Jul. 17--The Tennessee Valley Authority has revised a report to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and is raising from "low" to "high" the potential risk at four coal ash storage impoundment sites.

The sites -- Bull Run and Cumberland in Tennessee, as well as Colbert and Widows Creek in Alabama -- now will be among a list of high-hazard potential impoundments released recently by EPA, according to TVA Chief Operating Officer Bill McCullum.

Mr. McCullum said new inspections indicate there is no "immediate hazard" at the remaining ash sites, but he said TVA will spend about $15 million this year shoring up the impoundments, removing trees and repairing erosion damage.

He talked Thursday about the revised risk classification and other ash site changes as TVA released the early findings of what eventually will be a two-year study of the structural integrity of its ash pond and landfill berms and dams.

TVA commissioned Stantec Consulting Services in the wake of an earthen berm collapse in December at Kingston, Tenn. That spill dumped 1.2 billion gallons of toxic, wet coal ash into the Emory River and onto rural residential land.

"This is a very rigorous analysis," Mr. McCullum said of Stantec's work. He said TVA will spend about $10 million this year for the company's continuing investigations.

"There wasn't any feedback we got from Stantec indicating that there is any immediate failure hazard," he said. "In parallel with that we also have moved to make changes in our management of coal combustion products."

"We did some things pretty quickly, including lowering water levels at a couple of the facilities. That gives you the effect of giving you more margin (for safety). Regardless of what the risk might be, lowering water would gain you more margin," he said.

John Kammeyer, TVA vice president of coal combustion products, projects and engineering, called the 400-plus-page Stantec report "a snapshot in time," but he said he found no surprises.

"I wouldn't call them surprises, but there were a few things in there that were interesting and that helped us prioritize our work," he said.

He said TVA is taking a very conservative approach to making sure the ash storage sites are safe.

"We added riprap on the outsides in places to anchor (sites)," he said. "We're clearing brush and fixing erosion."

Asked why maintenance issues that Mr. Kammeyer referred to as "normal" would require $15 million, he pointed to the fact that there are 12 ash storage sites in three states.

"When you're talking 11 or 12 facilities and one like Paradise (coal plant) that covers 3,500 acres, it adds up quick," Mr. Kammeyer said.

Raising risk classification

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Mr. McCullum said EPA personnel asked TVA some months ago about the utility's classifications for the impoundments under the national dam safety inventory.

The classifications are based on potential consequences of failure, not on potential for failure. They also are made by the inspectors, which in TVA's case was TVA itself.

"We provided EPA the most recent classification we had," Mr. McCullum said, "and we indicated we would be reviewing and revising those classifications."

EPA subsequently released a report of the 44 highest risk coal impoundments, and TVA was not among them.

"If EPA (now) were to put out a list of all the impoundments classified as high, then ours ... would be on the list," Mr. McCullum said.

He said TVA will spend still more money next year on the coal impoundments, including changing future storage methods from wet to dry.

The utility also will be working to make changes at the impoundments now classified as high hazard to bring them to a lower classification -- including possibly taking some coal storage sites out of service, changing their height or putting other barriers in place.

He said he could not provide a date or a cost estimate on changing TVA's coal ash storage method from wet to dry across the system.

Sarah McCoin, a Harriman resident, scoffed at TVA's "revised" hazard rating and questioned how it happened.

"Oversight or inept?" she asked. "At this point, billions have been spent by TVA to clean up a broken system. ... Only recently has TVA's methods been questioned by communities, professionals, and high-ranking elected officials and government agencies."

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