CARROLL COUNTY, Ky. —
One person was killed in a workplace accident Thursday afternoon at a coal-fired power plant in Carroll County.
The accident happened at Kentucky Utilities' Ghent Generating Station.
Officials said an employee of Contractor Tetra Tech was working near an ash pond when he slipped in.
The coroner identified the man as Aaron Bunger, 36, of Trenton, Ohio.
Officials are still working to recover his body. The coroner said the process may be slow because the area is unstable.
One person was killed in a workplace accident Thursday afternoon at a coal-fired power plant in Carroll County.
The accident happened at Kentucky Utilities' Ghent Generating Station.
Officials said an employee of Contractor Tetra Tech was working near an ash pond when he slipped in.
The coroner identified the man as Aaron Bunger, 36, of Trenton, Ohio.
Officials are still working to recover his body. The coroner said the process may be slow because the area is unstable.
Tetra Tech is working on the closure of the ash ponds.
===================Contractor dies in workplace accident at Ghent Power Plant
Posted On October 06, 2017
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A man died Thursday after a workplace accident at a coal ash pond at the Kentucky Utilities power plant in Ghent, Kentucky.
KU spokesperson Natasha Collins said the man “slipped into” the pond about noon.
Emergency responders had not recovered the man’s body from the pond as of 5:20 p.m. Thursday, Carroll County Coroner David Wilhoite said.
The worker was a KU contractor employed by Tetra Tech, an engineering consulting firm, Collins said. She had no further details on how the incident took place.
Wilhoite withheld releasing the man’s name and hometown until he and Tetra Tech could notify family members.
A Tetra Tech spokesperson said the incident was under investigation and could not answer further questions about the circumstances.
Tetra Tech is a consulting engineering firm based in California. It has offices in Lexington and Louisville.
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Kentucky Utilities announces plans to cap, close coal ash ponds at five power plant sites
January 13, 2016
Kentucky Utilities Company plans to cap and close its remaining coal ash ponds at E.W. Brown and Ghent Generating Stations and at the now-retired Green River, Pineville and Tyrone coal-fired power plants.
The details of the plans will be laid out in the utility’s environmental compliance plan, which will be submitted to the Kentucky Public Service Commission on Jan. 29. The $678 million plan is necessary to meet the environmental regulations required by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, including the Coal Combustion Residuals Rule (CCR) that became effective late last year.
The EPA’s CCR Rule established new requirements for the disposal of the byproducts left over after coal is safely burned to make electricity.
KU announced plans to cap and close its remaining coal ash ponds at E.W. Brown and Ghent Generating Stations and at the now-retired Green River, Pineville and Tyrone coal-fired power plants (Creative Commons Photo)
In order to make these operational changes, KU will seek Certificates of Public Convenience and Necessity from the KPSC to begin construction projects, and receive approval of the environmental compliance plan. The projects, which ensure that KU meets the CCR and Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) rules, include additional mercury control systems, ash pond closures, construction of process-water facilities and the second phase of the Brown landfill.
The EPA determined that coal combustion residuals are non-hazardous materials and can continue to be beneficially used to make certain authorized products and for specific uses. The CCR Rule additionally established new standards that are expected to require over the next three years commencing, or completing in some cases, the closure of ash ponds and some other on-site wet storage sites that contain coal byproducts. KU expects to begin these latest investments in the environmental improvements in 2016 and continue through 2023.
“We have managed our coal combustion residuals in a safe and compliant manner for decades; however, as regulations change, so must our operations,” said Paul W. Thompson, chief operating officer. “We extensively studied our compliance options under the new rule and determined the lowest reasonable cost option would mean capping and closing our existing ash ponds while continuing to beneficially use byproducts in a safe and practical manner that continues to meet the new requirements.”
For many years, KU beneficially reused as much of the coal byproducts produced by the facilities as economically reasonable given the demand for such applications. For example, in the last year more than 25 percent of the byproducts produced at Ghent and Trimble stations were beneficially reused offsite to create products such as concrete, wallboard and fertilizers.
KU and sister utility, Louisville Gas and Electric Company, have been moving toward dry storage facilities for a number of years. Ghent and Mill Creek stations already use dry storage facilities, and the utilities are well underway to capping and closing the former dry special waste landfill and ash pond located at the now-retired Cane Run coal-fired power plant. Dry storage site facilities at Brown, expected to be in service in 2016, and Trimble County stations also have been approved by the KPSC.
From KU Communications
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Coal Combustion Residuals Pond Closures at American Electric Power Plant
American Electric Power (AEP) retired one of its plants in West Virginia, as part of its compliance plan with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Mercury Air Toxics Standards. The plant is located along the Ohio River and the closure of the coal yard and ash disposal sites is part of the overall disposition of the plant site. AEP retained Tetra Tech to provide engineering, design, and permitting services required to close the fly ash and bottom ash ponds and the coal yard. The bottom ash pond and coal yard are designed to be clean closures and consisted of a grading plan that prevents impounding water, provides a vegetated surface, and drains toward the Ohio River. The fly ash pond will be closed by capping with soil. Following a geotechnical investigation and evaluation of the dam, a grading plan was designed to prevent ponding. The sequence of planned construction was structured to balance cut and fill between the three closure areas.
Tetra Tech provided services related to the design for removal and closure of the principal spillway, rerouting wastewater pipelines, reducing seepage from the earthen dam, re-grading the existing fly ash materials and dikes, designing a soil cap, and preparing the stormwater pollution prevention plan (SWPP) for the closure and borrow areas. Closure of the fly ash pond also required development and use of two borrow areas to obtain the necessary topsoil for the cap. Tetra Tech investigated and designed the borrow areas and prepared no-rise certifications for work within the Ohio River floodplain for submittal to the county floodplain manager.
Closure is being reviewed for approval by the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection with currently no revisions to the original design. Tetra Tech maintained AEP’s aggressive design schedule.
Tetra Tech is a leading provider of consulting and engineering services. The Company supports government and commercial clients by providing innovative solutions focused on water, environment, infrastructure, resource management, energy, and international development. With 16,000 associates worldwide (minus the dead fellow, Aaron Bunger), Tetra Tech's capabilities span the entire project life cycle.