Project underway to process 600,000 tons of coal ash annually at former Plant Branch
Source of the controversy: two buckets of coal ash at the soon-to-beactivated Plant Branch facility for treating coal ash and transforming it into a concretehardening agent. COURTESY GEORGIA POWER
All that’s left of the once-mighty, 1,007-feet-tall smokestack that towered over Plant Branch is a circular concrete base in an open field. Built in 1978, the smokestack was dropped in a controlled demolition on Oct. 15, 2016. COURTESY GEORGIA POWER
These buildings built deep on the approximately 3,200 acres of Plant Branch will provide indoor storage (left) for huge piles of coal ash before transferring to the larger building via enclosed augers (diagonal tubes) for treatment of the ash before shipping via rail cars to various concrete manufacturing plants. COURTESY GEORGIA POWER
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is considering a new permitting approach that could affect coal ash cleanup projects nationwide, including ongoing closure and recycling efforts at Georgia Power’s retired Plant Branch in southern Putnam County.
In an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking published July 14, the EPA is seeking public comment on whether it should create a temporary gener…
