From the Charlotte Observer:
‘Grand jury investigates coal ash spill’
Posted: Thursday, Feb. 13, 2014
A federal grand jury has subpoenaed the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources for records on Duke Energy’s coal ash spill on the Dan River.
The subpoena, dated Monday, comes from the U.S. District Court for Eastern North Carolina in Raleigh. It seeks a wide range of documents, photographs, reports and drawings for “an official criminal investigation being conducted by a federal grand jury.”
“The only thing I can say is that we will cooperate with the subpoena,” said DENR spokesman Drew Elliot.
Read more HERE.
The following letter was hand delivered and emailed to North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory today, on behalf of WNCA and the undersigned groups.
Photo: http://www.governor.state.nc.us/
February 12, 2014
Governor Pat McCrory
20301 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699
Dear Governor McCrory:
We are writing on behalf of our organizations and members to urge you to use all resources at your disposal to ensure that Duke Energy protects North Carolina’s drinking water, rivers, and lakes by removing all coal ash and contaminated soil from antiquated coal ash lagoons to safe dry storage in lined landfills away from our waterways.
We agree with your statement, “we need to make sure this never happens again in North Carolina.”
There is only one way to accomplish this goal: Duke Energy’s coal ash must be removed from its leaking, aging, and dangerous coal ash lagoons beside our rivers, lakes, and drinking water reservoirs to modern, dry storage in lined landfills away from our waterways. That is what North Carolina requires for our kitchen wastes and municipal garbage, and we should require nothing less of toxic coal ash.
As the Governor of the state and a former employee of Duke Energy, you are uniquely positioned to overcome institutional recalcitrance and actually clean up the coal ash lagoons that threaten North Carolina’s citizens and waters once and for all. You have the power to direct the priorities of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, to introduce legislation, to call upon personal ties with the nation’s largest utility and to use the bully pulpit to engage the public in supporting effective action now.
The Dan River disaster was entirely predictable. Since the spill at Kingston in 2008, scientists, citizens, and conservation organizations have been warning that unlined coal ash lagoons like those across North Carolina are disasters waiting to happen. DENR has stated under oath that all of Duke Energy’s coal ash storage locations in North Carolina are operating illegally by violating Clean Water laws.
Further, DENR has stated under oath that the pollution from these coal ash facilities is a serious threat to public health, safety, and welfare and to the water resources of the state.
Yet Duke Energy continues to store its coal ash in this dangerous and outmoded way. Meanwhile, the two other major utilities in the Carolinas, SCE&G and Santee Cooper, have agreed with conservation groups to empty out their unlined lagoons; SCE&G has already removed 600,000 tons of ash. The solution to this problem is known; so, North Carolinians should get the same protections that South Carolinians have.
We are disappointed that, under your administration, DENR has not required Duke Energy to clean up its coal ash pollution or its coal ash lagoons. Instead, DENR has filed actions at the last minute to prevent local citizens groups from enforcing the Clean Water Act against Duke Energy, has refused to consent to the participation of North Carolina conservation groups in the state enforcement proceedings, and has entered into a proposed sweetheart settlement with Duke Energy, which DENR has now asked the Court to stop considering.
It is not enough to direct Duke Energy to clean up the Dan River spill. Duke Energy is required to take that action, anyway.
Only by requiring Duke to remove coal ash from its dangerous lagoons can you protect our citizens and our precious clean water.
On behalf of the tens of thousands of North Carolinians represented by this letter, we urge you to use all the powers of your office to immediately initiate effective action.
