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Coal Ash Survey Results

Highlights

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Responses From Electric Utilities to EPA Information Request Letter

EPA has received responses to the March and April 2009 Information Request Letters. Posted below are all of the responses, with the exception of information claimed as confidential business information covering 219 facilities and 584 surface impoundments and similar management units. EPA will review all confidential business information claims and will post all information that is determined not to meet confidential business information criteria. Additional facility responses will be posted on this website as EPA completes a quality review. In summary, the 219 facilities that responded to EPA’s information request are located in 35 states. Of the 584 surface impoundments and similar management units covered in these responses, 194 units (or 33 percent) have been given a potential hazard rating under the National Inventory of Dams criteria. Of the 194 units that have been rated, 49 units (or 25 percent) are rated as High Hazard Potential; 60 units (or 31 percent) are rated as Significant Hazard Potential; 77 units (or 40 percent) are rated as Low Hazard Potential; and 8 units (or 4 percent) are rated as Less than Low Hazard Potential. On the other hand, 390 units (or 67 percent) have not received a hazard potential rating. The hazard potential ratings do not assess the stability of these units; the ratings assess the potential for loss of life or environmental and economic damage. Units rated as High Potential Hazard are those where failure will probably cause loss of life.

In addition, of the 584 surface impoundments and similar units covered in these responses, 405 (or 70 percent) were designed by a professional engineer and 134 have been inspected by a State inspector in the last year. The units show considerable variation in height, with 75 units (or 13 percent) being reported as greater than 50 feet in height; 120 units (or 20 percent) being reported as greater than 25 feet, but less than 51 feet in height; 251 units (or 43 percent) being reported as greater than 6 feet, but less than 26 feet in height; 38 units (or 7 percent) being reported as greater than 0 feet, but less than 7 feet in height; and 100 units (or 17 percent) being reported as having no height.

Based on the initial information and site visits to date, the Agency has not encountered any issue which required immediate action or attention on the part of the utility or federal or state government. That is not to say that the site visits haven’t noted some areas that should be addressed, such as maintenance activities and correcting the low areas of the dam crest by placing engineered fill. Any recommendations that EPA believes are appropriate will be provided to the company, as well as placed in the final report that will be made available to the public.

Note: Progress Energy has withdrawn their claims of confidential business information (CBI). The CBI claims made by Alabama Power Company, Duke Energy Corporation, First Energy Generation Corporation, Georgia Power Company, Gulf Power Company, and Mississippi Power Company are still under deliberation and have yet to be accepted or denied by the EPA. Until these claims are resolved, the agency has redacted (removed) the following information from the coal ash survey results and survey responses from these companies. References to this information has also been removed in the coal ash reports.

CBI Claims
Company that Claims CBI Survey Question(s) Claimed Confidential
Alabama Power Company 5, 6, 7, 8
Duke Energy Corporation 8
First Energy Generation Corporation - Little Blue Run Dam 8
Georgia Power Company 5, 6, 7, 8
Gulf Power Company 5, 8
Mississippi Power Company 5, 6, 7, 8

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