The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection has just issued a new report outlining the findings of a review of the state’s coal-ash impoundments.
The entire report is posted here on WVDEP’s Web site. I’m still reading, but here are a couple of highlights:
– WVDEP concluded that most impoundments met the state’s dam safety rule requirements for stability.
– At least one major site, the Conner Run Dam in Marshall County (see graphic above) “has the unusual issue of major seepage from the reservoir through a hillside abutment.”
– Through this review, WVDEP discovered two American Electric Power dams in Mason County (called the Little Broad Run dams) that are not designed or constructed to comply with state dam safety rules.
– Based on National Inventory of Dams criteria, of the 20 fly-ash dams in West Virginia, eight are in satisfactory condition, seven are in fair condition, three are in poor condition and two are in unsatisfactory condition.
Brian Long, coordinator of WVDEP’s dam safety program, said:
We were able to identify stability issues along some embankment slopes, but largely the problems we noted involved control of animals and vegetation.
The agency is requiring the owners to address any issues found at their sites to bring them into satisfactory condition. In addition, we issued an administrative order to AEP for the two dams that were discovered during the DEP inspection to compel compliance with current dam safety standards.
Gazette readers may recall that WVDEP Secretary Randy Huffman ordered this review back in January, after we reported that most of the coal-ash dams in West Virginia had not been examined by a state inspector for at least five years.
Subscribe to the Coal Tattoo
Getting beyond just words about dam safety — identifying and addressing risks — has not happen after many decades of “effort.”
Until just several years ago, Lake Okeechobee wasn’t even listed as a dam in the national inventory.
https://nid.usace.army.mil/
Congress first authorized the US Army Corps of Engineers to inventory dams in the United States with the National Dam Inspection Act (Public Law 92-367) of 1972. The NID was first published in 1975, with a few updates as resources permitted over the next ten years.
Association of State Dam Safety Officials
http://www.damsafety.org/
ASDSO is a non-profit organization of state and federal dam safety regulators, dam owners/operators, dam designers, manufacturers/suppliers, academia, contractors and others interested in dam safety. Our mission is to advance and improve the safety of dams by supporting the dam safety community and state dam safety programs, raising awareness, facilitating cooperation, providing a forum for the exchange of information, representing dam safety interests before governments, providing outreach programs, and creating a unified community of dam safety advocates.
The 2010 Southeast Regional Conference will be held May 3-6 in Charleston, WV
Latest Dam Safety News
http://www.damsafety.org/news/article.aspx?a=8&p=34b49ab1-b1d0-47b6-a5e3-8ab190b291df
I just looked over the report (44 pages).
I find no mention of engineering designs and inspections by the owners of the structures.
Additionally, like in other states, there is a West Virginia Society of Professional Engineers, http://www.wvengineers.com/wvspe/ which has a principle role in this issue. That society’s involvement seems to missing as well as the involvement of the West Virginia Board of Professional Engineers, http://www.wvpebd.org/
The role of WVDEP should be to review the safety measures being taken by those who are responsible, not to assume the responsibities. The WVDEP report is silent on how well or badly the dam safety engineers are fulfilling their professional responsibilities which is the MAIN issue.
Of course, OSM(RE) should be concerned about this too.
Ken,
Per our phone conversation, I went to find the press release that you had mentioned.
I do not find anything in it to be assuring about holding dam safety engineers responsible. In fact, the statement: “…largely the problems we noted involved control of animals and vegetation,” tells me that basic elementary issues were unaddressed — an indication that nothing was being done by anybody.
DEP Fly Ash Dam Report Released (2).doc
November 06, 2009
(Excerpts)
“We were able to identify stability issues along some embankment slopes, but largely the problems we noted involved control of animals and vegetation,” Long said. “The agency is requiring the owners to address any issues found at their sites to bring them into satisfactory condition.
—
In addition to field inspections, Dam Safety engineers reviewed documentation of current embankment stability provided by engineers secured by the owners.
—-
“In addition to monitoring the dams to ensure the requirements are met, the Dam Safety Program will review applications and associated engineering documents to ensure that proposed modifications meet safety standards. “
[...] in mind that a separate review by the WVDEP’s dam safety section not only found its own problems with these two Sporn dams, but also found two other coal-ash dams [...]