TVA puts coal ash burial plan on hold
Move to use Whitehaven miffed Memphis leaders
The Tennessee Valley Authority paused plans Friday to bury coal ash from the Allen Fossil Plant in Memphis. For now.
What seemed like a done deal on Tuesday, when TVA told the Memphis City Council of the plans to relocate ash from the southwest Memphis power plant to a Whitehaven-area landfill, changed to something less than a certainty by Friday.
The federal power provider, reacting to consternation from Memphis politicians who were taken by surprise by its Tuesday disclosure, announced it would further “listen and engage with our customers, communities, and the people we are privileged to serve.”
“Although we have undertaken a lengthy public engagement process over the last few years on the Allen restoration project, there is always more we can do to listen to our neighbors,” TVA said in a statement. “We look forward to listening and engaging with our community partners as we work together to safely remove the coal ash and restore the Allen site for the benefit of the community.”
What TVA did not say is that it is canceling plans for the ash to be buried at the South Shelby landfill east of Whitehaven. The pause is just that, a pause. The company has not committed to reconsidering where it will bury the coal ash.
TVA officials might not be keen to admit it, but the pause reflects a political and public relations adjustment from the agency.
When TVA told the council the news Tuesday, it did not go over well. Multiple members were miffed. The method of disclosure took many in Memphis by surprise. The adjustment shows that TVA is not keen on making political errors at a time when Memphis, Light, Gas and Water is literally taking bids from the private sector on the power plants it would use if it left TVA.
TVA’S decision also comes as local advocates and officials were criticizing the company for a lack of transparency.
“Why would we permit this dangerous byproduct of electricity production to be stored permanently near residential areas, when alternatives – including nearby Tunica – are an option?” U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, D-mem
phis, said in a statement to The Commercial Appeal on Wednesday. “I am also concerned about the level of transparency that was involved in this process and strongly urge TVA to adequately inform the public of its decision-making process that led to this decision.”
A rush to get project going, before permits are in place
Sarah Houston, executive director of Protect Our Aquifer, said in an interview Thursday that TVA could have communicated its decision to Memphis better, and it seemed the company was in a rush to start even when it didn’t have all of its permitting.
“I think they could have done a better job of having more public outreach, more communication about these sites and what stages they’ve actually been in on the selection process. The way they’ve been talking about it is that it’s a done deal. But we now know that TDEC has not finalized that permit,” Houston said. “And so what are those questions that are hampering that decision?”
A public records request for TVA’S applications to the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation for coal ash remediation at Allen had not been returned as of Friday. TDEC confirmed that it has not approved TVA’S remediation plan or its special waste permit, the permission it needs to move a substance such as coal ash.
TVA has also not gotten the permits it could need from the City of Memphis to transport the ash across the city’s streets.
Dan Springer, deputy chief operating officer for the city of Memphis, said the city’s engineering department had not received an oversized load permit request from TVA.
Samuel Hardiman covers Memphis city government and politics for The Commercial Appeal. He can be reached by email at samuel.hardiman@commercialappeal.com or followed on Twitter at @samhardiman.