Tennessee Division of Water Resources (DWR) Permits Documents Permit Appeals Moratoriums Complaints Inspections Eng. Plans Hydrologic Det. Exceptional Waters Ambient Monitoring QLP Data Oil & Gas Wells FTC Operator Certification Water Wells Site IDParent SiteSite LocationCountyEFO 4968TVA Allen Fossil Plant D4 Plant Retirement/ Decommissioning and Plant Site Restoration2574 Plant RdShelbyMemphis COMPLAINT Help Back to Previous Page Complaint Number26696Program AreaWPCDate ReceivedSEP-18-2012How ReceivedEmailConcerningFish KillConcerning (Other)Assigned DateSEP-18-2012 Location based on SITE_ID Site ID 4968 Site TVA Allen Fossil Plant D4 Plant Retirement/ Decommissioning and Plant Site Restoration Location 2574 Plant Rd City Memphis Description Building demolition and restoration of site to brownfield County Shelby EFO Name Memphis Site Owner Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) Investigation Results Date InvestigatedSEP-21-2012StatusClosedResponsible PartyResp Party PhoneDate CompletedOCT-01-2012Referred ToDate ReferredPhotosYesLast updated19-JUL-2019 07:05AM Complaint Description and Writeup Mike Stiefel, P.E.Tennessee Valley AuthorityWater Permits and Compliance1101 Market Street, BR 4AChattanooga, TN 37402-2801 Tel: 423.751.6844 Fax: 423.751.7011 Cell: 423.595.6923emailed a fish kill report to TRT (he also left a voice message on 9/18/12):-----Original Message-----From: Farmer, Sandra JayneSent: Monday, September 17, 2012 3:04 PMTo: Tritapoe, Michael G; Casey, Robert Brian; Stone, Scott ECc: Baxter, Dennis Scott; Alfonso, Raul M; Wilborn, James ASubject: FW: Emailing: DSC01509.JPG, DSC01510.JPG, DSC01511.JPG, DSC01512.JPG, DSC01513.JPG, DSC01514.JPG, DSC01515.JPG, DSC01516.JPG, DSC01517.JPG, DSC01518.JPG, DSC01520.JPG, DSC01521.JPG, DSC01522.JPG, DSC01523.JPG, DSC01524.JPG, DSC01525.JPG, DSC01526.JPG, DSCImportance: HighGentlemen,A fish kill was reported to the environmental scientist(me) at 1:00 pm cst, on the banks of Allen Fossil Plant and McKellar Lake, Memphis, TN. I immediately went to the lake to assess the damage and to identify if something was happening from Allen operations. Upon arrival at the lake, fish were found dead from the intake area of the plant to the other side of the Corp of Engineers property. This indicates that Allen was not at fault for this incident. Walking the banks Mr. Wilborn and I noticed that the wind was blowing in towards our shores and there were fish located on the banks of the sandbars in the middle of the lake. I called Michael Tritapoe - Regional Environmental Manager for Allen, and the Operations Manager, Brian Casey. I identified the issues to both and then called Dennis Baxter, Fisheries personnel to get further instructions. After speaking to Dennis, and explaining what I saw and the conditions which lead up to the discovery, we concluded that the shallow depth of the water in the lake, the fact that for two days this area has had heavy rains and occasional high winds and that the lake turned over; the fish died because there was not enough oxygen in the lake to sustain them. Dennis referred me to the ODS- Scott Stone, whom I called and reported the issues. The time was captured at 1410. The photos above are of the lake and the fish kill.Sandra J FarmerProgram Administrator, EnvironmentalTVA Allen Fossil Plant2574 Plant RoadMemphis, TN 38109(901) 789-8464Nextel (901) 553-2864Fax (901) 789-84699/21/12: MTW called Mr. Stiefel to inquire about the status of the fish kill. According to Mr. Stiefel, dead fish were no longer being observed. He stated that he will contact Mr. Travis Markum (TVA-Water Permits & Compliance Specialist) and have him submit further information with regard to this incident.10/1/12: Mr. Markum sent MTP the following information via email: Ms. Wilbert,On September 17, 2012, dead fish were discovered by TVA personnel during environmental walkdown. Dead fish were found along the banks of the intake area of the plant and even further upstream. They were also located along the shoreline of the lake from the mouth of the Mississippi to the termination of McKellar Lake. It is believed the fish died due to low oxygen as a result of low rainfall in Memphis this quarter causing low lake levels. It was also noted the water quality was very turbid at the time the dead fish were observed, likely due to heavy rainfall in the days leading up to this event. TVA provided a courtesy notification to TDEC the afternoon the observation was made.No more dead fish have been observed by TVA personnel since the initial observation. If you have any questions or need additional information, please let me know.______________________________Travis R. Markum Water Permits & Compliance Specialist, IIITennessee Valley Authority1101 Market Street, BR 4A | Chattanooga, TN 37402 : 423.751.2795 | : 423.751.7011 | : trmarkum@tva.gov
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