Cooper administration orders Duke Energy to dig up toxic coal ash and move it to lined storage

RALEIGH, N.C. — Gov. Roy Cooper’s Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) today ordered Duke Energy to excavate all remaining coal ash impoundments in North Carolina and move the toxic waste to lined storage.

In a media release, DEQ said that “after conducting a rigorous scientific review of Duke Energy’s proposals for Allen, Belews, Cliffside/Rogers, Marshall, Mayo and Roxboro facilities, and conducting public listening sessions in impacted communities, DEQ has

determined excavation of all six sites is the only closure option that meets the requirements of Coal Ash Management Act to best protect public health. The coal ash must be disposed of in a lined landfill.”

Duke Energy must submit final excavation closure plans to DEQ by Aug. 1. In those plans, Duke must propose where excavated coal ash will be placed and estimate how long the process will take.

Coal ash is the waste product from burning coal and contains some of the most dangerous known toxic chemicals on earth, such as arsenic, lead and mercury, which raise the risk for cancer, heart disease and stroke, and can inflict permanent brain damage on children.

Yet, for decades, Duke has stored coal ash in unlined, earthen ponds where these dangerous toxins leach into nearby groundwater. Earlier this month, the first-ever comprehensive analysis of groundwater near U.S. coal-fired power plants showed that Duke Energy’s Allen Steam Station near Belmont is the second most-contaminated coal ash site in the country.

At Allen, the coal ash dumps were built beneath the water table and are leaking cobalt (which causes thyroid damage) into groundwater at concentrations more than 500 times above safe levels, along with unsafe levels of eight other pollutants.

Coal ash pits are also a public health and safety danger during the increasingly severe storms that are resulting from climate change. Last fall, Hurricane Florence breached a dam holding back a large reservoir at Duke’s Sutton Power Station, and coal ash from an adjacent dump flowed into the Cape Fear River, a water source for Wilmington, a city of 60,000 located downstream.

Meanwhile, Duke filed long-term energy plans with state regulators in September for its subsidiaries Duke Energy Carolinas and Duke Energy Progress. The current plans include a pledge to go coal-free, but not until 2048—even though burning coal for another 30 years means more air and water pollution and higher electric bills when compared to plans built on energy efficiency and safe, renewable wind and solar.

To add insult to injury, Duke has kept pushing for customers, rather than its shareholders, to pay hundreds of millions of dollars to clean up mountains of waste Duke has created over decades of burning coal.

In response, Dave Rogers, senior representative for the Beyond Coal campaign in North Carolina, issued the following statement:

“This is great news for communities who have been harmed by decades of Duke’s admitted negligence in handling coal ash. We’re glad Gov. Cooper is upholding his promise to protect our drinking water and our health from this toxic waste.

“The debate about how to deal with Duke Energy's coal ash mess should be over. Duke owes it to our communities to clean up its toxic mess and not try to force customers to foot the bill for it. And Duke also needs to stop making the problem worse by continuing to burn dirty, climate-disrupting coal and fracked gas.

“Our communities have long demanded, and deserve, a transition away from dangerous fossil fuels toward an equitable, clean energy economy powered by safe, abundant wind and solar, and bolstered by robust energy efficiency—all of which would create new jobs and protect our public health. Making sure Duke finally cleans up the mess it made is a critical step in the right direction.”

Caroline Armijo, a member of the Alliance of Carolinians Together Against Coal Ash and a longtime advocate for the Belews Creek community, added:

“I am beyond ecstatic with the great news that the state of North Carolina is taking the lead to require Duke Energy to excavate all of the remaining coal ash from its unlined basins. This decision is a tremendous relief not just for the six communities who have been waiting for this decision, but also for other impacted communities who have continued their fight even after their locations were granted full cleanup. The grassroots advocacy for coal ash cleanup has been amazing."

Ken Brame, chair of the North Carolina Sierra Club, added:

“Sierra Club volunteers across North Carolina have worked long and hard to see toxic coal ash removed from leaking pits next to our waterways. We are excited by the Cooper administration’s strong action today to meet that goal.”