As East Kentucky Power Cooperative (EKPC) prepares to deactivate Dale Station power plant in Clark County, Ky., in 2015, the cooperative is planning to remove coal ash stored at the plant site and transport it to a permitted coal ash landfill at another Clark County power plant.
Beginning in 2015, EKPC plans to excavate the ash and transport it by truck to Smith Station, a 3,270-acre power plant site in Trapp, Ky., in southeastern Clark County.
“This plan will remove coal ash from close proximity to the Kentucky River,” said Don Mosier, EKPC’s chief operating officer. “We believe this is the most cost-effective, least risky and most environmentally prudent option for managing the ash stored at Dale Station.”
The coal ash at the 80-acre Dale Station power plant is stored in two ash ponds and a coal ash storage area. Dale Station is located in Ford, Ky., approximately 10 miles southwest of Winchester, Ky. Most of the power plant site was constructed within the 100-year floodplain of the Kentucky River.
With 3,270 acres, Smith Station provides ample buffer between the landfill and neighboring properties. Smith Station is the site of EKPC’s natural gas-fueled generating units. The newly permitted landfill at Smith Station is engineered to comply with current special waste regulations and will include such features as a final protective cap and liner system.
EKPC has requested the approval of the Kentucky Public Service Commission to build the permitted landfill at Smith Station and to recover the cost of building the landfill and moving the coal ash.
Excavation and hauling of ash is planned begin in late summer 2015 and continue until late 2017. Work is planned to take place from late spring through autumn.
The cost to remove and transport the ash and to construct the special waste landfill at Smith Station is estimated at approximately $27 million.
Dale Station has been in operation since the 1950s and is EKPC’s oldest power plant. The plant will be deactivated in April 2015 as stringent federal environmental regulation take effect for coal-fueled power plants.
The Dale Station property will continue to be an important asset for EKPC. The property is the site of important electric transmission facilities, including transmission lines and a substation, which must continue to operate after the generating units are deactivated.
Story provided by East Kentucky Power Cooperative
