CHARLESTON - DEP’s Dam Safety Program to Conduct Comprehensive Review of Flyash Impoundments



Randy Huffman, Cabinet Secretary for the Department of Environmental Protection, has ordered a comprehensive review of the 18 flyash impoundments and disposal sites in West Virginia.



“In light of what happened in Tennessee, we have put together a plan to review and inspect each of the flyash impoundments in the state,” Huffman said. “We want to assure the public that these structures are being looked at to ensure that they meet current dam safety standards for the protection of the public.”



Under current regulations, companies that own flyash impoundments are required to have a certified professional engineer who is registered with the state inspect the impoundments and then provide a report to the DEP’s Dam Safety Program. In addition to the inspections that are conducted by the companies, professional engineers from the Environmental Enforcement division, Dam Safety program conduct inspections on the impoundments that are considered to pose a potential hazard to human life.



The agency plan is similar to what the DEP did with respect to coal dams, following the failure of a coal slurry impoundment in Martin County, Kentucky, in October 2000.



Under the plan, DEP’s Dam Safety Program initially will require dam owners to provide updated inspection reports from their engineers, evaluations of the current structural stability, and verification of any risk for reservoir break-through into operating, inactive or abandoned underground mines.



In addition to the reports by the owners, the program staff will document each impoundment and reservoir through aerial photographs taken from the DEP helicopter. Then Dam Safety engineers will conduct detailed ground inspections of each dam. The condition of each structure will be documented through photographs and written inspection reports. Instructions for any required additional investigations, operational changes, or repairs will be provided to the owner.



Concurrent with the inspection of impoundments, the DEP will be conducting a review of the flyash disposal sites in order to ensure there are no stability issues associated with any of these facilities.



A report will be generated and made available to the public by this summer.