Georgia Power to begin dewatering at Plant Branch
Georgia Power announced Monday that it would begin the dewatering process at Plant Branch on March 4.
The company said in December that it would begin the dewatering process early this year. The dewatering process will move the company closer to completing the site-specific closure process through which it will completely excavate the ash ponds and store the ash in a new, lined landfill on plant property.
The Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD) approved the ash pond dewatering plan for Plant Branch last year. An independent, third-party accredited laboratory will conduct on-going testing of water quality, and testing results will be reported to EPD and provided on Georgia Power’s website. The water treatment facility operator will be on site during the entire process to oversee the dewatering operations and provide real time monitoring.
“The dewatering process at Plant Branch continues our progress to safely close the ash ponds at the site and is an important part of protecting water quality every step of the way,” Mark Berry, vice president of Environmental & Natural Resources for Georgia Power, said. “We have invested in appropriate water treatment systems and third-party accredited laboratory testing to help ensure that this process is protective of the area’s lakes and rivers.”
Plant Branch will be the fourth Georgia Power location to begin dewatering. The company has already started the process at its Bowen, McDonough and McManus plants.
The company has removed one of the five ash ponds at Plant Branch, conducted engineering and feasibility studies and filed permit applications with EPD for the remaining ash ponds at Plant Branch.
Georgia Power first announced its plan to permanently close all of its ash ponds in September 2015. In June 2016, it outlined plans to close all 29 ash ponds at 11 active and retired coal-fired power plant sites. The company is currently excavating 19 ash ponds located adjacent to lakes and rivers. The remaining 10 being will be closed in place using advanced engineering methods and closure technologies.
