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==August 2009: TVA considering shutting down some aging coal plants==
In August 2009, CEO [[Tom D. Kilgore]] announced that [[Tennessee Valley Authority|TVA]] was studying the possibility of closing its [[John Sevier Fossil Plant]] in Tennessee and the oldest six units at Widows Creek. A federal judge has ordered TVA to install pollution equipment on the plants by the end of 2013, at an estimated cost of more than $1 billion. However, the company has not yet budgeted any money for the improvements. In 2010 TVA is planning to begin building an $820 million gas-powered plant to replace the generation at its John Servier Plant. The agency has already reduced power production from the oldest six units at Widows Creek. Environmental groups want TVA to shut down or convert to cleaner fuels the oldest and least efficient of its coal plants, including Widows Creek, John Sevier, and [[Johnsonville Fossil Plant|Johnsonville]] plants.<ref>[http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/24/tva-may-shutter-aging-coal-fired-plants/?local "TVA may shutter aging coal-fired plants,"] ''Chattanooga Times Free Press,'' August 24, 2009.</ref>
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==Plant Data==
{{#evp:youtube|OsxIfu12p64|TVA at the Crossroads, produced by Southern Alliance for Clean Energy|right|325}}
*'''Owner/Parent Company''': [[Tennessee Valley Authority]]
*'''Plant Nameplate Capacity''': 1,969 MW
*'''Units and In-Service Dates''': 141 MW (1952), 141 MW (1952), 141 MW (1952), 141 MW (1953), 141 MW (1954), 141 MW (1954), 575 MW (1961), 550 MW (1965)
*'''Location''': County Road 96, Stevenson, AL 35772
*'''GPS Coordinates''': 34.891361, -85.750778
*'''Coal Consumption''':
*'''Coal Source''':
*'''Number of Employees''':
==Emissions Data==
*'''2006 CO<sub>2</sub> Emissions''': 10,793,074 tons
*'''2006 SO<sub>2</sub> Emissions''': 33,507 tons
*'''2006 SO<sub>2</sub> Emissions per MWh''':
*'''2006 NO<sub>x</sub> Emissions''': 17,184 tons
*'''2005 Mercury Emissions''': 270 lb.
==Death and disease attributable to fine particle pollution from Widows Creek Fossil Plant==
Source: [http://www.catf.us/coal/problems/power_plants/existing/ "Find Your Risk from Power Plant Pollution,"] Clean Air Task Force interactive table, accessed February 2011
==August 2010: TVA Announces Plans to Retire Widows Creek Units 1-6==
On August 24, 2010 TVA announced that it will retire 9 coal-fired generating units totalling about 1,000 megawatts of capacity at three locations beginning in fiscal year 2011: [[Shawnee Fossil Plant]] Unit 10 in Kentucky, [[John Sevier Fossil Plant]] Units 1 and 2 in Tennessee, and [[Widows Creek Fossil Plant]] Units 1-6 in Alabama, including six units at the [[Widows Creek Fossil Plant]]. In addition TVA stated that it will going to eliminate 200 jobs at these plants starting in 2011, but the workers will be placed in other positions within TVA. CEO [[Tom D. Kilgore]] said that TVA would replace the sidelined coal power with greater reliance on nuclear power and energy efficiency.<ref>[http://www.tva.com/news/releases/julsep10/coal_plants.html "TVA to idle 9 coal-fired units,"] Tennessee Valley Authority press release, August 24, 2010.</ref>
==Waste Site=====Widows Creek ranked 20th on list of most polluting power plants in terms of coal waste===In January 2009, Sue Sturgis of the Institute of Southern Studies compiled a list of the 100 most polluting coal plants in the United States in terms of [[Coal waste|coal combustion waste]] (CCW) stored in surface impoundments like the one involved in the [[TVA Kingston Fossil Plant coal ash spill]].<ref name="iss">Sue Sturgis, [http://www.southernstudies.org/2009/01/coals-ticking-timebomb-could-disaster-strike-a-coal-ash-dump-near-you.html "Coal's ticking timebomb: Could disaster strike a coal ash dump near you?,"] Institute for Southern Studies, January 4, 2009.</ref> The data came from the EPA's Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) for 2006, the most recent year available.<ref>[http://www.epa.gov/triexplorer/ TRI Explorer,] EPA, accessed January 2009.</ref> Widows Creek Fossil Plant ranked number 20 on the list, with 1,864,177 pounds of coal combustion waste released to surface impoundments in 2006.<ref name="iss"/> ==="High Hazard" Surface Impoundment===In July 2009, TVA reclassified the surface impoundment at Widow's Creek as having High Hazard Potential. The rating applies to sites at which a dam failure would most likely cause loss of human life, but does not assess of the likelihood of such an event. TVA had originally ranked all of its sites as "low" risk, but revised those rankings two weeks after the EPA released its list of 44 "high hazard" coal ash dumps.<ref>[[Coal waste]]</ref> ===2011: Study finds dangerous level of hexavalent chromium at Widows Creek waste site===
