Proposal approved to move tons of coal ash from Clark County power plant
The Kentucky Public Service Commission said Friday that it has approved a proposal by East Kentucky Power Cooperative to move tons of coal ash away from an aging power plant in Clark County.
Coal ash is the residue left over after coal is burned to produce electricity. The co-op plans to move the waste from the William C. Dale station, near the Kentucky River in southwestern Clark County, to a new landfill at the J.K. Smith power plant at Trapp in central Clark County.
In an order issued Friday, the PSC also approved a request to pass on the cost of the project, estimated at $26.9 million, to customers. That will add an estimated 34 cents a month to the average residential bill, according to an application the co-op filed with the state.
"EKPC is pleased with today's PSC order because it will allow us to address the coal ash at Dale Station in a safe, cost-effective and environmentally prudent manner," said Nick Comer, external affairs manager for the co-op.
The co-op, which supplies power in 87 Kentucky counties, said the plan was the least costly option of several considered to move the ash, and it would end any concern about the river being fouled with ash if a flood or earthquake hit the Dale plant, according to the application.
The ash needs to be moved because the co-op plans to shut down the last two units at the coal-fired Dale plant by April 2016 because it isn't economical to retrofit them to comply with stricter federal air quality requirements.
The two units, with a capacity of 75 megawatts each, are at least 55 years old. Two older and smaller power plants at Dale are already out of service.
The co-op said that once the Dale plant stops generating electricity, the ash ponds there must either be emptied and restored or rebuilt to meet the terms of a new permit.
In its application, East Kentucky Power said that it examined a variety of options. Two involved reconstruction of the existing ponds, two required construction of a new landfill at or near the Dale plant, and four called for moving the ash to a landfill somewhere else.
The utility stated that any plan that left the ash at the Dale site was unlikely to receive necessary environmental permits because it would leave the material in place close to the Kentucky River.
The co-op's analysis found that moving the ash to a new landfill at the Smith site was $5 million to $10 million less expensive than any of the other feasible options.
Construction of the landfill at Smith is scheduled to begin next month. Hauling of ash from Dale to Smith is likely to start in late summer or early fall and continue for 53 weeks through 2017, with breaks during the colder months.
The haul route is about 27 miles each way over state and interstate highways. The roads used to move the ash would include Ky. 627, the Winchester bypass and Ky. 89. The co-op estimated about 132 truckloads of ash a day can be moved from Dale to Smith.
An evidentiary hearing in the case was held Feb. 3.
The East Kentucky Power Cooperative system has about 520,000 retail customers in Eastern and Central Kentucky.
This story was originally published March 6, 2015 at 4:58 PM with the headline "Proposal approved to move tons of coal ash from Clark County power plant."