Tanners Creek Development LLC Lays Out Plans To Cap Former Slag Pond, Processing Area

IDEM will accept written public comments about the plan for a period of 30 days.

(Lawrenceburg, Ind.) - A virtual public meeting took place Thursday night to discuss the closure and post-closure plans for the former Unit 4 Slag Pond and the former Bottom Ash Procession Area at the former Tanners Creek Power Plant in Lawrenceburg.

Tanners Creek Development LLC purchased the former Tanners Creek Generating Station in October of 2016. Since then, rumors have swirled that the site would eventually be turned into Indiana’s Fourth Port.

That is still very much a possibility, but environmental studies and plans to remove or cap existing fly ash at the former power plant site have slowed things from moving forward.

This past May, the Indiana Department of Environmental Management approved a plan by Tanners Creek Development LLC to close the fly ash pond (FAP) at the former Tanners Creek Power Plant site in Lawrenceburg.

At Thursday's meeting, Tanners Creek Development LLC discussed its plans for the former Unit 4 Slag Pond (Area 1) and Bottom Ash Procession Area (Area 2) 

Those areas were inspected by IDEM in October of 2018. The inspection revealed that Area 1 encompasses approximately two acres of coal combustible waste, while Area 2 houses approximately 17 acres of coal combustible waste.

Both areas were identified by IDEM as “open dumps” and do not fulfill the requirements of a legally acceptable land disposal method.

Open dumps are defined as a land disposal site at which solid wastes are disposed of in a manner that does not protect the environment.

The first step of Tanners Creek Development LLC’s plan is Closure by Removal in Area 1. Coal combustion waste in Area 1 will be excavated and removed material will be incorporated to Area 2.

Once that is done, collection and analysis of soil samples will be taken for analysis of background concentrations and various chemicals of concern. Confirmation sample results will then be compared to the background soil concentration obtained from an area that has not been impacted by the historic site operations.

Then, six inches of cover soil will be placed over the excavation area and vegetation will be established on the cover system.

No post closure care is proposed by Tanners Creek Development LLC for Area 1.

The Area 2 Closure Plan assumes that approximately 16,000 cubic yards of material will be excavated from Area 1 and placed in Area 2. Once the area is regarded for positive draining, a minimum two-feet thick clay cover will be installed, followed by six inches of topsoil and vegetation.

Cover soil materials will be taken predominately from borrow areas located off the work site. Work will be designed to minimize truck traffic on local highways.

Dust suppression plans will also be implemented. When asked how this might impact the nearby Dearborn Trail, Tanners Creek Development LLC stated that work should not impact walkers or bikers on the trail.

Post closure care of Area 2 will be required for a minimum 30 years unless modified by IDEM. Obligations including annual inspections and reporting, maintenance, groundwater monitoring and security.

A total of 15 wells will be monitored. Currently, Tanners Creek Development LLC is unable to answer if the ash in Area 2 is in contact with groundwater at this time, stating they need to get wells in the ground and take a look at ground water elevation. 

The closure and post closure design packages for Area 1 and Area 2 have been submitted to IDEM for review.

IDEM will accept written public comments for a period of 30 days. Questions and comments can be submitted to:

John Hale, Permit Manager

IDEM – Office of Land Quality – Solid Waste Permits

IGCN 1101

100 North Senate Avenue

Indianapolis, Indiana 46204-2251

jhale@idem.in.gov.

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