Gallatin Fossil Plant has 10 groundwater monitoring wells, 6 of which have been polluted above federal advisory levels based on samples collected between January 20, 2010 and July 28, 2016. Groundwater at this site contains unsafe levels of cobalt, sulfate, manganese, boron, beryllium, nickel, cadmium, arsenic, mercury and thallium.
Site descriptionGallatin Fossil Plant is located on the north bank of the Cumberland River, about 30 miles northeast of Nashville, Tennessee. It consumes approximately 12,350 tons of coal per day. The original ash pond was located immediately west of the power plant; the Tennessee Valley Authority abandoned this pond in 1970 when it built the existing ash pond complex to the north of the plant. The current ash pond complex covers over 400 acres.
Many public drinking water sources for communities near Gallatin use treated water directly from the Cumberland River. The Gallatin Water Department, which serves approximately 38,000 people and supplies water to companies such as Castalian Springs in Bethpage, Tennessee, is located just over one mile downstream of the plant's ash ponds.
This site is among the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's list of potential damage cases. Read EIP's report TVA's Toxic Legacy and visit SoutheastCoalAsh.org for more information about Gallatin Fossil Plant.
For more information about coal ash in Tennessee, see Earthjustice's fact sheet, Tennessee and Coal Ash Disposal in Ponds and Landfill.