Sincerely,
American Rivers
Peter Raabe
NC Conservation Director
Appalachian Voices
Amy Adams
NC Campaign Coordinator
Cape Fear River Watch
Kemp Burdette
Cape Fear Riverkeeper
Catawba Riverkeeper Foundation
Sam Perkins
Catawba Riverkeeper
Clean Water Action
Jennifer Peters
National Water Campaigns Coordinator
Clean Water for North Carolina
Sally Morgan
Water Justice Researcher and Organizer
Earth Justice
Lisa Evans
Senior Administrative Counsel
Environmental Integrity Project
Eric Schaeffer
Executive Director
Greenpeace North Carolina
Monica Embrey
Field Organizer
Haw River Assembly
Elaine Chiosso
Haw Riverkeeper
Neuse Riverkeeper Foundation
Matthew Starr
Neuse Riverkeeper
North Carolina Conservation Network
Brian Buzby
Executive Director
Sierra Club North Carolina Chapter
Molly Diggins
State Director
Sierra Club, Beyond Coal Campaign
Kelly Martin
Senior Campaign Representative
Southern Alliance for Clean Energy
Ulla Reeves
High Risk Energy Program Director
Southern Environmental Law Center
Frank Holleman
Senior Attorney
Waterkeeper Alliance
Donna Lisenby
Global Coal Campaign Coordinator
Waterkeepers Carolina
Heather Ward
Executive Director
Western North Carolina Alliance
Julie Mayfield
Co-Director
Western North Carolina Alliance – French Broad Riverkeeper
Hartwell Carson
French Broad Riverkeeper
Press Release from the Southern Environmental Law Center
For Immediate Release: Feb. 10, 2014
Contact:
Kathleen Sullivan, 919-945-7106 or ksullivan@selcnc.org
CHAPEL HILL, N.C.—The Southern Environmental Law Center commented on the late-evening request of the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources asking the North Carolina State Court to delay judicial review of its consent order with Duke Energy over coal ash contamination of rivers, lakes and groundwater across the state.
“There is no reason for DENR to conduct yet another review of illegal, dangerous, and primitive storage of coal ash by Duke Energy in North Carolina,” said Frank Holleman, senior attorney for Southern Environmental Law Center. “DENR has been studying Duke Energy’s coal ash for years and has never taken action to enforce the law until conservation groups forced it to act. Now, instead of taking action to clean up coal ash pollution and protect the public, DENR is going back to the drawing board and proposing to delay action for who knows how long. It is time to act, not to delay.”
Late on Monday, DENR asked the Court to stop its consideration of the proposed deal between Duke Energy and DENR to settle the enforcement action against Duke Energy’s illegal pollution of Mountain Island Lake near Charlotte, the French Broad River in Asheville, and groundwater in both communities. DENR states that because of the disaster on the Dan River where Duke Energy’s coal ash lagoons have spilled large quantities of coal ash pollution into the River, DENR will now undertake a “comprehensive review” of all of Duke Energy’s coal ash facilities in North Carolina. For that reason, DENR has pulled back its request that the Court approve the settlement it reached with Duke for an indefinite period.
“We certainly agree it is time to pull this hasty settlement deal, but DENR should now get on with the business of enforcing the law,” said DJ Gerken, senior attorney for the Southern Environmental Law Center who represents conservation groups in Asheville. “It is dangerous to store coal ash in unlined pits next to drinking water supplies and rivers, where it illegally pollutes and can spill catastrophically into our waterways. If South Carolina utilities can clean up their coal ash mess, there is no reason why Duke Energy can’t do the same thing in North Carolina.”
In South Carolina, utilities are already working to remove coal ash from dangerous river-side coal ash lagoons. SCE&G and Santee Cooper have reached settlements with conservation groups represented by the Southern Environmental Law Center to empty out dangerous lagoons. SCE&G has already removed 600,000 tons of coal ash.
The Southern Environmental Law Center and its clients have been urging DENR and Duke Energy for months to move the dangerously-stored coal ash to safe storage in dry, lined landfills away from waterways. This is the method of storage required for household and municipal waste.
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The Southern Environmental Law Center is a regional nonprofit using the power of the law to protect the health and environment of the Southeast (Virginia, Tennessee, North and South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama). Founded in 1986, SELC’s team of nearly 60 legal and policy experts represent more than 100 partner groups on issues of climate change and energy, air and water quality, forests, the coast and wetlands, transportation, and land use. www.SouthernEnvironment.org
For Immediate Release: February 6, 2014
Contacts:
Blair FitzGibbon, FitzGibbon Media, (202) 503-6141
Donna Lisenby, Waterkeeper Alliance, dlisenby@waterkeeper.org, (828) 297-3777
Pete Harrison, Waterkeeper Alliance, pharrison@waterkeeper.org, (828) 582-0422
Photos of the spill are available here.
