Crisp County CCR Pond Closure

KEMRON was contracted by the Crisp County Power Commission to close a coal combustion residuals (CCR) pond in Warwick, Georgia.  KEMRON prepared an Erosion Sedimentation and Pollution Control Plan that was submitted to the Local Issuing Authority and approved for a Notice of Intent for construction.  Best Management Practice (BMPs) for stormwater management in the form of over 3,000 linear feet of double row silt fencing and a sedimentation basin were installed. KEMRON implemented fugitive dust control in the form of dust suppression by maintaining appropriate moisture levels, dust control by spraying of water as the dryness of the CCR/soil material warranted and Onsite monitoring of dust levels. 

 

Initially, 10 acres of organic content was removed from the surface material within pond. Once the stripping operations were complete, the area inside the ash pond was prepared inside the pond to spread out wet/saturated CCR and allow it to decant, evaporate, and dry.  A blending area and a ready to load out stockpile area was prepared.   Onsite paint filter testing was conducted of CCR and blended materials prior to load out and disposal to ensure that material was within compliance for landfilling.  Once materials met disposal criteria, they were transported for off-site disposal at the Crisp County MSW landfill.  Over 117,000 cubic yards of CCR has been excavated and disposed followed by backfilling over 20,00 cubic yards of clean backfill for site restoration. Project activities included 12,000-man hours without a recordable incident. 

KEMRON designed and implemented a wastewater treatment system (WWTS) to treat contact water pumped from the ash pond prior to discharge to the Flint River in compliance with Georgia Environmental Protection Division NPDES Discharge Permit. The WWTS consisted of: 42,000-gallon weir/equalization/sludge tanks; 800-gallons per minute suction and discharge pumps; 23 Bag Filtration Units; pH adjustment unit; 42,000-gallon effluent tanks; Coagulant/flocculent mix system; flow meters; static mixer and static mixer injection manifold; and aluminum chloride hydroxide sulfate flocculant mix.  Water samples were collected from the effluent sampling point on a weekly basis and from the Flint River and tested. Effluent and instream monitoring results were submitted to the GA EPD through an online submittal system each month following the sampling period in accordance with the NPDES Permit.