TVA and The Kingston Ash Spill

Environmental Disaster

By: Tikedra Kellum

Table of Content

• Corporate Snapshot• History• Kingston Ash spill• Plan of Action• Causes• Consequences • Questions

Corporate Snapshot

Name: Tennessee Valley AuthorityIndustry: UtilitiesSales Revenue: $11.2 BillionPower Sales: 165 Billion kwhEmployees: 12, 762Provides: 9 million people in parts of seven

southeastern states

Seven Southeastern States

History

1930s- Tennessee Valley Authority was established 1940s- 12 hydroelectric projects and a steam plant

under construction at the same time1950s- Congress passed legislation making TVA

power system self-financing1960s- Began building nuclear plants1970s- International oil embargo

History Continue

1980s- TVA cancelled several nuclear plants1990s- cut operating cost by 800 million to get

ready for competition and unveiled a new clean air strategy.

2000s- launched the green power switch program

2008- the Kingston Ash Spill

What is the Kingston Ash Spill?

• December 22, 2008 at 1 am

• Ash dike ruptured at an 84-acre solid waste containment area

• 5.4 million cubic yards of coal fly ash slurry was released

Kingston Ash Spill cont..

• Raveled across the Emory River and its Swan Pond embayment

• Covering up to 300 acres of the surrounding land, damaging homes and flowing up and down stream in nearby waterways

• Largest fly ash release in United States history

Ash spill 2008

Aerial Landscape

Plan of Action

• Contain release and minimize downstream migration

• Assist TDEC in determining the cause of the dike failure

• Support TDEC assessment of current and future impacts of release

Plan of Action cont..

• Develop and implement Corrective Action Plan

• Restore natural resources damaged by the release

• Assume financial responsibility for TDEC expenses

• Review all TVA coal ash impoundments in Tennessee

Causes

• A failure to implement recommend correction actions

• The lack of policies and procedures• Poor maintenance• The lack of specialized training• Multiple organizational structure changes• Inadequate communication• A failure to follow engineering best practices

TVA’s Consequences

• Paid $11.5 million in penalties in response to the coal ash release for violations of the Tennessee Water Quality Control Act and the Tennessee Solid Waste Disposal Act

• The containment cell will cost $175 million• Paid Roane county $4 million • Total cleanup cost in the vicinity of $1.1

billion

Then and Now

Then and Now

Questions?