Video of the spill is available here.
Dan River ‘highly toxic’ due to Duke Energy coal ash spill
Eden, NC – Today Waterkeeper Alliance and Yadkin Riverkeeper issued the results of water sampling from the Dan River in the wake of the third largest coal ash spill in U.S. history. A certified laboratory analysis of Waterkeeper’s samples, completed today, reveals that the water immediately downstream of Duke Energy’s ash spill is contaminated with extremely high levels of arsenic, chromium, iron, lead and other toxic metals typically found in coal ash.
Late Monday afternoon Duke Energy reported that it spilled an estimated 50,000 to 82,000 tons of coal ash mixed with 27 million gallons of water into the Dan River near Eden, North Carolina, although Duke has not updated the initial spill estimates despite ongoing discharges for the last four days. Several groups have also criticized the state regulators for failing to alert the public of a massive toxic waste release into a drinking water source for at least 24 hours after they claim to have become aware of the spill.
On Tuesday, Feb. 4, Waterkeeper Alliance took water samples from a stretch of the Dan River downstream of the spill located between Eden, North Carolina and Danville, Virginia. [See the map of samples here.]
Coal ash is a waste product from coal combustion and presents a serious threat to aquatic ecosystems and drinking water because it contains heavy metals and other toxic compounds. Laboratory results of Waterkeeper’s samples, also show that, compared to the levels found in a “background” water sample taken upstream of the spill, arsenic levels immediately downstream of the spill are nearly 30 times higher, chromium levels are more than 27 times higher, and lead levels are more than 13 times higher because of Duke Energy’s coal ash waste.
Waterkeeper’s testing found an arsenic concentration in the polluted water immediately below the discharge of .349 mg/L. Arsenic is a toxic metal commonly found in coal ash and is lethal in high concentrations. The .349 mg/L concentration found in Waterkeeper’s sample is greater than EPA’s water quality criterion for protection of fish and wildlife from acute risks of injury or death. It is more than twice as high as EPA’s chronic exposure criterion for fish and wildlife, and is almost 35 times greater than the maximum contaminant level (MCL) standard that EPA considers acceptable in drinking water.
Waterkeeper Alliance also found a lead concentration in the polluted water of 0.129 mg/L. Lead is another metal commonly found in toxic coal ash. Lead poisoning can cause developmental delays and permanent damage in exposed infants and children, as well as kidney damage and high blood pressure in adults. In very high doses, lead poisoning can cause death. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, lead poisoning in the blood causes damage to many systems in the human body, and that damage can arise after periods of exposure as short as days if the level of exposure is acute. The 0.129 mg/L concentration found immediately downstream of Duke Energy’s coal ash spill is more than double the EPA’s water quality criterion for protection of fish and wildlife from acute risks of injury or death. It is about 50 times greater than EPA’s chronic exposure criterion for fish and wildlife, and more than 1,000 times greater than EPA’s recommended action level to prevent contamination of drinking water.
Levels of other contaminants found in the sampling just below the discharge include: Manganese: .576 mg/L; Boron: .314 mg/L; Calcium: 34.7 mg/L; Zinc: .224 mg/L; and Iron: 84.6 mg/L. Even more troubling is that heavy metals released by Duke Energy are toxic and bio-accumulative. They will stay in the river, in its sediment, and in the bodies of fish and other animals for a long time to come.
“Duke could have avoided contaminating the Dan River and poisoning Virginia’s water supplies if it had removed its toxic ash heaps years ago after being warned by EPA,” said Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., President of Waterkeeper Alliance.
“On Tuesday when I collected these samples, coal ash continued to spill out of the pipe into the Dan River,” said Donna Lisenby, Global Coal Campaign Coordinator for Waterkeeper Alliance. “Our sample crew on the Dan River today reports that there is still coal ash waste leaking out of the pipe. Waterkeeper Alliance is very concerned that there was a delay in the release of sample results from Duke Energy. They were aware of the spill and collected samples long before we did. Their failure to provide accurate, timely information to the public about the high levels of heavy metals contaminating the Dan River for days is extremely irresponsible.”
“The fact it took four days for Duke Energy to release heavy metals water test results is inexcusable,” says Waterkeeper Alliance Staff Attorney, Peter Harrison.
