ATLANTA, March 2, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Georgia Power
announced today continued progress in the company's efforts to
safely and permanently close 29 ash ponds at 11 current and former
coal-fired power plants across the state. The company initiated ash
pond closure preparation and construction activities in early 2016
with a commitment to being protective of the state's waterways. As
of March 2018, Georgia Power has
completed closure construction activities and removed all ash from
five ash ponds at Plants Branch, Kraft, McDonough and Yates. Additionally,
construction activities are currently underway at multiple sites
with closure construction efforts expected to be completed at six
additional ash ponds at Plants McDonough, McManus, Hammond and
Yates this year.
"We took early action to quickly and safely begin closing all of
our ash ponds with our top priority being to protect water quality
every step of the way," said Dr. Mark
Berry, vice president of Environmental & Natural
Resources for Georgia Power. "We are working well in advance of
regulatory deadlines and posted groundwater results 18 months ahead
of today's required federal deadline. Additionally, we are
exceeding state and federal requirements by completely excavating
17 ash ponds adjacent to waterways and using advanced engineering
methods to close the remaining 12 in place on our property."
Georgia Power's ash pond closure plans were designed to fully
comply with the federal Coal Combustion Residuals (CCR) Rule, as
well as the more stringent requirements of Georgia's state CCR Rule. Georgia was one of the first states in the
country to develop its own rule regulating management and storage
of CCR such as coal ash. The rule regulates all ash ponds and
landfills in the state and includes a comprehensive permitting
program through which the Georgia Environmental Protection Division
(EPD) will approve all actions to ensure ash pond closures are
protective of water quality.
Protecting Water Quality Throughout Ash Pond Closure
Process
Since 2016, Georgia Power has installed
approximately 500 groundwater monitoring wells around its ash ponds
and on-site landfills to actively monitor groundwater quality.
Monitoring is being conducted in compliance with federal and state
laws and regulations. The company has also engaged independent,
third-party contractors for sampling and accredited independent
laboratories for analysis. The first round of testing was completed
with results published in August
2016, more than 18 months ahead of federal requirements, and
the company has regularly posted testing results on Georgia Power's
website and reported them to the Georgia EPD. Based on the
extensive data collected, the company has identified no risk to
public health or drinking water.
Georgia Power has been a leader in the industry with its ash
pond closure process and is making significant progress in
executing the company's aggressive strategy to permanently close
its ash ponds. Ash pond closures are site-specific and balance
multiple factors such as pond size, location, geology and amount of
material; and each closure is certified by a team of independent,
professional engineers. In 2016, the company announced that all ash
ponds will stop receiving coal ash in three years and the
significant construction work necessary to accommodate the
dry-handling of ash is on track to be completed in 2019.
Georgia Power remains committed to removing all coal ash from 17
ash ponds located adjacent to lakes or rivers and using advanced
engineering methods and technologies to close the remaining 12 ash
ponds in place. The ash from all ash ponds will either be relocated
to a permitted landfill, consolidated with other closing ash ponds
on-site or recycled for beneficial use. Approximately 50 percent of
the coal ash Georgia Power produces today is recycled for various
uses such as Portland cement, concrete and cinder blocks.
Protecting Georgia's water
quality includes surface waters such as lakes and rivers through
comprehensive and customized dewatering processes. As announced in
August 2017, Georgia Power's efforts
to dewater its ash ponds are well underway and, similar to the
process in place for groundwater monitoring, results are posted to
Georgia Power's website and reported to the Georgia EPD. The
company's dewatering process treats the water removed from the ash
ponds to ensure that it meets the requirements of each plant's
wastewater discharge permits approved by the Georgia EPD and is
protective of applicable water quality standards. Read more
here.
Ensuring Reliable Energy Throughout Ash Pond Closure
Process
The company continues to work to ensure reliable
electricity for customers during the significant construction work
that must take place within each generating plant, including some
of the nation's largest power plants at Plants Bowen and Scherer,
to accommodate the handling of dry ash and complete the ash pond
closure process. These efforts include conducting work when the
plants are on planned outages or as customer demand allows
operations to accommodate the work.
Georgia Power delivers clean, safe, reliable and affordable
energy through a diverse generation mix, which includes renewable
energy, such as wind and solar, along with natural gas, nuclear and
coal-fired generation. Over the last five years, Georgia Power has
safely retired or fuel-switched approximately 4,000 MW of coal and
oil-fired generation and the company's coal-fired generation
capacity is nearly half of what it was in 2005.
About Georgia Power
Georgia Power is the largest
subsidiary of Southern Company (NYSE: SO), one of the nation's
largest generators of electricity. Value, Reliability, Customer
Service and Stewardship are the cornerstones of the company's
promise to 2.5 million customers in all but four of Georgia's 159 counties. Committed to
delivering clean, safe, reliable and affordable energy at rates
below the national average, Georgia Power maintains a diverse,
innovative generation mix that includes nuclear, 21st century coal
and natural gas, as well as renewables such as solar, hydroelectric
and wind. Georgia Power focuses on delivering
world-class service to its customers every day and the company is
consistently recognized by J.D. Power and Associates as an industry
leader in customer satisfaction. For more information, visit
www.GeorgiaPower.com and connect with the company on Facebook
(Facebook.com/GeorgiaPower) and Twitter
(Twitter.com/GeorgiaPower).
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking
Statements
Certain information contained in this
release is forward-looking information based on current
expectations and plans that involve risks and uncertainties.
Forward-looking information includes, among other things,
statements concerning the method and timing of closure of coal ash
ponds. Georgia Power Company cautions that there are certain
factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from
the forward-looking information that has been provided. The reader
is cautioned not to put undue reliance on this forward-looking
information, which is not a guarantee of future performance and is
subject to a number of uncertainties and other factors, many of
which are outside the control of Georgia Power Company;
accordingly, there can be no assurance that such suggested results
will be realized. The following factors, in addition to those
discussed in Georgia Power Company's Annual Report on
Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017, and
subsequent securities filings, could cause actual results to differ
materially from management expectations as suggested by such
forward-looking information: the impact of recent and future
federal and state regulatory changes, including environmental laws
and regulations governing air, water, land, and protection of other
natural resources, and also changes in tax and other laws and
regulations to which Georgia Power Company is subject, as well as
changes in application of existing laws and regulations; current
and future litigation or regulatory investigations, proceedings, or
inquiries; the ability to control costs and avoid cost overruns
during the development, construction and operation of facilities;
the ability to construct facilities in accordance with the
requirements of permits and licenses and to satisfy any
environmental performance standards; state and federal rate
regulations and the impact of pending and future rate cases and
negotiations, including rate actions relating to fuel and other
cost recovery mechanisms; catastrophic events such as fires,
earthquakes, explosions, floods, tornadoes, hurricanes and other
storms, droughts, pandemic health events such as influenzas, or
other similar occurrences; and the effect of accounting
pronouncements issued periodically by standard-setting
bodies. Georgia Power Company expressly disclaims any
obligation to update any forward-looking information.
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SOURCE Georgia Power