Requirements Between Subtitles C and D
Dam Safety requirements– Design construction/maintenance documents; closure
plans; inspections ; annual certification by an independent PE
Groundwater monitoring and LinersCorrective action– Used when contamination is detected
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Environmental Affairs
RCRA Subtitle C Option
“Special Waste” classification– Subject to most hazardous waste requirements– Includes CCRs intended for disposal, not CCRs intended
for beneficial use
Federal permit requiredRegulation from generation to disposal– Including during and after closure of disposal unit
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Environmental Affairs
RCRA Subtitle C OptionSome Industry Implications
Ash Pond phase-outShortage of hazardous waste handling facilities– White House Council on Environmental Quality: Classifying
ash as hazardous waste will add about 130 M tons annually to the 2.5 M tons of hazardous waste now disposed of annually
Likely decline in beneficial reuse due to stigma– American Concrete Association: Designation of fly ash as a
‘hazardous waste’ will likely eliminate its inclusion in future project specifications for fear of possible legal exposure and liability.
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Environmental Affairs
RCRA Subtitle D Option
State-led approach; no federal permits– EPA has no direct role
Performance Standards– More focused on performance than Subtitle C Option– E.g., national performance criteria for safe disposal in
landfills
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Environmental Affairs
RCRA Subtitle D OptionSome Industry Implications
Retrofit existing surface impoundments with composite liners within 5 years - or close.–Except for D Prime option
Effect of phasing out surface impoundmentsCapacity shortagesStill higher costs; rate recovered
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Environmental Affairs
Public Comment
Closing date November 19, 2010EPA received 450,000 commentsLatest newsflash: Rule will not be finalized in
2011, due to the large amount of comments that EPA must review
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Environmental Affairs
Proper management of CCBs is an important part of the process of providing reliable, affordable, and environmentally responsible energy