“These sample results raise great concern for the health and safety of our communities, river users and the wildlife in the Dan River Basin ecosystem.” said Tiffany Haworth, Executive Director of the Dan River Basin Association.
After Waterkeepers initiated enforcement actions for illegal coal ash water pollution at two Duke Energy coal plants in NC last year, the State filed lawsuits accusing Duke of illegal pollution discharges from leaks in its coal ash ponds at all 14 of its coal-fired power plants in the state of North Carolina. This includes Duke’s plant on the Dan River, where the State accused Duke of engineering an illegal discharge point to channel contamination leaking out of the ash pond into the river without authorization. A 2009 EPA study labeled Duke’s 53-year old Dan River ash pond dams “significant hazard potential structures.” Field inspections found the dams leaking and their surfaces sliding.
Duke stopped generating electricity at the coal plant in 2012, however the ash remains impounded at the site. While utilities in South Carolina have settled Waterkeeper lawsuits and started cleaning up their leaking ash ponds, Duke has thus far refused to responsibly address their ongoing contamination of public water supplies.
The Dan River coal ash spill appears to be the third largest in U.S. history. In 2008, a billion gallons of ash slurry spilled into the Emory River from a Tennessee Valley Authority power plant in Kingston, Tennessee. In 2006, 100 million gallons of coal ash spilled into the Delaware River from PPL.
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WATERKEEPER® Alliance
Founded in 1999 by environmental attorney and activist Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and several veteran Waterkeeper Organizations, Waterkeeper Alliance is a global movement of on-the-water advocates who patrol and protect over 100,000 miles of rivers, streams and coastlines in North and South America, Europe, Australia, Asia and Africa. www.waterkeeper.org
Yadkin RIVERKEEPER®
Yadkin Riverkeeper’s mission is to respect, protect and improve the Yadkin Pee Dee River Basin through education, advocacy and action. It is aimed at creating a clean and healthy river that sustains life and is cherished by its people. To achieve this vision, it seeks to accomplish the following objectives: sustain a RIVERKEEPER® program, measurably improve water quality, reestablish native bio-diversity, preserve and enhance the forest canopy, bring legal action to enforce State and Federal environmental laws, and teach and practice a “river ethic” of ecological respect to all ages. www.yadkinriverkeeper.org
Dan River Basin Association
The Dan River Basin Association preserves and promotes the natural and cultural resources of the Dan River Basin through stewardship, recreation and education. www.danriver.org
From http://governor.nc.gov/:
Governor travels with his environmental agency staff to spill site in Eden
Raleigh, NC – North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory traveled to the site of the coal ash spill in Eden Thursday to direct Duke Energy to take all needed measures to control the spill so cleanup efforts can begin as soon as possible.
“This is a serious spill and we need to get it under control as quickly as possible,” Governor McCrory said. “Our top priorities are ensuring the health and safety of the public as well as the wildlife in the Dan River vicinity and the river itself, and the best way to do that is to get this controlled and cleaned up.”
A break Sunday afternoon in a stormwater pipe beneath an ash basin at the retired Dan River Steam Station in Eden caused a release of ash basin water and ash into the Dan River. Duke Energy estimates that initially 50,000 to 82,000 tons of ash was released to the river as a result of the break in the 48-inch stormwater pipe at the power plant. The company is working on a new estimate. The company also estimates that between 24 and 27 million gallons of basin water has reached the river.
As of Thursday afternoon, downstream municipal water supplies remain unaffected and are reporting that drinking water in their communities is safe to drink.
Governor McCrory was joined on the site Thursday by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources Secretary John Skvarla, the Division of Water Resources Director Tom Reeder and other senior staff in DENR.
“My staff in the Department of Environment and Natural Resources has provided a thorough and comprehensive response to this spill,” Governor McCrory said. “They have been on site since we were notified of the incident to monitor water quality, provide guidance and evaluate conditions of the containment dam around the coal ash pond. We will continue to be here on-site throughout the cleanup efforts and subsequent investigation of this incident. We need to make sure this never happens again in North Carolina.”
