The Dan River coal ash spill sparked a flurry of coal ash cleanup legislation, public hearings, community meetings and more across North Carolina. But where does coal ash stand in the state now?
The Dan River coal ash spill sparked a flurry of coal ash cleanup legislation, public hearings, community meetings and more across North Carolina. But where does coal ash stand in the state now?
Contact: Statewide and Eastern North Carolina: Bobby Jones (919) 394-0727 Western North Carolina: Jeri Cruz-Segarra (828) 651-9576 Charlotte Area: Amy Brown (704) 301-6209 Winston-Salem Area: David Hairston (336) 655- 3413, Caroline Armijo (919) 358-5057 An alliance of North Carolinians directly…
Duke Energy and its army of lobbyists apparently have convinced N.C. lawmakers that it’s just too expensive to clean up all of its leaking coal ash dumps. The company’s argument is based on an assumption that it would take 30 years to remove the ash from JUST ONE SITE. “What??” I hear you ask incredulously. So let’s take a deeper look at that …
Last Monday, concerned citizens packed the pews of a local church in Eden, N.C. The crowd, which was a diverse mixture of age, race and background, assembled for a town hall meeting on coal ash, organized by the North Carolina chapter of the NAACP as a part of the Moral Monday movement.
Duke Energy has appealed the March 6 ruling by a Wake County judge that it must take immediate action to end groundwater pollution from its coal ash ponds at its coal-fired power plants in North Carolina. The company also asked the N.C. Court of Appeals to stay the order until an appeal can be heard to avoid losing “years of planning” to improve how it handles coal ash.
Since the Dan River coal ash spill drew national attention to the threats coal ash poses to waterways, North Carolinians have come together to tell state regulators and elected officials that the risks associated with Duke Energy’s mismanaged and outdated coal ash ponds are unacceptable. Here is a round up of the ongoing news coverage of North Carolina’s coal ash problem in the wake of the spill.
We’ve watched national interest in North Carolina’s coal ash mess grow over the past month and a half, and it’s been a wild ride. The Dan River spill on Feb. 2 sparked a wave of support for closing the 33 ash ponds owned by Duke Energy polluting North Carolina’s surface and ground waters. Here are the most recent developments.
The Associated Press reported today that emails between N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources officials, the N.C. Department of Justice and lawyer for Duke Energy indicate how DENR coordinated closely with Duke after it blocked citizens groups from suing the company over coal ash pollution.
Regardless of the political environment in North Carolina, the Dan River spill was a major event and a reminder of the dangers of coal ash and the consequences of poor enforcement. But with the anti-regulatory renown of North Carolina’s lawmakers and state agencies, it has understandably created a firestorm in Raleigh and around the state of people demanding action that many believe is long overdue.
The vast majority of North Carolinians believe Duke Energy should be forced to pay for the cleanup of the Dan River coal ash spill and that state lawmakers should act now to prevent future spills, according to a new poll commissioned by the North Carolina League of Conservation Voters.