Quake triggers safety inspections at TVA dams

Aug. 24– The Tennessee Valley Authority is inspecting 15 of its dams and ash impoundments and all of its nuclear plants after an earthquake hit near Richmond, Va., on Tuesday.

"The seismograph at Tellico Dam was the only TVA site that recorded any shaking as a result of the earthquake," said TVA Chief Operating Officer Bill McCollum.

"TVA is inspecting its nuclear plants and several dams and impoundments out of an abundance of caution," he said, "to be sure the earthquake had no effect on these facilities."

TVA’s dam safety criteria requires that inspections be performed at dams and impoundments following a recorded earthquake.

TVA is in the process of performing visual walk downs and inspections at the following dams: Beaver Creek, Clear Creek, Boone, Cherokee, Doakes Creek (on Norris Reservoir), Douglas, Fontana, Fort Patrick Henry, Nolichucky, Norris, South Holston, Watauga and Wilbur.

TVA completed its assessments at the ash impoundments at John Sevier, Bull Run and Kingston Fossil Plants and found no problems.

The monitoring equipment at TVA’s three nuclear plants, Watts Bar and Sequoyah in Tennessee and Browns Ferry in Alabama, saw no changes due to the earthquake and personnel felt no ground movement.

TVA said all six of its reactors are located in areas that are not prone to frequent or large earthquakes.

The plants are designed, built and operated to withstand an earthquake of larger magnitude than any recorded in the southeastern U.S., according to TVA.