Duke Energy is cooperating and using all its resources in this effort. Governor McCrory has directed Secretary Skvarla to review any necessary changes to laws and rules to help facilitate response to incidents like this in the future.
The state filed lawsuits for injunctive relief in 2013 against Duke Energy Progress Inc. and Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC for claims related to the discharge of wastewater from 14 of the utility’s North Carolina coal ash impoundments. The lawsuits seek a court order to require the utility to address groundwater and wastewater violations at multiple sites the utility uses to store coal ash residuals. The lawsuits have not been resolved, but the state in July proposed a consent order with the utility regarding the utility’s coal ash impoundments in Asheville and Gaston County.
“My administration is the first in North Carolina history to take legal action against the utility regarding coal ash ponds,” Governor McCrory said. “We have been moving on this issue since the beginning of my term and will continue to do so.”
– See more at: http://governor.nc.gov/newsroom/press-releases/20140206/governor-mccrory-directs-duke-energy-bring-coal-ash-spill-under#sthash.4VzwjI5A.dpuf
EDEN, N.C. — A certified laboratory analysis of water samples taken from the Dan River on Feb. 4 reveal that the water immediately downstream of Duke Energy’s ash spill is “contaminated with extremely high levels of arsenic, chromium, iron, lead and other toxic metals” typically found in coal ash, according to a report from Waterkeeper Alliance.
On Thursday, the Waterkeeper Alliance and Yadkin Riverkeeper issued the results of water sampling from the Dan River in the wake of the third largest coal ash spill in U.S. history.
MORE COVERAGE: Dan River coal ash spill
According to the news release, when compared to the levels found in a “background” water sample taken upstream of the spill, arsenic levels immediately downstream of the spill are nearly 30 times higher, chromium levels are more than 27 times higher, and lead levels are more than 13 times higher because of Duke Energy’s coal ash waste.
“If a terrorist group committed in North Carolina – for ideological reasons – a crime that Duke Energy has committed for profit, our nation would consider it an act of war against our country,” said Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., President of Waterkeeper Alliance. “Duke could have avoided contaminating the Dan River and poisoning Virginia’s water supplies if it had removed its toxic ash heaps years ago after being warned by EPA.”
The water samples were taken from a stretch of the Dan River downstream of the spill located between Eden and Danville.
Coal ash is a waste product from coal combustion and can present a serious threat to aquatic ecosystems and drinking water because it contains heavy metals and other toxic compounds, according to the report.
Testing found an “arsenic concentration” in the water immediately below the discharge of .349 mg/L.
Arsenic is a toxic metal commonly found in coal ash and is lethal in high concentrations. The .349 mg/L concentration found in Waterkeeper’s sample is greater than EPA’s water quality criterion for protection of fish and wildlife from acute risks of injury or death. It is more than twice as high as EPA’s chronic exposure criterion for fish and wildlife, and is almost 35 times greater than the maximum contaminant level (MCL) standard that EPA considers acceptable in drinking water.
Waterkeeper Alliance also found a lead concentration in the polluted water of 0.129 mg/L. Lead is another metal commonly found in toxic coal ash.
Lead poisoning can cause developmental delays and permanent damage in exposed infants and children, as well as kidney damage and high blood pressure in adults. In very high doses, lead poisoning can cause death.
“On Tuesday when I collected these samples, coal ash continued to spill out of the pipe into the Dan River,” said Donna Lisenby, Global Coal Campaign Coordinator for Waterkeeper Alliance. “Our sample crew on the Dan River today reports that there is still coal ash waste dripping out of the pipe.”
“These sample results raise great concern for the health and safety of our communities, river users and the wildlife in the Dan River Basin ecosystem.” said Tiffany Haworth, Executive Director of the Dan River Basin Association.
Levels of other contaminants found in the sampling just below the discharge include: Manganese: .576 mg/L; Boron: .314 mg/L; Calcium: 34.7 mg/L; Zinc: .224 mg/L; and Iron: 84.6 mg/L.
On Monday, Feb. 3, only three days after the State Department announced in its report that the Keystone XL Pipeline would have “no significant impact” on climate change, there were hundreds of candlelight vigils and demonstrations coordinated nationwide to let President Obama know that if he allows the pipeline to go through there will be massive civil disobedience throughout the country to stop it.
