State approves ash disposal test runs from TVA spill site
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KNOXVILLE (WATE) -- The state has approved limited ash disposal test runs from the TVA ash spill site in Roane County to four Class I Tennessee landfills.
The approval by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) goes into effect on July 15.
The four landfills are:
Each of the landfills has liners, leachate collections systems and monitoring wells, according to TDEC spokeswoman Tisha Calabrese-Benton.
The test runs allow TVA to send five to 10 truckloads of ash to be disposed at those landfills.
However, TDEC says this doesn't necessarily mean a landfill will be used, even for the test.
TVA must provide TDEC with advance notice before any test begins so local officials can be contacted and inspectors can be at the site.
If TVA proposes any of these landfills for additional ash disposal, TDEC says more information will be required, including transportation plans and ash management plans from the landfill detailing how it will manage the ash and maintain compliance with its permit.
The approval for test runs came as a shock to some landfill neighbors and county officials.
"Stunned, that wasn't what our landfill was built for," says Loudon County Mayor Doyle Arp.
He had no idea the operator of Matlock Bend Municipal Landfill had agreed to accept TVA fly ash on a trial basis.
"That's not what the Solid Waste Commission members wanted done and I'm sure it's not what our county commissioners would have wanted done," Arp says.
He'll fight to keep the ash out of his county, and at least one neighbor of the Loudon landfill feels the same way.
"I know they have to put it somewhere, but I'm not crazy about it being next door to me," says Mark Moore.
In Anderson County, Environmental Coordinator Brian Jenks says he didn't know the private Chestnut Ridge Landfill was applying to take fly ash, but he's not worried as long as it's handled properly.
However, some people who live near that site aren't reassured.
"I don't think anybody would want that right here at their front door. It can't be healthy for the family. We've got kids. Nobody wants that around their family," says Jamie Miller.
"Just look at all the concerns they have where the fly ash spilled. If they put it up here, that causes us those same concerns," says Clara Settles.
6 News also spoke to officials in Scott and McMinn counties Wednesday. They hadn't heard about the possibility of coal ash coming to their areas either.
Scott County Mayor Rick Keeten says the Volunteer Regional Landfill in Oneida is private, but he's disappointed TVA isn't being more open with his community.
McMinn County Mayor John Gentry says the Meadow Branch Landfill in Athens is also private, and he's going to trust TDEC to protect the health and safety of his citizens.
Certainly landfill operators would profit from a TVA deal involving disposal of the fly ash. But would there also be a financial benefit to a county? And would it be enough to quell the concerns? The elected officials 6 News spoke with have been told nothing.
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