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Judge Rules TVA Must Move Gallatin Coal Ash

August 5, 2017

A federal judge on August 4 said the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) must dig up coal ash at one of its power plants and move it to a lined waste site. The order came in a suit filed by the Tennessee Scenic Rivers Association (TSRA) and the Tennessee Clean Water Network (TCWN), who said coal ash stored at the TVA’s Gallatin Fossil Plant has been polluting the nearby Cumberland River for decades in violation of the Clean Water Act.

U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw in Nashville, Tenn., said that although there is little evidence thus far that seeping coal ash has polluted the river, uncertainty about future pollution and its possible danger will continue to create conflicts, and moving the ash is the best way to resolve an “untenable situation that has gone for far too long.” The Southern Environmental Law Center in 2014 announced its intention to represent the two environmental groups in the suit.

The case involves a coal ash pit at Gallatin that was closed in 1970, but where the coal ash ponds remain in use.…

DTE Plans New 1,100-MW Gas Plant Near Detroit

August 3, 2017

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DTE Energy has filed plans with the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) to build a 1,100-MW natural gas-fired power plant on about 100 acres east of the existing Belle River Power Plant, northeast of Detroit near the Canadian border. The August 1 filing confirms the proposal that DTE discussed with local officials last fall for a new plant at the site. DTE said it expects the plant will begin operating in 2022.

The proposed $ 1 billion plant, located in East China Township in St. Clair County, is part of the utility’s plan to replace coal-fired electricity production in the region as it seeks to reduce carbon emissions by 30% by the early 2020s, and by more than 80% by 2050. DTE has said it will retire three coal-fired plants, located in Trenton, River Rouge, and St. Clair in the Detroit area, between 2020 and 2023. The certificate of necessity filed with the MPSC calls for construction of the new plant to begin in 2019, pending state approval; the state has 270 days to respond to the filing.…

UPDATED: SCANA, Santee Cooper Abandon V.C. Summer AP1000 Nuclear Units, Citing High Costs

August 1, 2017

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SCANA Corp. and Santee Cooper have ceased construction of Units 2 and 3 at the V.C. Summer Nuclear Station in South Carolina.

The project owners said the decision, prompted by analysis of detailed schedule and cost data, would save customers nearly $ 7 billion. The project, which was about 64% complete, has been in limbo since key contractor Westinghouse filed for bankruptcy in March.

The decision comes just days after Westinghouse’s parent company Toshiba agreed to pay the two project owners nearly $ 2.2 billion to cap its liabilities from the unfinished nuclear project. Toshiba reached a similar $ 3.7 billion agreement with Southern Co. in June as it seeks to limit its liabilities from the Vogtle project. Both AP1000 nuclear projects are years behind schedule and billions of dollars over budget.

Construction continues at the two Vogtle AP1000 units in Georgia. A project owner, Georgia Power, on July 28 told POWER that it expects to complete the cost-to-complete and schedule assessment by the end of August.…

Toshiba Will Pay $2.2 Billion to Exit Summer Nuclear Project

July 29, 2017

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SCANA Corp. and state-owned utility Santee Cooper on July 27 said Toshiba has agreed to pay nearly $ 2.2 billion to cap its liabilities from the unfinished V.C. Summer nuclear project in South Carolina. Toshiba subsidiary Westinghouse, which was building two nuclear units at the Summer site along with the troubled Vogtle nuclear project in Georgia, filed for bankruptcy in March.

Toshiba reached a similar $ 3.7 billion agreement with Southern Co. in June as it seeks to limit its liabilities from the Vogtle project. Both AP1000 nuclear projects are years behind schedule and billions of dollars over budget.

Decision on Summer’s Future Expected Soon

SCANA, represented by principal subsidiary South Carolina Electric & Gas Co. (SCE&G), and Santee Cooper in a statement on July 27 said they expect the cost to complete the Summer plant will “materially exceed” both Westinghouse’s estimates for completion and the payments from Toshiba, outlined as $ 2.168 billion over a five-year period. SCANA and Santee Cooper said they expect to decide soon whether they will continue with Summer’s construction, modify the project, or abandon it.…

House Appropriators Approve EPA Funding Bill with Deep Cuts

July 25, 2017

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The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is facing a $ 528 million cut to its funding under the Interior and Environment Appropriations bill reported out of committee July 18. While Democrats on the House Appropriations Committee expressed disappointment in the deep cut, it could have been worse.

The Trump administration’s budget request, released in late May, proposed EPA funding of $ 5.655, a cut of $ 2.345 billion. In contrast, the House bill would fund EPA at $ 7.5 billion, a level Appropriations Committee Chairman Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-N.J.) says “will ensure that the agency is able to fulfill its core duties while streamlining the agency and reshaping its workforce.”

Dems Sneer at Funding Cuts

The other side of the aisle had a very different take on the EPA funding level in the bill, saying that $ 7.5 billion in funding is not only inadequate, it is all but certain to tank the bill entirely. “It is outrageous to think that Republicans would threaten another government shutdown rather than work with Democrats to enact government funding bills even though they know any legislation will require Democratic votes to become law,” Committee Ranking Member Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.)…

No Detectable Toxins in Water Near Memphis Plant, Says TVA

July 23, 2017

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A Tennessee utility company on July 20 said tests on drinking water in the vicinity of a coal-fired power plant in Memphis showed no detectable evidence of arsenic, lead, and other toxins. The Sierra Club asked state officials to perform the tests after high levels of arsenic were found in monitoring wells at the Allen Fossil Plant.

Memphis Light, Gas and Water (MLGW) said in a statement that the tests were conducted by an independent lab on 10 wells at the Allen site. The wells, which monitor pollution from coal ash ponds at the plant, supply water to a pumping station near the plant, which is operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA).

The Tennessee Department of Environment & Conservation (TDEC) asked MLGW to test the wells after recent water samples showed one well had high levels of arsenic, reported as more than 300 times the federal drinking-water standard, and traces of lead were found in two wells. The monitoring wells at the plant are about 50 feet deep and are located about a half-mile from much-deeper wells the TVA has drilled into the Memphis Sand aquifer, which supplies drinking water to Memphis.…