CHATTANOOGA ENVIRONMENTAL FIELD OFFICE
TENNESSEE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT AND CONSERVATION
540 McCALLIE AVE., SUITE 550
CHATTANOOGA, TENNESSEE 37402-2013
•PHONE (423) 634-5745 •STATEWIDE 1-888-891-8332
•FAX (423) 634-6389
CERTIFIED MAIL: February 25, 2009
Ms. Janet Herrin
Senior Vice President
River Operations
Tennessee Valley Authority
400 West Summit Hill
Knoxville, Tennessee 37902
Ms. Herrin:
On Monday, January 5, 2009, the Division of Water Pollution Control, Chattanooga Field Office received a complaint from the U.S. Forest Service, Cherokee National Forest, and the Ocoee River White Water Center reporting that starting at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, January 4, 2009, the Olympic Reach of the Ocoee River was suddenly overwhelmed by muddy-sludge that was black and smelled terrible. As a result, the Forest Service reported that sludge/sediment/ooze was deposited throughout the Olympic Reach of the Ocoee River and in some places up to 3.5 feet in depth (see Photograph 1).
Chattanooga Field Office staff visited the White Water Center reach of the Ocoee River on Tuesday, January 6, 2009, to document what had occurred. Driving up the Ocoee River Gorge, staff noted that the Ocoee River was flowing but that the water was very turbid. Upon reaching the Olympic reach of the Ocoee River, it was noted that the turbidity had increased and the Olympic competition channel portion of the Olympic reach was approximately half full (see Photograph 2). In addition, Forest Service employees were walking the stream bank picking up what dead fish they could find. Due to the magnitude of the mud/sludge/ooze release, fish were killed and washed down stream or killed and buried in the mud/sludge/ooze. Consequently, a count of dead fish was not possible. No live fish were seen.
It was learned from a telephone discussion on January 6, 2009, with Mr. Charles L. Bach, General Manager, River Scheduling, that the source of the mud/sludge/ooze was TVA Ocoee Dam #3. TVA had opened the bottom sluice gates at Ocoee Dam #3 to draw the water level behind the dam down to elevation 1420 in preparations for repair work on Ocoee #2 Dam. As explained by Mr. Bach, the drawdown was needed to protect workers as they worked to repair a leaking Dam #2. There had been no inquiries regarding permit requirements or coordination with TDEC concerning these special operations of the Ocoee series of dams and powerhouses.
You are hereby informed that you are in violation of the Tennessee Water Quality Control Act of 1977, which states in part:
Violations of the Tennessee Water Quality Control Act are subject to civil penalties and/or other enforcement actions
Required actions:
This letter will serve as a formal Notice of Violation and by copy will inform our Enforcement and Compliance Section of the violation.
If you have any questions regarding this correspondence, you may contact me at (423) 634-5702 or Richard.Urban@state.tn.us.
Sincerely,
Richard D. Urban, Ph.D.
Field Office Manager, Division of Water Pollution Control
Chattanooga Environmental Field Office
Additional Information:
Web: Jan 10, 2009: Natural Resources Defense Council: Photographs taken by United Mountain Defense
PDF: Jan 10, 2009: Tennessee: State cites TVA for Ocoee sludge release at Olympic site
PDF: Dec 22, 2008: TVA Kingston Coal-Plant FlyAsh Dam Breaks
PDF: July 22, 2008: Congressman Forbes’ Letter to the EPA
PDF: Aug 08, 2007: EPA Human and Ecological Risk Assessment of Coal Combustion Wastes