‘No-Wake Zone’ for water intakes coming to area around Cooper Power Station

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The view, from the overlook across from Burnside Elementary School, shows the massive John Sherman Cooper Power Station on the North Fork of the Cumberland River. A no-wake zone is being established 800 yards around the plant to prevent pleasure boat wake from exposing the water-intake system. The no-wake zone will be enforced as soon as buoys are placed. Bill Mardis photo

March 29, 2007

By BILL MARDIS Editor Emeritus The Commonwealth Journal Thu Mar 29, 2007, 09:07 AM EDT

An 800-yard no-wake zone is being established around John Sherman Cooper Power Station to keep its powerful water-intake pumps from sucking air and disrupting the cooling process.

Officials of East Kentucky Power Cooperative are concerned that wakes from pleasure boats might expose the pumps that push 250,000 gallons of water a minute to cool the coal-fired generating units. The intake system is only about five feet below the surface now that the lake is being kept low to ease pressure on an unstable Wolf Creek Dam.

East Kentucky Power Cooperative, owner and operator of the Burnside electric generating plant, has requested and received permission from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to establish an enforceable no-wake zone around the water-intake system on the North Fork of the Cumberland River.

Kevin Osbourn, spokesman for East Kentucky Power Cooperative, said this week that lighted buoys have been ordered and should be in place within the next few weeks. Enforcement of the no-wake zone will begin shortly thereafter.

Osbourn said the cooperative is also working on plans to keep John Sherman Cooper Power Station in operation in case the rehabilitation process at Wolf Creek Dam forces the lake to be lowered further.

Corps officials have advised municipalities and other water-users from the lake to be prepared for levels as low as 650 feet above seal level, some 30 feet lower than the current level, by December 31. They emphasized that this does not mean the lake will be lower next year; only be ready in case it is necessary. Wolf Creek Dam has been classified as a “high risk” for failure and a five-to-seven year, $309 million rehabilitation is under way.

Several options are under consideration to assure a plentiful supply of cooling water at John Sherman Cooper Power Station. The options, according to Osbourn, are barge-mounted pumps, cofferdam around the water-intake system, cooling tower, or a new deep-water intake system.

Osbourn said engineers are expected to make a recommendation on the most viable option to the cooperative’s board of directors in April.

John Sherman Cooper Power Station is described as a vital link in the cooperative’s electric generating system. Predictions are that if the Burnside plant were to be shut down by a low water level, the region could be affected by rolling blackouts.

John Sherman Cooper Power Station has two generating units that produce 341 megawatts of electricity, enough to supply power to homes in 31 cities the size of Somerset. The plant burns 900,000 tons of coal a year and employs 73 people.

Osbourn expressed confidence that John Sherman Cooper Power Plant will remain operative, even at a lower lake level.

“We will be ready ... we will have a plan in place (in case the water level goes lower),” he assured.

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Pulaski carries Girdler to win

In the weeks leading up to Tuesday’s primary election, it was impossible to miss the colorful signs dotting nearly every Pulaski roadway. The names in the race for the 15th State Senatorial District seat popped out: A.C. Donahue. Chris Girdler. Mark Polston.

Once citizens hit the ballots, however, the results mirrored the dimensions of the signs themselves: Chris Girdler stood the tallest.

Girdler, deputy district director for Congressman Harold “Hal” Rogers, ran away with the votes inside Pulaski County’s borders, earning 3,926 votes for 62.05 percent of the total number cast.

That number more than doubled the next highest vote-getter, businessman Mark Polston, who raked in 1,624 votes for 25.67 percent.

However, Polston — who owns Classic Carpet, a home-flooring business located just off the southern 914 bypass — can claim a moral victory ... three of them, in fact. In all three counties in the district other than Pulaski — those being Adair, Casey, and Russell Counties — Polston actually edged out Girdler.

In Adair, Polston beat Girdler 629 to 394. In Casey County, it was 538 to 417, and in Russell, it was 1,862 to 1,038.

Polston said he just “couldn’t pull it out with the numbers” and that “the machine worked for” Girdler in Pulaski County.

“I think that was their strategy — I think they had a Pulaski County strategy all along,” said Polston. “They played the political game well.”

Polston said the difference between his and Girdler’s campaigns was that “mine was a very, very grass roots campaign,” he said. “I did not have a political machine behind me. I understand how this process works, and in this instance, he prevailed.”

As for why Girdler didn’t take three of four counties, the winning candidate — since there are no Democrats in the race, winning the Republican primary was effectively a final victory for Girdler — said he didn’t have an answer for that.

However, “I believe things happen for a reason and I hope the long and strenuous campaign will only heighten my desire to move beyond the bitterness and partisanship of the recent past,” said Girdler.

“Regionalism is a goal of mine, and I look forward to helping all four counties,” he added, noting that he campaigned heavily in each of them.

Sen. Vernie McGaha, the long-time state senator whose seat the candidates were vying for, actually supported Polston after Liberty’s Todd Hoskins dropped out of the race earlier this month.

Donahue, a local attorney, got 556 votes in Pulaski County, 8.79 percent of the vote. He only received 145 votes in Russell County, 74 in Adair County, and 75 in Casey County, where hometown candidate Hoskins almost matched him with 71 votes despite no longer being officially in the race.

Polston said he’s “still digesting” what happened, and though “the process has been a very good experience for me,” he wouldn’t commit to running again in the future. “I wouldn’t shut the door to anything, but I’m not opening any doors either.”

Still, “I think I got a lot of people involved in the process that had not been involved before and would not have been otherwise,” he said. “A lot of people got out and worked really hard, got motivated to talk to friends and neighbors. I think a lot of people became involved through this campaign that are going to be involved for a long time.”

Girdler stressed his “positive message” and said that Rogers is a “mentor and good friend” that he would turn to for advice in dealing with a frequently combative legislative body in Frankfort, one for which Girdler hopes to help change the culture.

Girdler said that he was “confident and optimistic” during the day Tuesday because he’d “worked extremely hard.” Nevertheless, the realization that he’d won gave him “chill bumps,” he said.

“I’m absolutely honored,” said Girdler. “The position of state senator is more than an honor, more than an office. It’s a charge to keep, and I will give it my all.

“I pledge to be the people’s state senator,” he added. “I look forward to working with everyone to move this region forward.”

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