In Asheville, about 150 people gathered on short notice at the First Presbyterian Church. If you missed this inspiring evening you can see it all on this video-report from The Canary Coalition.
On Sunday, Feb. 2, a stormwater pipe burst beneath a coal ash impoundment at Duke Energy’s retired Dan River Power Station near Eden. Duke Energy estimates that between 50,000 to 82,000 tons of coal ash and up to 27 million gallons of wastewater have run into the Dan River as of Feb. 4.
That amount of ash is enough to fill 20-32 Olympic-sized swimming pools, for comparison the Kingston, Tenn., TVA disaster dumped more than 1 billion gallons of ash into the Clinch and Emory rivers.
This page contains links to news articles, pictures, press releases, videos and other information concerning the Dan River disaster. If you have materials to add, please email them to joan@cleanenergy.org.
“Climate Disruption is not a political issue, it’s a moral issue.” – WNCA’s campaign coordinator Anna Jane Joyner, as featured in the Years of Living Dangerously trailer .
The new Showtime docu-series, “Years of Living Dangerously,” is set to premiere on April 13. Filming took place at Duke Energy’s Asheville coal plant and the Asheville Beyond Coal rally. Also, watch for conversations with Ian Somerhalder (“Lost,” “Vampire Diaries”), Western North Carolina Alliance Organizer Anna Jane Joyner, and Beyond Coal Director Mary Anne Hitt.
We’ll keep you posted on further details as the premier approaches.
The Western North Carolina Alliance, North Carolina Interfaith Power and Light, Southwings, Riverkeeper, and the Sierra Club are the proud founding members of the Asheville Beyond Coal coalition.
We seek to:
- Lead a transition from the use of fossil fuel energy to a reliance on clean, safe and renewable energy sources
- Make energy conservation and efficiency a priority in reducing energy demand in Western North Carolina
- Replace jobs dependent on fossil fuels with jobs centered on conservation, efficiency and renewable energy technologies.
- Secure retirement of the Asheville coal plant and clean-up of any legacy pollution, including the coal ash lagoons.
Join us as the largest environmental film festival in the United States comes back
to Western North Carolina!
The Western North Carolina Alliance presents the Wild & Scenic Film Festival, on tour in Asheville during the week leading up to Earth Day! For nearly a decade, the festival has been touring the country and this year the festival will make its third annual appearance in Western North Carolina on April 15. We invite you to join us for this exciting event!
It is a festival by activists and for activists. For more than 30 years, WNCA has been a building a community to protect and restore the forests and rivers of our home. The Wild & Scenic Film Festival puts our work–and yours–into the broader environmental and social context, and serves to remind us that we’re participants in a global movement for a more wild and scenic world.
At Wild & Scenic, filmgoers are transformed into a congregation of committed activists, dedicated to saving our increasingly threatened planet. We show environmental and adventure films that illustrate the Earth’s beauty, the challenges facing our planet, and the work communities are doing to protect the environment. Through these films, Wild & Scenic both informs people about the state of the world and inspires them to take action.
New this year: VIP Special Access Pre-Festival Party!
Join us from 5-6:30 p.m. before the film festival at Tressa’s Downtown Jazz & Blues for hors d’oeuvres and an open bar, and the chance to meet Jeremy Monroe, director of the non-profit organization Freshwaters Illustrated in Eugene, Ore. Monroe will present two new films at the VIP party and will share background and insights about filming fresh waters in Western North Carolina, and the threats our fish and waters face. VIP tickets ($40/WNCA members,$55/non-members) include this special meet-and-greet, as well as reserved seating at the Wild and Scenic Film Festival.
Check out our Facebook Page for a sneak peak at film stills and trailers!
(PLEASE NOTE: Online ticket sales end at NOON on April 15. Remaining tickets will be available at the DOOR ONLY after online sales close. Thank you!)
We would like to extend a special Thank You to our 2014 sponsors:
Major Sponsor: Krull and Company
Roots Hummus
Asheville on Bikes
For sponsorship opportunities please contact WNCA Development Associate Sabrina Wells at Sabrina@WNCA.org or by calling her at (828) 258-8737, ext. 215. Thank you.
