Ash Management from Coal Fired
Power Plants
Current Practices and Potential Impact of
Proposed EPA Regulation
Rochelle Routman, PG
Environmental Specialist
Georgia Power
Environmental Affairs
Georgia Power: Who we are
Environmental Affairs
Mississippi
Power
Largest of four Southern Company electric utilities
2.3M+ customers
8,600 employees
Alabama Georgi
Georgia
Alabam
Nearly 13,000 miles of
a Power
a Power
Power
Power
transmission lines
Gulf Power
 70,000 miles of distribution
lines
 High customer satisfaction
 Rates below the national average
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Coal
US Resources
 The US has the largest
reserves of coal in the world
 Based on current
consumption, there is about
200 years of accessible
coal remaining to generate
energy
Environmental Affairs
Energy Generation
Coal is Vital
 45% of energy generated in
the US is from coal
– About 11% renewables,
including hydro
 Energy efficiency, clean
coal technology, and
renewables are necessary
to meet energy needs of the
future
Environmental Affairs
Ash
A coal combustion byproduct
Bottom Ash
•Falls to the bottom of the furnace
•Sluiced to an ash pond
Environmental Affairs
Fly Ash
•Collected by electrostatic
precipitators
•Either sluiced to an ash pond or
handled in a dry landfill
Composition of Ash
Dependant on coal source, combustion, etc.
Generally consists of silicon, aluminum, iron,
and calcium
Also contains trace amounts of heavy metals,
such as arsenic, selenium, chromium
Is classified as an industrial solid waste
Environmental Affairs
Ash Handling Facilities
Ash Landfill
Environmental Affairs
Ash Pond
Southern Co Ash Handling Practices
Fly Ash Production 2009:
3.9 Million Tons
Bottom Ash Production 2009:
1.0 Million Tons
Fly Ash Management
2009 (% of total)
Wet -- 29%
Dry -- 71%
Bottom Ash Management
2009 (% of total)
Wet --74%
Dry -- 26%
Environmental Affairs
Southern Co. Beneficial Reuse
About 30% Annually
Bottom Ash
 Replacement for naturally
mined aggregate (clay
and shale)
Top Ash
 Cement manufacturing
 Ready-mix concrete
– Road base
– Concrete block
One ton of fly ash used as replacement for
cement conserves landfill space to hold about
1200 lbs of waste, reduces the equivalent of 2
months of an automobile’s CO2 emissions, and
saves the same amount of energy used by an
average home for 19 days
(US EPA, April 2005, EPA-530-K-05-002)
Environmental Affairs
Georgia Power Ash Dam Safety
 Inspections
– Annual
– Weekly
– Daily
 Training
 Vegetation control
 Instrumentation
Environmental Affairs
Ash dam inspection by plant personnel
CCB Regulation
Currently exempt from RCRA regulation
– Bevill Amendment
Regulated as an industrial waste in Georgia
December 2008: Tennessee Valley Authority
impoundment failure
– Triggered ash pond dam inspections and proposed
CCR rule
Environmental Affairs
TVA Kingston, TN Spill
 December 22, 2008
– Failure of dam
containing fly ash
– Approximately 5.4
million cubic yards of fly
ash sludge were
released into branch of
Emory River
Environmental Affairs
TVA Kingston, TN Spill
Environmental Affairs
TVA Ash Spill
Root Cause Analysis
According to TVA’s web site:
1.
2.
3.
4.
High water content of the wet ash
Increasing height of ash
Construction of the sloping dikes over the wet
ash
Unusual bottom layer of ash and silt
Environmental Affairs
EPA Ash Pond Inspections
As a result of TVA spill, EPA contractors
inspected ash impoundment dam integrity
Tremendous effort by both EPA and the utilities
Each ash pond received condition rating
Reports are posted on EPA web site
Environmental Affairs
EPA Ash Dam Inspections
Condition Ratings
Rating
What it means
Satisfactory
No safety
deficiencies
Acceptable
performance
Remedial action/
investigations
needed
Unsafe; immediate
action required
Fair
Poor
Unsatisfactory
Environmental Affairs
EPA rating of 228
units inspected to
date (www.EPA.gov)
106
67
55
0
Georgia Power Ash Dam Inspections
Condition Ratings
Rating
What it means
Satisfactory
No safety
deficiencies
Acceptable
performance
Remedial action/
investigations
needed
Unsafe; immediate
action required
Fair
Poor
Unsatisfactory
Environmental Affairs
EPA rating of 25
units inspected to
date (www.EPA.gov)
22
2
1 - Conditional
0
New Ash Rules Propose to Regulate
CCRs = Coal Combustion Residues
CCRs generated by electric utilities and
independent power producers
CCRs destined for disposal in
– Landfills or
– Surface impoundments
Environmental Affairs
EPA’s Proposed Ash Rule:
Two Main Options
RCRA Subtitle C Option: Hazardous waste
regulation
RCRA Subtitle D Option: Non-hazardous, solid
waste regulation
RCRA Subtitle D “Prime” Option
– Slight variation of Subtitle D Option—“Useful Life”
Environmental Affairs
Common Requirements Between
Subtitles C and D
 Dam Safety requirements
– Design construction/maintenance documents; closure
plans; inspections ; annual certification by an
independent PE
 Groundwater monitoring and Liners
 Corrective action
– Used when contamination is detected
Environmental Affairs
RCRA Subtitle C Option
“Special Waste” classification
– Subject to most hazardous waste requirements
– Includes CCRs intended for disposal, not CCRs intended
for beneficial use
Federal permit required
Regulation from generation to disposal
– Including during and after closure of disposal unit
Environmental Affairs
RCRA Subtitle C Option
Some Industry Implications
 Ash Pond phase-out
 Shortage of hazardous waste handling facilities
– White House Council on Environmental Quality:
Classifying ash as hazardous waste will add about
130 M tons annually to the 2.5 M tons of hazardous
waste now disposed of annually
 Likely decline in beneficial reuse due to stigma
– American Concrete Association: Designation of fly ash
as a ‘hazardous waste’ will likely eliminate its
inclusion in future project specifications for fear of
possible legal exposure and liability.
Environmental Affairs
RCRA Subtitle D Option
 State-led approach; no federal permits
– EPA has no direct role
 Performance Standards
– More focused on performance than Subtitle C Option
– E.g., national performance criteria for safe disposal in
landfills
Environmental Affairs
RCRA Subtitle D Option
Some Industry Implications
Retrofit existing surface impoundments with
composite liners within 5 years - or close.
– Except for D Prime option
Effect of phasing out surface impoundments
Capacity shortages
Still higher costs; rate recovered
Environmental Affairs
Public Comment
Closing date November 19, 2010
EPA received 450,000 comments
Latest newsflash: Rule will not be finalized in
2011, due to the large amount of comments
that EPA must review
Environmental Affairs
Proper management of CCBs is an important
part of the process of providing reliable,
affordable, and environmentally responsible
energy
Environmental Affairs