PRESS RELEASE
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Administrator Jackson: ‘Environmental
disasters like the one last December in Kingston should never happen anywhere in
this country’
Contact: Latisha Petteway, (202) 564-4355 / petteway.latisha@epa.gov
(Washington, D.C. – March 9, 2009)
Responding to last year’s massive coal ash
spill at a Tennessee Valley Authority facility in Kingston, Tennessee, the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency today laid out new efforts to prevent future
threats to human health and the environment.
The agency’s plan includes measures to gather critical coal ash impoundment
information from electrical utilities nationwide, conduct on-site assessments to
determine structural integrity and vulnerabilities, order cleanup and repairs
where needed, and develop new regulations for future safety.
“Environmental disasters like the one last December in Kingston should never
happen anywhere in this country,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. “That
is why we are announcing several actions to help us properly protect the
families who live near these facilities and the places where they live, work,
play and learn.”
The December 2008 release of coal ash from TVA’s Kingston, Tennessee facility
flooded more than 300 acres of land, damaging homes and property. Coal ash from
the release flowed into the Emory and Clinch rivers, filling large areas of the
rivers and killing fish. TVA cost estimates for the clean-up range between $525
million and $825 million, which does not include long-term cleanup costs.
In letters today, EPA requested that electric utilities that have surface
impoundments or similar units provide information about the structural integrity
of their units. EPA estimates there may be as many as 300 such units. These
information requests are legally enforceable and must be responded to fully.
Working closely with other federal agencies and the states, EPA will review the
information provided by the facilities to identify impoundments or similar units
that need priority attention. EPA also will visit many of these facilities to
see first hand if the management units are structurally sound.
The agency will require appropriate remedial action at any facility that is
found to pose a risk for potential failure.
The assessment and analysis of all such units located at electric utilities in
the U.S. will be compiled in a report and made available to the public.
EPA is also moving forward quickly to develop regulations to address the
management of coal combustion residuals. EPA anticipates having a proposed rule
ready for public comment by the end of the year.
More information on the letter to electric utilities:
http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/nonhaz/industrial/special/fossil/coalashletter.htm
03-09-2009