A $74.2 million project to clean up the coal ash stored at the Savannah River Site is progressing through its second phase, with roughly two-and-a-half years left to complete the work, a site official reported this week.
The D Area Ash Project involves 1.3 million cubic yards of ash stored on 90 acres of land at the Department of Energy facility in South Carolina. The ash was generated from coal-fueled facilities once used to power the site.
The department announced 2011 that it was shutting down its coal operations at Savannah River in favor of cleaner, energy-efficient technology. In 2014, SRS reported that it would rehabilitate the 90-acre plot by removing tens of millions of gallons of water and all of the coal ash.
Karen Adams, from the SRS Office of Assistant Manager for Infrastructure and Environmental Stewardship, gave an update on the project Monday to the SRS Citizens Advisory Board (CAB). The goal for SRS is to clean and close out two coal ash basins, where the ash is stored, a water runoff basin, and an ash landfill once the material is emptied and covered inside.
Adams said the site wrapped up Phase 1 of the project last year. That included the Aug. 31 mechanical completion of the 488-4D Ash Landfill, meaning all of the major work is done and waiting for DOE approval. The landfill is a 17-acre facility within the larger, 210-acre D Area Operable Unit. Phase 1 also included the Sept. 23, 2016, mechanical completion of ash removal from ash basin 488-2D. The ash was then consolidated into 488-4D; a geosynthetic layer of protection, made up of a dirt and clay mixture, was then placed over the top to keep the ash from posing a human or environmental threat, and preventing rain from seeping through into the ash.
Phase 2 of the D Area Ash Project includes completing work for basin 488-1D and the 489-D Coal Pile Runoff Basin, which collected water runoff from the coal area. Adams said workers in August began discharging the water from the runoff basin so they can remove excess coal and contaminated soil. The material is being placed in 488-1D, where it will be covered by another geosynthetic layer. Mechanical completion of Phase 2 is slated for February 2018. DOE then expects to approve completion of the project by July 2019.
CAB member Susan Corbett expressed concerns about the toxicity of the coal ash. However, Adams said the ash isn’t nearly as detrimental as the coal itself. “Coal ash is not a contaminant migration threat to the groundwater,” she said. “There is a small ecological risk with coal ash; but the way in which we’re closing these would prevent that risk.”
