KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) ó Four East Tennessee landfills have been approved to receive small amounts of coal ash from a major spill last December at a Tennessee power plant.
The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation announced Wednesday that it has approved limited test runs to the four landfills starting July 15.
However, the state said the approval does not necessarily mean that the Tennessee Valley Authority will dispose its ash at those sites.
The state said the four landfills are equipped with liners, collection systems and monitoring wells and TVA will only be allowed to send five to 10 truckloads of ash to each site.
A Dec. 22 dike breach at TVA’s Kingston Fossil Plant released more than 5 million cubic yards of ash into the Emory River and several homes, covering 300 acres.