
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, June 10, 1995                   TAG: 9506120028
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: PAUL DELLINGER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

NEW RIVER TRAIL TO RECYCLE ASHES

A byproduct of coal burned by Appalachian Power Co. at its Glen Lyn plant will be used to surface the 57 miles of New River Trail State Park.

The cinders, or bottom ash, left from the coal are granular, like the cinder base now used by the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation on the hiking, biking and horseback-riding trail.

Previously, Apco has had to put the leftover cinders in landfills, and the state has had to buy cinders to continue upkeep of the trail.

The partnership between Apco and the state will conserve landfill space and save the state an estimated $500,000 over the next five years that would have been used to buy cinders from other sources.

"The partnership is definitely a win-win situation," said H. Kirby Burch, director of the Department of Conservation and Recreation. "The state maintains the trail bed at no cost to the taxpayers, and Appalachian Power is now able to free up millions of cubic feet in landfill space."

JTM Industries Inc. of Glen Lyn will transport the cinders. The first load already has been delivered.

It is estimated that up to 20,000 cubic yards of cinders will be donated annually over the next five years. That will be enough to resurface the entire park trail, which winds through Pulaski, Wythe, Carroll and Grayson counties on Norfolk Southern Corp. rail right of way donated to the state after it was abandoned.

All the bottom ash will be inspected and tested to make sure it meets federal, state and local regulations.

"The park's trail bed has been a cinder surface since it opened as a rail line in the late 1880s,'' said Mark Hufeisen, New River Trail State Park manager. "This partnership not only saves the state money, it allows us to protect the historical integrity of the trail."

Everett Townley, who manages Apco's Glen Lyn plant, said such use of coal byproducts is not unusual. He said they are used in a wide range of products, from screwdriver handles to bowling balls, as well as for road resurfacing.

by CNB