AEP Hosts Visit to Coal Combustion Product Reclamation Projects

Originally published in AEP NOW
Tuesday, Dec 12, 2006

   CONESVILLE, Ohio -- A group of professionals from across the country
   recently took part in a technical interactive forum co-sponsored by AEP
   on reuse and recycling of flue gas desulfurization materials.

   The group visited several AEP sites to observe and discuss issues
   regarding the beneficial reuse and recycling of coal combustion products
   (CCPs) at reclaimed mined lands and similar applications.

   The three-day conference included visits to Conesville Plant, Conesville
   Landfill and the Conesville Coal Preparation Plant where flue gas
   desulfurization (FGD) byproduct is beneficially used in the coal refuse
   disposal area and in reclamation of a dangerous highwall.

   The tour ended with a visit to a highway embankment stabilization
   project that used Tidd PFBC (pressurized fluidized bed combustion) ash
   and an Ohio Department of Natural Resources's Division of Wildlife
   facility where Conesville FGD material has been used to construct the
   base of a parking lot and a mine seal at a re-mining site.

   Facilitating the tour from AEP were Dana Limes, consulting environmental
   specialist, and Ted Morrow, senior environmental specialist, both in
   Land Environment and Remediation Services; and Jody Belviso,
   environmental specialist senior, Water & Ecological Resources Services.

   "This was a great opportunity for us to showcase to key stakeholders
   AEP's ongoing involvement in utilizing FGD byproduct material that will
   have beneficial environmental and economic impacts," Limes said.

   During the following two days, 120 participants, including those from
   the coal producing industry, the power generation industry, state and
   federal regulators, and from nine universities, heard technical
   presentations on a range of topics. Some of these included FGD placement
   at mine sites, leachate protocols for hydrological assessment,
   regulatory status, and peer review of a recent National Academy of
   Sciences (NAS) report.

   The conference was co-organized by U.S. Department of Interior's Office of
   Surface Mining and Reclamation and The Ohio State University's Coal
   Combustion Products Extension Program. Sponsors included AEP, the Ohio
   Coal Association, Ohio Coal Development Office, Ohio Mineland
   Partnership, American Coal Ash Association, Midwest Coal Ash
   Association, and TXU.

   "Mine reclamation uses of CCPs can be potentially high-volume
   applications for east and southeast Ohio," said Michael Carey, president
   of the Ohio Coal Association. "The potential for FGD and fly ash use in
   reclamation work exists for the abatement of acid mine drainage,
   sedimentation control, and subsidence control and repairs."

   Surface reclamation (abandoned and current mined lands) as well as
   underground placement of CCPs are also promising uses, Carey said. Of
   the over $200 million uncompleted reclamation work documented currently
   under the Abandoned Mined Land Inventory System (AMLIS), over $100
   million worth of reclamation work has potential for FGD utilization,
   according to Carey.

   Some of the benefits of using CCPs at coal mine sites in high-volume
   applications are:
   - Economic savings for end-users, especially for state and federal
   authorities responsible for AML reclamation;
   - Cleaner and safer environment by AML and active mining reclamation;
   - Conservation of natural resources;
   - Recycling and decrease in the need for expensive landfill space;
   - Reduction in the cost of energy production for utilities;
   - Reduced social costs;
   - Greater economic development, and
   - Economic competitiveness of high-sulfur Ohio coal.