FILE PhotoKNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Federal environmental officials have signed off on the Tennessee Valley Authority's preferred plan for the final cleanup of spilled coal ash.
The Knoxville News Sentinel reported the Environmental Protection Agency announced on Wednesday that it had approved TVA's plan. It will be presented at a public meeting Thursday evening at Roane County High School in Kingston.
Some 5.4 million cubic yards of coal ash burst from a ruptured holding cell at the Kingston Fossil Plant on December 22, 2008.
The remaining work includes dealing with sludge that remains at the bottom of the Emory and Clinch rivers.
TVA favored a $10 million plan of relying on natural processes such as mixing, scouring and burial of remaining materials. The EPA says the plan poses a relatively low risk to wildlife.
(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