A report released by EarthJustice and the Sierra Club in early February 2011 stated that there are many health threats associated with a toxic cancer-causing chemical found in coal ash waste called [[hexavalent chromium]]. The report specifically cited 29 sites in 17 states where the contamination was found. The information was gathered from existing EPA data on coal ash and included locations in Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Massachusetts, North Carolina, North Dakota, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virgina and Wisconsin. In Alabama, the TVA [[Colbert Fossil Plant]] in Tuscambia and the TVA [[Widows Creek Fossil Plant]] in Stevenson were both reported as having high levels of chromium seeping from unlined retention ponds.<ref name="blind spot">[http://earthjustice.org/sites/default/files/CoalAshChromeReport.pdf "EPA’s Blind Spot: Hexavalent Chromium in Coal Ash"] Earthjustice & Sierra Club, February 1, 2011.</ref>
::Hexavalent chromium first made headlines after Erin Brockovich sued Pacific Gas & Electric because of poisoned drinking water from hexavalent chromium. Now new information indicates that the chemical has readily leaked from coal ash sites across the U.S. This is likely the tip of the iceberg because most coal ash dump sites are not adequately monitored.<ref>[http://www.examiner.com/green-culture-in-mankato/coal-ash-waste-tied-to-cancer-causing-chemicals-water-supplies "Coal ash waste tied to cancer-causing chemicals in water supplies"] Alicia Bayer, Examiner.com, February 1, 2011.</ref>
==Plant DataAugust 2009: TVA considering shutting down some aging coal plants==*'''Owner/Parent Company''': In August 2009, CEO [[Tom D. Kilgore]] announced that [[Tennessee Valley Authority|TVA]]*'''was studying the possibility of closing its [[John Sevier Fossil Plant Nameplate Capacity''': 1,969 MW*'''Units ]] in Tennessee and In-Service Dates''': 141 MW (1952), 141 MW (1952), 141 MW (1952), 141 MW (1953), 141 MW (1954), 141 MW (1954), 575 MW (1961), 550 MW (1965)*'''Location''': County Road 96, Stevenson, AL 35772*'''GPS Coordinates''': 34.891361, -85.750778*'''Coal Consumption''':*'''Coal Source''':*'''Number of Employees''': ==Emissions Data==*'''2006 CO<sub>2</sub> Emissions''': 10,793,074 tons*'''2006 SO<sub>2</sub> Emissions''': 33,507 tons*'''2006 SO<sub>2</sub> Emissions per MWh''':*'''2006 NO<sub>x</sub> Emissions''': 17,184 tons*'''2005 Mercury Emissions''': 270 lb. ==the oldest six units at Widows Creek ranked 20th . A federal judge has ordered TVA to install pollution equipment on list of most polluting power the plants in terms by the end of coal waste==In January 20092013, Sue Sturgis at an estimated cost of more than $1 billion. However, the Institute of Southern Studies compiled a list of company has not yet budgeted any money for the improvements. In 2010 TVA is planning to begin building an $820 million gas-powered plant to replace the generation at its John Servier Plant. The agency has already reduced power production from the 100 most polluting coal plants in oldest six units at Widows Creek. Environmental groups want TVA to shut down or convert to cleaner fuels the United States in terms oldest and least efficient of [[Coal waste|its coal combustion waste]] (CCW) stored in surface impoundments like the one involved in the plants, including Widows Creek, John Sevier, and [[TVA Kingston Johnsonville Fossil Plant coal ash spill|Johnsonville]]plants.<ref name="iss">Sue Sturgis, [http://www.southernstudiestimesfreepress.orgcom/news/2009/01aug/coals-ticking-timebomb24/tva-couldmay-disastershutter-strike-aaging-coal-ashfired-dump-near-you.html plants/?local "Coal's ticking timebomb: Could disaster strike a TVA may shutter aging coal ash dump near you?-fired plants,"] Institute for Southern Studies''Chattanooga Times Free Press, January 4, 2009.</ref> The data came from the EPA's Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) for 2006' August 24, the most recent year available.<ref>[http://www.epa.gov/triexplorer/ TRI Explorer,] EPA, accessed January 2009.</ref> Widows Creek Fossil Plant ranked number 20 on the list, with 1,864,177 pounds of coal combustion waste released to surface impoundments in 2006.<ref name="iss"/> =="High Hazard" Surface Impoundment==In July 2009, TVA reclassified the surface impoundment at Widow's Creek as having High Hazard Potential. The rating applies to sites at which a dam failure would most likely cause loss of human life, but does not assess of the likelihood of such an event. TVA had originally ranked all of its sites as "low" risk, but revised those rankings two weeks after the EPA released its list of 44 "high hazard" coal ash dumps.<ref>[[Coal waste]]</ref>
==Articles and Resources==
