88.5 WFDD - Dan River Coal Ash Spill: Recent Episodes
Keri Brown
The Dan River near Eden. Keri Brown/WFDD
The next phase of cleanup at the former Dan River Steam Station is moving forward. Duke Energy is transferring nearly 2 million tons of coal ash to a lined landfill on the property.
It’s been three years since the massive coal ash spill at the Dan River near Eden. Duke Energy says cleanup around the retired plant is ongoing. It’s now in the process of excavating the waste that’s stored in ponds at the site.
The company has already sent more than a million tons of coal ash by rail to a lined landfill in central Virginia. But the remaining ash will be placed in a new site at Dan River. State regulators recently issued a permit that allows the company to start using the landfill.
Duke Energy spokesperson Jeff Brooks says the first truckloads have been transferred.
“We’re moving ash farther away from the river," says Brooks. "We’re removing the moisture and storing that ash dry and we are storing it in a fully lined containment system there and disposing of it in there, so that it will remain protected and the environment will remain protected for years ahead.”
The Environmental Protection Agency’s rules label coal ash, which is the byproduct of burning coal, as a non-hazardous waste. Nevertheless, it contains toxic substances including lead, arsenic and selenium, and in high concentrations some health experts worry it's harmful to humans and the environment.
Brooks says the new landfill will be lined with clay and synthetic materials. The waste will be stored in sections and capped with multiple layers of barriers.
State law requires Duke Energy to close its ash ponds near the Dan River facility by August 2019. The company says it’s on track to meet the deadline.
Meanwhile, the company is asking the North Carolina Utilities Commission to approve their request for a rate hike to help pay for system upgrades, damage from Hurricane Matthew and the cleanup of coal ash pits in the state. According to a recent filing, Duke Energy wants to raise electricity rates by an average of 14.9 percent for its Progress Division, which serves customers in the eastern part of the state, Raleigh, and Asheville areas.
The company says a rate hike request for its Carolinas Division, which includes many customers in the Piedmont is also expected to be filed with the Commission in the coming months. Brooks says the amount the company will ask for hasn’t been finalized at this time.
*Follow WFDD's Keri Brown on Twitter @kerib_news
duke energy #coal ash #dan river #dan river coal ash spill #cleanup
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photo credit: The Yadkin Riverkeeper - On Sunday, February 2, 2014, a Duke Energy coal ash pond located on the Dan River near Eden, N.C., began discharging into the Dan River. The spill is the 3rd largest coal ash spill in U.S. History.
The state recently issued a new classification system for coal ash ponds. It’s all part of how North Carolina is dealing with the aftermath of the Dan River coal ash spill in Rockingham County which dumped more than 39,000 tons of coal ash into the waterway nearly two years ago.
WFDD's Keri Brown breaks down what some of the new recommendations mean and why some say it’s not enough.
What exactly are we talking about here? What does a coal ash dumpsite look like?
Picture a slurry pit. A lot of times the water is somewhat clear on top but beneath the surface is a toxic pool of sludge, which often contains things such as arsenic, lead, and selenium. Burning coal creates waste and these coal sites are ponds where the coal ash is disposed.
So basically, the state is classifying the toxicity of these sites?
Yes, the state is prioritizing for the closing and cleanup of these dump site. Basically, there’s really nothing new in regards to the four high-risk designation ponds. The state classified these along with new legislation two years ago. But what is new is the classification of the remaining ash basins, which are considered intermediate or low risk. That’s also been creating some controversy at the same time.
On why critics say these classifications don't go far enough:
There are some environmental groups that feel more of them should be labeled high risk. A lot of the residents who live near these sites also want to see more testing with the wells and groundwater. Duke Energy submitted data that was used by the state in the classification process and the state did their own sampling. They want to see more testing and more of these sites moved to high risk.
Why should the average North Carolinian care so much about this list?
We’re coming up on the second anniversary of the massive coal ash spill we saw near Eden along the Dan River. One of the sites that is classified as high priority or high risk is that particular site. I’ve reported on this spill and I can tell you there are a lot of unknowns about coal ash. Scientists aren’t sure what the long-term impact is on the environment or human health. That’s creating a lot of concern for these folks.
Follow Keri Brown on Twitter @kerib_news
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Duke Energy President and CEO Lynn Good in Winston-Salem Thursday.
WFDD Photo by Paul Garber
The president and CEO of Duke Energy expects a challenge to new EPA regulations targeting power plants. The Obama Administration announced the Clean Power Plan in August, with the goal of reducing carbon emissions.
Duke Energy’s Lynn Good says it’s one of the most comprehensive set of rules to ever impact the industry. But she says it has many problems that could make it difficult to implement.
“You know I think the rule is complicated," she says. "The rule itself changed dramatically from what was proposed. The time frames are tight, even though it’s 15 years. So I do think there will be legal challenges to the rules, either from industry or from others, to really determine how it makes sense to go forward.”
Good says Duke Energy has reduced carbon emissions 20 percent from 2005 levels. She says that’s been achieved by moves to natural gas and renewable energy sources.
Power plants are the largest source of carbon emissions in the country. The Clean Power Plan seeks state-by-state reductions starting in 2022 with the target goals reached by 2030.
The recent storms that hit the Carolinas caused some damage to two Duke Energy facilities. State environmental officials say the damage appears to be minor.
Good says the company has a monitoring system in place for when severe weather strikes.
“We were inspecting from the beginning to the end of the storm to identify where we thought there was something that needed to be repaired and repaired quickly. We responded quickly," she says. "And the basins are safe and the facilities are safe, so I’m proud of the way the company responded.”
State officials say that on Saturday Duke Energy reported clear water was seeping at an embankment on the dam at the Belews Creek coal ash facility station in Stokes County.
The seeping water did not appear to be from the coal ash facility and state inspectors say there was no threat to the dam.
Another Duke facility on Lake Norman had a sinkhole develop near a dam. That hole was filled with crushed stone and that dam too appeared not to be threatened.
Good says the company will make a recommendation to the state by the end of the year on how they plan to close down their remaining coal ash plants. The final decision will be up to the state's Coal Ash Management Committee.
All of the company's coal ash ponds and power plants must be closed by 2029 under a timeline imposed after a massive spill into the Dan River in 2014.
duke energy #coal ash #dan river coal ash spill
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The legal fallout from a massive coal ash spill last year continues for Duke Energy. A shareholder says in a lawsuit that the company improperly influenced state regulators.
The lawsuit is under seal in a state business court but was mentioned in a quarterly securities filing.
The Charlotte Observer reports that a plaintiff claims Duke directors improperly influenced state Department of Environment and Natural Resources officials to minimize regulation against the energy giant.
The shareholder complaint represents only one side of the dispute.
A DENR spokesman told the Observer the agency doesn't comment on pending litigation. Duke officials called the lawsuit baseless.
The lawsuit is one of several filed by shareholders against Duke Energy after almost 40,000 tons of coal ash spilled into the Dan River last February.
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Duke Energy plans to build lined landfills to bury coal ash at its closed Dan River Steam Station and the Sutton Plant near Wilmington. This comes as it works to excavate ash from its ponds by the 2019 deadline imposed by the state. Company spokesman Jeff Brooks says the landfills will be on existing plant property. But they will be several hundred yards farther from the water than the unlined ponds.
Brookes told the Triad Business Journal that the key differences for protecting the bodies of water are the full lining of the landfills and the greater distance from the water.
Frank Holleman, an attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center, has been wrangling with Duke Energy for years about coal ash. He called the plan “a major step forward.”
Duke Energy also plans extensive groundwater monitoring to make sure the landfills are operating as designed. The landfills should be operational over the next two years.
duke energy #dan river coal ash spill
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There's a new conflict rising out of Duke Energy's disposal of coal ash. It concerns possible plans to build a new landfill to store the waste in a low income, minority neighborhood in Eden.
Duke Energy’s potential interest in building a coal ash landfill in Rockingham County has sparked protests, a petition drive, and friction between activists and city officials. Court records show the utility holds an option to buy more than 420 acres near the Sharpe Avenue neighborhood in Eden where activists fear the landfill is imminent. The option expires in July, but can be renewed.
The site is not far from Duke Energy’s retired Dan River Steam Station, where a massive spill occurred last year.
The Greensboro News and Record reports Attorney Tom Terrell was hired by the city to deal with Duke Energy. He said he told city officials not to comment publicly about the landfill.
Duke Energy spokesman Jeff Brooks said they haven't announced any location decisions.
Residents near the possible landfill site say it is unfair. They say large companies target lower-income, minority neighborhoods for waste-disposal projects, especially because of the potential threat to the environment and health.
dan river coal ash spill #duke energy
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The coal ash dumps near some Duke Energy plants in North Carolina are causing problems again. Tests of 87 private wells near eight Duke Energy plants showed results that failed to meet state groundwater standards.North Carolina officials are advising dozens of residents near Duke Energy coal ash dumps not to drink or cook with water from their wells after tests showed contamination with toxic heavy metals.
The agency's first public acknowledgment of the troubling results came after The Associated Press reported that 19 homeowners and a church near a Duke Energy plant near Salisbury had received written warnings. Several of the letters cited high levels of vanadium, a metal found in coal ash classified as hazardous by federal health officials.
A law passed after last year's spill into the Dan River required the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources to sample wells within 1,000 feet of Duke Energy's 32 coal ash dumps.
Duke Energy spokesperson Erin Culbert said that other chemicals at issue could be naturally occurring in local soils.
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A mural in downtown Eden depicts the importance of river life to the area.
WFDD photo by Paul Garber
Cities and towns along the Dan River are working hard to promote the safety of the river one year after a massive spill of coal ash turned the river black downstream from a retired Duke Energy plant. But getting the message out hasn’t been easy.
The effort to reassure residents and visitors that the Dan is safe comes against a backdrop of environmental uncertainty.
Eden is among the small cities along the Dan that owe their existence to the river. Before there were highways or even a reliable train network, the Dan spurred the growth of textile mills by providing a means of shipping by small boats navigating the river's sluices.
That was long ago, in another era. The river is no longer a commercial transportation route, and most of the mills that once sprung up around the river now sit empty.
"Eden was a prosperous community when I moved here in the late 60s – 70s, we had a very bright future," says T Butler. "Gradually as mills shut down and businesses followed them in leaving the area, Rockingham County - this whole area - has lost its industrial base."
Butler is a founding member of the Dan River Basin Association. She says the area began to rely on tourism to support the local economy. So when a pipe at a retired Duke Energy plant ruptured, sending nearly 40,000 tons of coal ash into the Dan River, it was a kick in the gut.
"We’re struggling to figure out the new economy that will bring us back. So as Eden has been working on tourism for example, the idea that the Dan River is a bad place is the very wrong message to send, so it’s been difficult for Eden," she says.
A year later, the long-term effects of the spill remain unclear. On the surface, the water and the landscape around the river seem unspoiled. But as much as 90 percent of the ash remains in the river. It is for the most part on the bottom and getting covered with sediment. Still, environmentalists warn that the coal ash contains toxic chemicals including mercury, lead and cadmium.
When tourists don’t come, that affects local businesses. Rockingham County says many shops have reported loses in the past-year. Mark Bishopric’s is one of them. He’s a manager of Three Rivers Outfitters, which arranges canoe and kayak trips for visitors to the area’s rivers.
"Our volume business activity was off fairly significantly during times of the year and we hope for that to improve this year," he says.
And for others, the issue is not so much the water but the land surrounding it that is a concern.
Mike Powell is a farmer in Ruffin who also has about 100 acres roughly 4 miles down from where the spill occurred.
"My part of it is if the river does flood and it goes out into the bottoms where I do farm, will it deposit the coal ash," he says. "That’s just something we’ll have to wait and see. Mother Nature’s gonna do the course there, we just don’t know."
He says scientists at North Carolina State University are already taking samples from his land so they’ll have data to compare it to should a flood occur. As for any uneasiness about the future, Powell says that’s all a part of farming.
"You can speculate all you want, but until it happens you just never know. I’m too old to keep worrying about it all the time," he says with a laugh.
So some wait, while others are making their way back to the river. Gordon Allen is a photographer who recently won a grant to showcase the wildlife of the Dan basin. It’s part of the effort to get out the message that whatever lies beneath, the river still teems with life, and it’s worth seeing.
“I may not be a scientist. All I know is what I see around me. And what I see around me is beautiful," he says.
In the meantime, monitoring of the river continues, and scientists will look to answer the questions about whether or not the toxins found in the coal ash could impact people or wildlife. For people like Cindy Adams, the tourism coordinator for the City of Eden, there’s no time to wait for the full answer.
"I just have to go on today," she says. "You know, the unknown out there, I can’t really depend on that. Who knows? So I can’t dwell on that factor. I dwell on the facts I have now and what I know now. And that is I would take my family on the river, I would fish, I would do any of those things."
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The retired Duke Energy power plant on the Dan River. A ruptured pipe from a coal ash storage bin at the plant ruptured on Feb. 2, 2014, spilling more than 30,000 tons of ash into the river.
WFDD Photo by Paul Garber
The massive spill of nearly 40,000 tons of coal ash into the Dan River promoted outrage and demands for action to protect the state’s waterways.
The General Assembly’s response was passage of the Coal Ash Management Bill. The landmark legislation will ultimately phase out the use of coal ash ponds. Yet there are critics on both sides of the law.
Robin W. Smith is an environmental attorney and former assistant secretary at the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources. While there she was responsible for such issues as water quality, drinking water and hazardous waste. She also blogs about environmental issues, including coal ash.
WFDD’s Paul Garber spoke with Smith about the new law and its potential impact on water quality. Smith says the spill moved the discussion of clean water from the abstract to the concrete after images of the spill were broadcast.
"It really does communicate what those risks are and what the harm can be much more clearly than just talking about it," she says.
Smith says she considers the new law a "huge step forward" to stop the use of coal ash ponds in North Carolina.
Also, the state established a new Coal Ash Management Commission to provide oversight of the ponds. That sparked some controversy, with Gov. Pat McCrory objecting to how the members of the commission were appointed. Ultimately, the law passed without McCrory's signature.
Smith says the commission could face further debate as they tackle issues such as setting priorities for cleaning up the ponds and directing their closure.
"Those are going to be controversial decisions and those are the commission's decision to make," she says.
Smith says this year the state may make minor tweaks to coal ash legislation to make it in line with federal laws, but she's not expecting any major new initiatives.
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New Yadkin Riverkeeper Will Scott
Courtesy of Yadkin Riverkeeper
Yadkin Riverkeeper enters 2015 emboldened by an expansion in its leadership team.
The organization, which is devoted to protecting and improving the Yadkin River Basin, recently hired a new executive director to focus on fundraising and membership recruitment.
For years, the executive director has also juggled duties as Riverkeeper.
Now, that role will be filled by Will Scott, an expert in environmental law.
Scott says he's concerned about contaminated seepage believed to have been leaked from from Duke Energy's Buck Power Plant in Rowan County.
"We found high levels of lead, arsenic and also chromium," says Scott. "These are some of the signature coal ash contaminants and we believe that these are metals that are leaking out of the oldest coal ash at Duke."
Duke has said it has examined the sites and the elements are naturally occurring and harmless.
Scott says he's also asked the EPA for a Superfund assessment of the shuttered Badin Works aluminum smelter, and is planning more testing for the Upper Yadkin to see how it's affecting High Rock Lake. "We're really looking to improve water quality all across the Yadkin,' says Scott. "We're hoping to bring together stakeholders throughout the basin to examine what we're all putting into the Yadkin and how we can reduce pollution into it to clean up our water."
yadin river #yadkin riverkeeper #dan river coal ash spill
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