During the first phase of the cleanup, known as the time-critical phase, over 3.5 million cubic yards were removed within a year of the spill. This phase allowed the removal of ash from the river to be accelerated by 75% over original expectations. During this phase, the ash was safely transported to a permanent, lined, and leachate collecting facility in Perry County, Alabama called Arrowhead landfill. The Emory River was reopened in late spring 2010. The time-critical phase removed 90% of the ash located in the Emory River. The next phase, which began in August 2010, removed the remaining ash from the Swan Pond Embayment of Watts Bar Reservoir. About 500,000 cubic yards of material, which mixed with the remains of leaked material from atomic energy production operations at Oak Ridge National Laboratory during the Cold War, was left in the rivers. The final phase of the cleanup consisted of assessments on the health and environmental effects of leaving this ash in the waterways. The cleanup was completed in 2015, and cost approximately $1.134 billion. In January 2017, the EPA announced that the ecosystems impacted by the spill had returned to conditions prior to the spill.
