Work to close the coal ash ponds at the retired Plant Branch on Lake Sinclair in Putnam County continues as environmental groups petition to get involved through the U.S. Court of Appeals, but the effort is expected to take another 15 years.
“Closure at Plant Branch continues,” Georgia Power spokesperson John Kraft said in an email, “and Georgia Power is working with EPD on ash pond closure and landfill permits.”
This happens as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced in January that it intends to enforce a 2015 rule prohibiting utilities from dumping coal ash into unlined ponds.
Hearings were held in May in front of the Georgia Public Services Commission for three days on a plan submitted by Georgia Power in 2022 that outlines its plan to retire coal-fired power plants and replace those with natural gas and renewable energy, according to Capitol Beat News Service.
The plan includes closing all the company’s coal ash ponds at a cost of $9 billion.
Mark Quarles, a senior consultant with Chicago-based BBJ Group, testified during the hearings that any pond closures that allow coal ash to be in contact with groundwater violate the federal rule.
“Groundwater contamination is common and widespread at [Georgia Power] disposal areas,” he said. “The company commonly built large unlined impoundments in streams.”
Specifically, Quarles cited a 343-acre pond at Plant Wansley in Heard County, which he said contains more than 16 million cubic yards of waste. Another 550-acre pond at Plant Scherer in Monroe County contains more than 15 million cubic yards of waste, he said. Brandon Marzo, a lawyer repre
Brandon Marzo, a lawyer representing Georgia Power at the hearings, argued the description Quarles gave of the ash ponds at plants Wansley and Scherer does not represent the most recent information about those sites furnished by the EPD.
“It’s not what the ponds would look like after closure in place is completed,” he said.
What’s happening at Plant Branch?
Responding to an email request for information, Kraft said the dewatering process is underway “to begin quickly and safely closing all of its ash ponds, the company continues the ash pond dewatering process at Plant Branch as outlined in the site-specific dewatering plan approved by the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD).”
Work to manage stormwater on the site is complete, the spokesman said, consisting of ditches and sedimentation ponds created outside of the ash pond footprint.
“This will redirect stormwater runoff from land surrounding the project site from flowing into the ash ponds,” Kraft said.
The extra water could otherwise slow down the process to close and dewater the ponds.
“Site preparation activities, including perimeter fencing, for the pond closure project will continue at the site throughout the year in an effort to continue the progress toward final closeout of the ponds and the landfill,” he said. “This long-term process is expected to be complete in approximately 15 years.”
What’s in the plan?
The Ash Pond Dewatering Plan for Plant Branch has been approved by the EPD and was revised in October 2021. The plan is available on the EPD’s website.
The document gives background, stating that construction on Plant Branch began in 1961 and by 1969 had four units on operation. The plant provided power for decades before being retired in 2015.
The plan is to remove all four ash ponds and consolidate the ash in a new, lined onsite landfill.
The ponds originally had these volumes of water and coal ash:
• Ash Pond B: 3,303,324 cubic feet
• Ash Pond C: 4,798,749 cubic feet
• Ash Pond D: 14,407 cubic feet
• Ash Pond E: 31,108,551 cubic feet
A wastewater treatment plant will be constructed onsite and will be located within the drainage area of Plant Branch’s ash ponds during closure.
“Location of the Treatment System in this area assures that, in the unlikely event of an overflow, any water from the Treatment System remains within the NPDES wastewater drainage area of the ash pond and will not be discharged except in compliance with this Plan and the NPDES permit,” according to the plan.
Once water is pumped to the treatment plant, it will be treated with chemicals. The next step is to adjust the pH and test the water continuously. It then goes to a clarifier to settle any additional solids in the water.
Solids separated from water during the dewatering process will be disposed of in a future permitted landfill.
Once the treatment plant begins operation, samples of treated water will be tested to verify it is operating as designed.
“In the event that effluent standards are not met, the treated effluent will be recycled back to the ash pond until the Treatment System efficacy is established,” according to the plan. “Only after initial Treatment System efficacy is established will treated effluent be routed to Outfall 03.”
According to a diagram included in the plan, Outflow 03 leads to Lake Sinclair.