EPA extends time for cleanup comments

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced today it will take public comments on the cleanup of the coal ash spill at TVA’s Kingston Fossil Plant through July 20.

EPA said it is extending the public comment period for another six weeks in response to one of the nation’s worst industrial spills last December. The federal agency, which took over the cleanup oversight for the Kingston plant in May, will receive comments online, at the Harriman Public Library or at the TVA Kingston Outreach Center, according to EPA community Involvement Coordinator Stephanie Y. Brown.

More than 5.4 million cubic yards of ash spilled from an ash storage pond at TVA’s Kingston plant three days before Christmas. TVA began dredging some of the ash from the Emory River in March and still is developing plans for removing the rest of the ash, which covers nearly 300 acres of property adjacent to the plant. TVA’s cleanup plans must be approved by both EPA and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation.