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DENR actions on coal ash raise questions
2-22-14 | Raleigh News & Observer editorial
Something does not seem right about how the Department of Environment and Natural Resources has handled the threat posed by coal ash stored in ponds around the state. And the more DENR officials try to justify their approach, the more suspicions grow…
One group that has made progress is the Southern Environmental Law Center. It filed three lawsuits against two utilities in South Carolina that resulted in settlements in which the utilities agreed to empty the ponds and safely store the ash or recycle it. The changes were made without any rate increase to customers.
When the SELC tried to get the same result in North Carolina, it found its efforts obstructed by DENR. In each of three cases in which the environmental group gave 60-day notice of intention to sue Duke Energy under the federal Clean Water Act, DENR used its authority under the act to preempt citizens' suits by filing its own. As a result, it was DENR – not the more demanding SELC – that controlled how the suits would be resolved…
Jim Beasley, a spokesman for South Carolina's Department of Health and Environmental Control, said his agency decided not to preempt the SELC lawsuits in its state. Asked why, he responded with a one-sentence statement: "Our decisions are made with the goal of securing the best protection for the environment."
DENR Secretary John Skvarla said at a news conference last week that his agency preempted the SELC lawsuits to protect the environment, not Duke Energy. "Any allegation that DENR and Duke got together and made some smoky back-room deal with a nominal fine is just absolutely not true," he said.
The results say otherwise. The SELC got elbowed out, and Duke Energy got a wrist slap…
It's reassuring to see that U.S. Attorney Thomas Walker has questions about how DENR has handled the coal ash issue. DENR and Duke Energy employees have been called to appear before a federal grand jury next month.
Let's hope the next thing that spills will be the truth. read more
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Coal ash spill could push NC to move more aggressively on environmental threats
2-22-14 | Raleigh News & Observer | By John Murawski
WASHINGTON — North Carolina's massive coal ash spill into the Dan River this month was decades in the making. But for much of that period, the lagoons where ash is stored attracted little attention or regulatory oversight.
In the past five years, that attitude slowly started to change, as it became increasingly clear that Duke Energy's coal ash pits across the state were leaching toxins into the environment.
The blowout at a Duke lagoon near Eden on Feb. 2 has refocused attention on the power company's 14 ash storage sites and raised a host of questions about how Duke and state regulators have dealt with an issue that was known to pose serious risks to the environment.
The accident may mark a turning point in the state's hands-off approach to coal ash storage, which is under limited regulation in North Carolina as well as in other states. If that happens, Duke would likely have to bulldoze its lagoons, where ash soaks in water, and store the material elsewhere…
In South Carolina, two utility companies have announced long-term plans to close their wet ponds and to put ash into dry storage in modern, lined landfills.
Even so, North Carolina is far ahead of many states that don't require groundwater testing around coal ash storage facilities, said Lisa Evans, an attorney for Earthjustice, a public interest advocacy law practice that sued the EPA two years ago to force the agency to issue safety standards for storing coal ash.
The move to tighten oversight of coal ash ponds met resistance here as Republicans gained control of North Carolina's legislature in the 2010 elections. A bill titled "An act to increase regulatory efficiency in order to balance job creation and environmental protection" required the state "to reduce the burden" on regulated companies and disallowed state safety standards that are stricter than federal standards.
The law passed in 2011, at a time that DENR, still under the control of Democratic Gov. Bev Perdue, was tightening safety standards for coal ash pools.
"We were headed in the direction of more regulation," said Dee Freeman, who headed DENR for four years until January 2013. "If you can't be more stringent than the federal regulations, then it presents a real dilemma."…
Meanwhile, health hazards continue to bubble to the surface from coal ash sites. In October, Duke agreed to pay up to $1.8 million for a new water pipe for a neighborhood near its Sutton power plant in Wilmington after the Cape Fear Public Utility Authority found elevated levels of boron in drinking water wells. As part of the deal, Duke required Cape Fear not to drill new wells in the area.
In November, DENR directed Duke Energy Progress, formerly Progress Energy, to provide a household near Asheville with drinking water because the well water was contaminated with iron and manganese and was unsafe to drink. The home in Buncombe County is 1,500 feet from a coal ash pond at Duke's Asheville power plant. read more
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Federal case looking at Duke Energy and state regulators begins to unfold
2-21-14 | Raleigh News & Observer | By Craig Jarvis
The subpoenas that the U.S. Attorney's Office in Raleigh has served on state environmental regulators and Duke Energy over the past two weeks outline the path that federal prosecutors are taking.
They want to determine whether there was anything improper about the relationship between the power company and the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources, and see whether that allowed criminal violations of federal safeguards to go unchecked and even contributed to the massive coal ash spill into the Dan River earlier this month.
It's an unusual case: federal authorities scrutinizing not only a company that polluted but also state regulators.
Victor Flatt, an environmental law professor at UNC-Chapel Hill, said it's not unprecedented for state regulators to clash with the federal government, particularly the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. But this case looks different, he said.
"I do think this – investigating DENR's own activities and the settlement – is unusual," Flatt said. "It's not unheard of, but it is unusual. If the state is doing something beyond what's discretionary – acting improperly – that's more unusual."
Prosecutors – assisted by the EPA and the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation – want to know how often regulators have inspected Duke Energy's 14 coal ash sites. They want to know what inspectors found and what they did about it and demanded certified copies of any enforcement actions DENR has taken against the sites over the past five years.
They want to know about the connections that close to two dozen state regulators had with Duke Energy officials. They want to understand what went into DENR's decision to file lawsuits against the company, then craft a settlement imposing a small fine, and then withdraw that proposal following the Dan River spill.
They want to know who was present for key meetings where the lawsuit was discussed and whether anything of value changed hands between regulators and the utility.
Problems in Gaston County
When the federal EPA goes after polluters it can choose between two routes: civil and criminal. Civil prosecutions, more common, are used when the pollution is an accident or a mistake.
A criminal prosecution is triggered by the suspicion that a polluter knowingly violated the law, and in those cases felony charges are usually sought. A criminal conviction can result in a prison sentence.
In 2012, U.S. Attorney Thomas Walker's office in Raleigh prosecuted a Columbus County farmer for a violation of the Clean Water Act for intentionally discharging more than 324,000 gallons of hog waste into a creek that flows into the Waccama River. The farmer was sentenced to six months in prison and ordered to pay $1.5 million in fines and cleanup.
Walker has made environmental prosecutions a priority. read more
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Prosecutors file new subpoenas over NC coal ash
2-19-14 | Associated Press | By Michael Biesecker
RALEIGH, N.C. — Federal prosecutors have served North Carolina's environmental agency with more subpoenas seeking documents and commanding more than a dozen state employees to testify before a grand jury, all part of a broadening criminal investigation launched in the wake of a massive coal ash spill.
The subpoenas made public by the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources on Wednesday are dated Feb. 11, the day after two other subpoenas were issued to the state agency and Duke Energy. The new subpoenas seek documents related to the agency's regulation of Duke's coal ash dumps before the Feb. 2 spill, which coated the bottom of the Dan River with toxic ash up to 70 miles downstream.
Duke has declined to share copies of any subpoenas it received. read more
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Damage from Dan River spill still unfolding
2-18-14 | Raleigh News & Observer | By Craig Jarvis
More than two weeks after a massive leak of coal ash from a Duke Energy power plant poured into a river along the North Carolina-Virginia border, the full extent of damage to the environment is still unfolding.
On Tuesday, state regulators said a second stormwater pipe at the company's plant is spilling elevated levels of arsenic into the Dan River. And federal officials issued their first assessment of the disaster, raising the specter of long-term harm to aquatic life, reaching as far as Kerr Lake.
The N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources on Tuesday afternoon ordered Duke Energy to immediately halt discharges from the second pipe. Tests revealed the water was toxic, and a camera snaked into the pipe showed leaks – ranging from a trickle to gushing – where sections of the pipe joined together.
The state agency had expressed concern about the second leak on Friday, but regulators didn't know what was in the water that was coming through the pipe and into the river until Tuesday. read more
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Toxins leaking from second pipe at NC coal ash dump
2-18-14 | Associated Press | By Michael Biesecker
RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina officials said Tuesday that groundwater containing unsafe levels of arsenic apparently leaching from a Duke Energy coal ash dump is still pouring into the Dan River, which is already contaminated from a massive Feb. 2 spill.
The state Department of Environment and Natural Resources ordered Duke to stop the flow of contaminated water coming out a pipe that runs under a huge coal ash dump at its Eden power plant. A nearby pipe at the same dump collapsed without warning two weeks ago, coating the bottom of the Dan River with toxic ash as far as 70 miles downstream.
State regulators expressed concern five days ago that the second pipe could fail, triggering a new spill. The water coming out of that pipe contains poisonous arsenic at 14 times the level considered safe for human contact, according to test results released by the state on Tuesday.
Video taken last week by a robot sent inside the 36-inch-wide concrete pipe showed wide gaps between seams through which groundwater is gushing in, likely from the toxic dump above.read more
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DENR fights images as too cozy with Duke Energy
2-17-14 | Raleigh News & Observer | By Craig Jarvis
RALEIGH — Department of Environment and Natural Resources Secretary John Skvarla on Monday pushed back against criticism that his agency has become too close to the businesses it regulates. After a legislative hearing in Raleigh on Monday, Skvarla bristled at environmental activists' criticism over his agency's decision not to force Duke Energy to shut down its coal ash ponds.
Skvarla is facing increased scrutiny since last week's revelation that federal prosecutors have opened a criminal investigation into his agency's relationship with Duke Energy. Prosecutors have subpoenaed records and correspondence between DENR and the company. read more. read more
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NC regulators, Duke assure NC lawmakers coal ash spill poses no immediate threat to health
10-08-13 | Raleigh News & Observer By John Murawski | By John Murawski
State environmental regulators and a Duke Energy executive assured state lawmakers Monday that Duke's accidental spewing of tons of coal ash into the Dan River poses no immediate threat to public health. The hastily scheduled hearing was the first update lawmakers had received on the environmental accident, but it offered few specifics on how and when North Carolina will go about cleaning up the river and preventing other coal ash accidents.
The N.C. Environmental Review Commission, consisting of House and Senate legislators, heard nearly three hours of statements on the spill in Rockingham County that has resulted in a public warning not to eat fish from the Dan River and nationally televised images of a grayish, batter-like goop clogging the waterway that winds through the North Carolina-Virginia border. read more
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When spills flow into NC rivers, how soon does public need to know?
2-15-14 | Raleigh News & Observer By John Murawski | By Andrew Kenney
When sewage and pollutants contaminate North Carolina's waters, the public often is the last to be alerted … Duke Energy waited 26 hours to give public notice of an ongoing spill that filled the Dan River with millions of pounds of coal ash. Ten days after the leak was found, the state warned residents not to touch the sludgy material or eat fish from the river.
Environmentalists, some scientists and public officials downstream of the sites say the public needs to be alerted faster of potential health hazards. State Senate leader Phil Berger, a Republican from Eden, a community on the Dan River, has called for a legislative inquiry Monday into both incidents. read more
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Second pipe at Duke ash-spill site could break
2-14-14 | Charlotte Observer | By Bruce Henderson
A second stormwater pipe under a Duke Energy ash pond in Eden is in danger of failing, say state officials who ordered Duke to fix the problem Friday. A 48-inch pipe under the pond broke Feb. 2, dumping up to 39,000 tons of ash into the Dan River.
Video inspection of a second, 36-inch pipe shows "it has the potential by configuration to release ash material in a way similar to the 48-inch conduit," a state dam-safety engineer wrote Duke on Friday afternoon. The N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources gave Duke 10 days to develop a plan and schedule to fix the second pipe. read more. read more
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North Carolina: Federal Prosecutors Seek Records Related to Sludge Spill
2-13-14 | New York Times | By The Associated Press
A second stormwater pipe under a Duke Energy ash pond in Eden is in danger of failing, say state officials who ordered Duke to fix the problem Friday. A 48-inch pipe under the pond broke Feb. 2, dumping up to 39,000 tons of ash into the Dan River.
Federal authorities have begun a criminal investigation into a huge coal ash spill into the Dan River, demanding that Duke Energy and state regulators hand over documents related to the accident that left a waterway polluted with tons of toxic sludge. The United States Attorney's Office in Raleigh issued grand jury subpoenas to Duke and the state Department of Environment and Natural Resources. The subpoenas seek emails, memos and reports related to the Feb. 2 spill and the state's oversight of the company's 30 other coal ash dumps in North Carolina. read more
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State to create coal ash task force
2-11-14 | Charlotte Observer | By Bruce Henderson
North Carolina's environmental agency said Tuesday that it will create a task force to review coal ash ponds in the aftermath of last week's spill by Duke Energy on the Dan River. The announcement came a day after the agency asked a judge to delay consideration of a settlement between the state and Duke over ash contamination at the Riverbend power plant, west of Charlotte, and its Asheville plant.
John Skvarla, the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources secretary, said his department will use "all available resources, including the knowledge we have gained during our environmental assessment and investigation into the spill of coal ash into the Dan River," to prevent another spill … The new task force will include experts in water resources, dam safety and solid waste management, the department said. It will be separate from the state's investigation of the Dan River spill. read more
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Huge Leak of Coal Ash Slows at North Carolina Power Plant
2-6-14 | The New York Times | By Micheal Wines and Timothy Williams
A massive leak of toxic coal ash from a retired North Carolina power plant into a neighboring river dwindled on Thursday, utility officials said, but hundreds of workers had yet to seal the breach in a drainage pipe where the leak was detected more than four days ago.
