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Home My WebLink AboutNC0004961_SOC # S16-005_20170126January 26, 2017 Corey Basinger Mooresville Regional Supervisor North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality Division of Water Resources Regional Water Quality Operations Section 601 East Center Avenue, Suite 301 Mooresville, NC 28115 Bob Sledge North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality Water Quality Permitting Program Division of Water Resources 1617 Mail Service Center Raleigh, NC 27699-1617 James Wells Vice President Environmental, Health & Safety - Coal Combustion Products 526 South Church Street Mail Code EC12H Charlotte, NC 28202 (980)373-9646 VECEIVEDiNGDEGID\P't-t iAN�l 0 i''17 wat,.r Quality on P,sr,agIng Subject: Report Under Special Order by Consent - SOC No. S16-005 Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC - Riverbend Steam Station NPDES Permit NC0004961 Dear Mr. Basinger and Mr. Sledge: On behalf of Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC ("DEC'), I am submitting to you the Riverbend Steam Station Progress Report summarizing the work and activities undertaken with respect to closure of coal ash surface impoundments as required by the Riverbend Steam Station NPDES Permit NC0004961 Special Order by Consent ("SOC'), SOC No. S16-005 Section 2. d. Please direct any questions concerning the Riverbend Steam Station NPDES Permit NC0004961 SOC No. S16-005 to Brad Loveland at (704) 609-5637. Sincerely, Jam Wells Vice President, Environment, Health & Safety - Coal Combustion Products Duke Energy CC: Richard Baker, Duke Energy Brad Loveland, Duke Energy Rick Massey, Duke Energy NPDES PERMIT NC0004961 SPECIAL ORDER BY CONSENT EMC SOC WO S16-005 QUARTERLY EXCAVATION PROGRESS REPORT RIVERBEND STEAM STATION JANUARY 26, 2017 Riverbend Special Order by Consent Quarterly Closure Progress Report January 26, 2016 I. Background and Summary On November 10, 2016, Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC ("DEC") and the North Carolina Environmental Management Commission entered into the Special Order by Consent as part of the North Carolina NPDES Permit NC0004961 — EMC SOC WQ S 16-005 ("SOC"). This report is submitted in accordance with paragraph 2. d of the SOC. In compliance with paragraph 2. d. this report summarizes the work and activities undertaken with respect to closure of coal ash surface impoundments at the Riverbend Steam Station. In an effort to provide context, the first report will provide summaries from the past six months. The quarterly reports are due no later than the last day of January, April, July, and October for the duration of the SOC. A. Riverbend Steam Station Closure Summary Riverbend is located off of Horseshoe Bend Beach Road near the town of Mt. Holly in Gaston County, North Carolina, on the south bank of the Catawba River. The site contains two ash basins, as well as the Dry Ash Stack and the Cinder Pit. As of April 2013, all of the coal- fired units were retired. `As of January 13, 2017, the Primary Ash Basin contains approximately 2,600,000 tons of ash that remains from the original inventory and the Secondary Ash Basin contains approximately one million tons. The North Carolina Coal Ash Management Act of 2014 ("CAMA") state law requires that ash from the Riverbend Plant's ash basins be excavated and relocated to a lined facility with the ash basins closed by August 1, 2019. As of January 13, 2017, the Riverbend site had completed Phase I and has transported 1,600,032 tons of ash from the station, representing 30% of the total. A total of 1,450,735 tons of ash was excavated from the Riverbend site in 2016. Ash was primarily excavated from the Ash Stack, but initial excavation work in the Primary Ash Basin began on September 9, 2016. Rail yard and rail load -out area improvements were also completed in 2016 to allow transportation of ash by rail to the Brickhaven Structural Fill site. On July 11, 2016, Duke Energy received approval of the Intermediate Dam Decommissioning Plan from the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality ("NCDEQ"). The decommissioning of the intermediate dam will take place in 2017 and excavation of the Ash Stack and Ash Basins will continue, as well as continued transportation by rail. Bulk dewatering of the Secondary Ash Basin began in January 2016, but was halted in response to the NCDEQ letter dated July 20, 2016 adding additional requirements to its December 17, 2015 'Decanting of Coal Ash Impoundments to Mitigate Seepage" letter. A Waste Water Treatment facility was completed to satisfy these requirements and Duke Energy submitted an application to modify its NPDES Wastewater Permit to include controls to be implemented during dewatering activities. The modified permit became effective on December 1, 2016 and dewatering of the Secondary Ash Basin resumed under the permission of NCDEQ 2 Riverbend Special Order by Consent Quarterly Closure Progress Report January 26, 2016 and the current NPDES permit. In 2017, bulk dewatering at Riverbend will be completed and treatment/discharge of interstitial water will begin. Within the current reporting period, there have not been any critical milestone activities reached. The Riverbend site is on track to comply with the CAMA deadline of complete excavation of the ash basins by August 1, 2019, with an expected completion date of March 3, 2019. Ash Transported Off Site in Thousands of Tons I July 2016 to January 2017 Riverbend 20 is 16 ` 1,450 14 -.. 1,300 1,150 22 3--• ----- -- 1.400 3 r 10 _.._ __. _ ., __. _ _. __ ._ d c 850 g 700 p 6 550 fl . . � e _� S { � St7 404 1f 250 j�€11iIkI (3tgpC sj{((� _- _ 140 4 .. s.. .. ..1. �4ff d:>.H 1 i.. s.'. _ t?!!l . I;l�i fi�1. ,1\'� ,��01��Gi^�•�'L^`•tai 4110,'L$\yP101 9\1 9�Qi 9\11* 411141,0 -�P O��b O�,ti'1.O`•t01,��A 1�,�'��•�� 1�,tih �,a'L�,y��i �y6h`,t'��`.�O ,�`6 ��,Y3 ��y0 'Y 1 1 '4 1 7 h 4 '1• 19Plan M Actual Ash Transported Off Site in Millions of Tons Riverbend 6,000,000 5,000,000 4,000,000 a 0 3,000,000 Plan CA c 0 2,000,000 Actual 1,000,000 0 05/01/15 05/01/16 05/01/17 05/01/18 c0Az _ ®� �+CO � C CN4 CD 3 Riverbend Special Order by Consent Quarterly Closure Progress Report January 26, 2016 II. Conclusion Duke Energy will continue to provide its Quarterly Closure Progress Reports for the duration of the Riverbend SOC summarizing the work and activities undertaken with respect to closure of coal ash surface impoundments at Riverbend Steam Station.