State regulators promised a detailed inquiry into the accident once the area was stabilized and the Dan River's water was shown to be safe. But environmental and citizens' groups criticized the response, saying the leak was the result of decades of lax oversight.
From 50,000 to 82,000 tons of coal-ash slurry flowed into the Dan after the collapse of a corrugated metal drainpipe only a few feet beneath a 27-acre pond, known as an impoundment. Duke Energy, the utility that owns the impoundment and the Dan River Steam Station in Eden, N.C., which closed in 2012, says that 27 million gallons of contaminated water also leaked into the river. Coal ash, a murky gray sludge that is the residue from burning powdered coal to generate electricity, contains high levels of toxic elements, including lead, mercury, selenium and arsenic. read more
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McCrory demands Duke fix leaking ash pond
2-6-14 | Charlotte Observer | By Bruce Henderson
Gov. Pat McCrory demanded Thursday that Duke Energy, his former employer, control a coal ash pond spill that has leaked contaminants into the Dan River for five days. A "very concerned" N.C. Senate leader Phil Berger added to the pressure on Duke, calling for a legislative inquiry into the spill in his hometown of Eden.
Duke, meanwhile, continued to struggle to stop the leak from a broken 48-inch stormwater pipe under the ash pond at its now-retired Dan River power plant. The Environmental Protection Agency said the up to 82,000 tons of ash dumped into the Dan River on Sunday likely ranks third-highest in the nation's history. read more. read more
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Tests show different arsenic levels in NC spill
2-6-14 | Charlotte Observer | By Michael Biesecker
The nation's largest electricity provider, state regulators and an environmental group issued differing data Thursday about the levels of toxins detected in a North Carolina river following a massive spill of coal ash. Test results released by the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources and Duke Energy showed arsenic and other potentially harmful contaminates were detected in the Dan River, but at levels considered safe for both people and fish.
The state and Duke cooperated to collect samples from the same sites, the closest about two miles downstream from the power plant where about 82,000 tons of toxic coal ash mixed with 27 million gallons of contaminated water has spilled into the river since Sunday. The spill produced a plume of contamination that coated the river bottom in sludge and turned the water slate gray for miles.Water samples tested by a lab hired by the Waterkeeper Alliance contained levels of arsenic nearly nine times higher than the state's results, along with readings for other hazardous chemicals at levels far above state standards. Those samples were collected Tuesday just feet from where the toxic waste spewed into the river, the environmental group said. read more
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NC river turns to gray sludge after coal ash spill
2-5-14 | Charlotte Observer | By Michael Biesecker
ON THE DAN RIVER, N.C. Canoe guide Brian Williams dipped his paddle downstream from where thousands of tons of coal ash has been spewing for days into the Dan River, turning the wooden blade flat to bring up a lump of gray sludge. On the riverbank, hundreds of workers at a Duke Energy power plant in North Carolina scrambled to plug a hole in a pipe at the bottom of a 27-acre pond where the toxic ash was stored.
Since the leak was first discovered by a security guard Sunday afternoon, Duke estimates up to 82,000 tons of ash mixed with 27 million gallons of contaminated water has spilled into the river. Officials at the nation's largest electricity provider say they cannot provide a timetable for when the leak will be fully contained, though the flow has lessened significantly as the pond has emptied.
An Associated Press reporter canoed downstream of the spill at the Dan River Steam Station and saw gray sludge several inches deep, coating the riverbank for more than two miles. The Dan had crested overnight, leaving a distinctive gray line that contrasted with the brown bank like a dirty ring on a bathtub. read more
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Getting ahead of the next coal ash leak
2-5-14 | Charlotte Observer Opinion
By Tuesday afternoon, a full two days after a coal ash leak was discovered at Duke Energy's Dan River plant in Eden, the water nearby was still a disturbingly dark gray. Two miles downstream, observers found at least six inches of ash on the river's bottom. Twenty miles downstream, flecks of residue were seen on the river's surface.
The ash had come from a leak in one of two coal ash storage ponds at the Dan River facility. That leak, which had yet to be contained late Wednesday, has spilled at least 50,000 tons of ash carried by 24 million gallons of water tainted with hazardous chemicals.
And all this from a relatively small coal ash pond. read more
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Broken Duke pipe was metal, not concrete
2-5-14 | Charlotte Observer | By Bruce Henderson
As crews continued Wednesday to try to stop the flow from a leaking Duke Energy ash pond in Eden, the company announced a surprising discovery. The stormwater pipe that broke Sunday under the 27-acre pond was made of corrugated metal, not the reinforced concrete that Duke had believed it to be.
The discovery underscores how much remains unknown about what caused a break that washed 50,000 to 82,000 tons of ash down the Dan River with at least 24 million gallons of water.
Duke also reported that its own tests found trace metals, the potentially toxic elements of ash, in river water. The company said no samples that were filtered, as municipal water systems do, exceeded state drinking-water standards. Read more. read more
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Duke Energy, EPA work to halt ash spill, plan cleanup
2-5-14 | Charlotte Observer | By Bruce Henderson
Dump trucks and backhoes filed into Duke Energy's Dan River power plant Tuesday as officials worked to plug a leaking storage pond that dumped enough coal ash into the river to fill 20 Olympic swimming pools. Pond water continued to leak from a 48-inch stormwater pipe that broke Sunday, washing at least 50,000 tons of ash carried by 24 million gallons of water into the Dan. Coal ash contains metals that can be toxic at high concentrations.
Engineers and contractors searched for a permanent way to fix the break before turning their attention to a cleanup. It's not clear why the … pipeline broke. Built in the 1960s, it runs beneath the unlined ash pond – the only one of Duke's 14 North Carolina ash ponds with such a pipe beneath it. A power plant in Indiana also has a pipe under its ash pond. read more
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Officials investigate coal ash spill in Eden
2-5-14 | Charlotte Observer
EDEN, N.C. State and federal environmental officials on Tuesday continued their investigations of a spill of coal ash into the Dan River in Rockingham County. The North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources said Secretary John Skvarla was traveling to the site on Tuesday. A day earlier, officials from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency were dispatched to the scene.
Duke Energy reported that the spill happened on Sunday afternoon. Since then, company officials say they have been monitoring water quality and have had some success stemming the spillage. The ash pond covers about 27 acres, and the dam holding the water in was not affected by the leak, officials said. The company estimates that up to 82,000 tons of ash — or the volume of about 32 Olympic-size swimming pools — has been released from a break in a 48-inch storm water pipe at the Dan River Power Plant in Eden. The power plant closed in 2012 and has not produced new coal ash since then. read more
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Duke Energy plant reports coal-ash spill
2-3-14 | Raleigh News & Observer | By Bruce Henderson
Duke Energy said Monday that 50,000 to 82,000 tons of coal ash and up to 27 million gallons of water were released from a pond at its retired power plant in Eden into the Dan River, and were still flowing. Duke said a 48-inch stormwater pipe beneath the unlined ash pond broke Sunday afternoon. Water and ash from the 27-acre pond drained into the pipe.
"We've had some temporary solutions that have intermittently worked at times during the day, but we are still working on a short-term solution and the long-term repair," spokeswoman Erin Culbert said shortly after 9 p.m. Monday.
The pond has a liquid capacity of 155 million gallons when full, according to a recent inspection report, but was at a lower level because the Dan River power plant's coal-fired units were retired in 2012. It's not known how much ash was in the basin, but Culbert said most of it appears to still be in the pond.
Duke said it notified local emergency managers and the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources, which last year sued Duke over its ash handling, on Sunday afternoon. The first public notice of the spill came from Duke at 4:03 p.m. Monday. read more
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Duke Energy plant reports coal-ash spill
2-3-14 | Charlotte Observer | By Bruce Henderson
Duke Energy said Monday that 50,000 to 82,000 tons of coal ash and up to 27 million gallons of water were released from a pond at its retired power plant in Eden into the Dan River, and were still flowing. Duke said a 48-inch stormwater pipe beneath the unlined ash pond broke Sunday afternoon. Water and ash from the 27-acre pond drained into the pipe … The pond has a liquid capacity of 155 million gallons when full, according to a recent inspection report, but was at a lower level because the Dan River power plant's coal-fired units were retired in 2012. It's not known how much ash was in the basin, but Culbert said most of it appears to still be in the pond.
Duke said it notified local emergency managers and the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources, which last year sued Duke over its ash handling, on Sunday afternoon. The first public notice of the spill came from Duke at 4:03 p.m. Monday.
Environmental groups that have filed lawsuits in an effort to force Duke and other utilities to remove ash stored near waterways quickly pointed out the lapse in time before public notification. read more