Mayfield on the Challenge within Duke’s Revised Proposal

Mayfield on the Challenge within Duke’s Revised Modernization Plan

MountainTrue Co-director Julie Mayfield has a new guest column in this week’s issue of the MountainXpress where she discusses the challenge posed by Duke Energy’s revised Western Carolinas Modernization Project.

On November 4, Duke Energy, citing more than 9,000 public comments, revised their plans in the face of widespread community opposition. The power utility reduced the size of the natural gas power plant slated to replace the coal-fired plant at Lake Julian and scrapped plans for new transmission lines through Henderson and Polk counties and a new substation in Campobello, South Carolina.

But, as Julie points out in her column:

While the utility has reduced the overall size of the proposed natural gas plant, it has also issued a warning: Unless something changes in Western North Carolina, Duke will need to build an additional gas-fueled, 190-megawatt peaking unit to meet growing demand. This would commit us to an even greater reliance on climate-changing fossil fuels for the foreseeable future.

The region is growing, as are our energy needs. If we are going to move the region not just beyond coal but toward a fossil-fuel-free future, local residents and businesses, municipal and county governments and, indeed, Duke Energy must work together.

Read the full column at MountainXpress.

Swimguide – the Good, the Bad and the Ugly

For seven months, from April 1 to October 31, over 25 volunteers took more than 575 E. coli water samples to ensure the waterways of the French Broad River are safe for swimming. This data was collected from 22 sites throughout the watershed, from Rosman in Transylvania County to Hot Springs in Madison County.

Overall, the data shows the French Broad River is in good shape, with 86% of our sites testing safe for recreation use a majority of the time. However, there is still a lot of work to make sure all the sites meet the goals of the Clean Water Act to be fishable and swimmable.

We chose testing sites where we people frequently use the river for recreation purposes. While most of our testing sites are on the French Broad River itself, we also collected samples from tributaries, including the Mills and Swannanoa Rivers, and Cane, Hominy and Big Laurel Creeks. Our volunteers test their sites for E. coli once a week and publish the results on the swimguide.org website and the smartphone app. E. coli is a bacteria found in the waste (feces) of warm-blooded animals, including humans and cattle, and high levels of E. coli in our waters can be a risk to human health and the environment.

MountainTrue volunteers have been trained to sample, incubate and interpret their results using a standard set by the EPA. Waters with less than 235 colony forming units per 100 mL are safe for recreating, those above are not. Swim Guide uses a simple red-light, green-light system to depict whether a certain swimming hole or access point is safe for swimming or boating.

Each sampling site is different and pollution problems vary throughout the watershed, but, fairly consistently across almost all sites, E. coli levels tend to spike in the river right after rain events. The reasons for this vary from site to site, but often include things like runoff from agriculture operations, sewer and septic overflows or leaks, and runoff from urban sources of bacteria, such as dog waste. However, there is another source that most people don’t consider and that is legacy bacteria that remains in the river sediments. This bacteria is stirred up by rain and contributes to the high levels in the river after rain events. If you don’t have the Swim Guide data handy, a general rule is that bacteria levels are low when the river is clear and spike when the river runs muddy.

Despite the overall positive results, our data has shown there are still some problematic locations. Hominy Creek and Cane Creek are often much higher in E. coli than is recommended by the EPA. MountainTrue is using this data to target these streams for additional monitoring in order to track pollution sources.

Below is a quick breakdown of our testing season this year.

The Good

Top 5 Sites and percentage green

Mills River – 100%
Pisgah Forest Access – 96.3%
Swannanoa River at Azalea Park – 92.59%
Pearson Bridge – 89.29%
Champion Park – 88.46%

Why are these sites good?

It is very hard to say with certainty why a specific site is rated high or low, but land use has a big impact on water quality. The land use that most of these sites have in common is a forested watershed. All these spots, with the exception of Pearson Bridge, are bordered by a good amount of forested land. Less development and less surrounding agriculture mean there are few sources for E. coli and a good stream buffer of trees to filter out any pollution that exists. Forests equal good land management and the Mills River site is a great example. It is completely surrounded by Pisgah National Forest and the data shows it is clean for 100% of our samples. Overall 13 of 15 sites on the main stem of the French Broad River are rated good over 70% of the time. Six of 15 sites on the French Broad River are rated good over 80% of the time. These sites include all four sites in Transylvania County as well at Pearson Bridge and Woodfin River Park. Over 50% of the land in Transylvania County is publicly owned and protected, which explain a lot the low levels of E. coli in our samples.

The Pearson Bridge site is not easy to explain as it sits in the middle of heavy land use, surrounded by the City of Asheville, but some of its success can be attributed to the millions of dollars the Metropolitan Sewer District (MSD) has put into improving their sewage collection over the years. A historically leaky system has been dramatically improved; this is one possible reason that this site in the middle of Asheville and along the very popular tube to the Bywater is so clean

The Bad

Worst 5 sites and percentage green

Hominy Creek Greenway – 44%
Hominy Creek at Buncombe County Sports Park – 44%
Cane Creek at Fletcher Park – 45%
French Broad at Bent Creek River Park – 56%
Big Laurel Creek – 68%

Why are these sites bad?

Again, it is hard to say exactly why a site is bad, but land use is the likely culprit. Hominy Creek sits in a rapidly growing valley that drains Enka, Candler and West Asheville. The valley is a network of septics systems and sewers that vary widely in the quality. Aging sewers can leak, back up and overflow during heavy rains, or discharge high amounts of E. coli if the system doesn’t function correctly. Septic systems only work when they are correctly maintained. Because these systems are usually “out of sight and out of mind,” routine maintenance is neglected. Instances of straight piping along some waterways still exist. This was a much more common practice years ago, as it refers to piping your sewage or wastewater directly into a creek or stream. The Hominy Valley is also home to numerous agricultural operations that could be contributing to the stream impairment problem along the creek. We are monitoring the creek more closely to track down the sources of this pollution and improve the water quality of the creek.

Cane Creek is a similar mix of land. The headwaters of the creek flow through Fairview, then the creek snakes through a mix of rural residential and agricultural lands before flowing through Fletcher on its way to the French Broad River. MountainTrue has documented several agricultural operations that are impacting the creek and we are working to improve those. Big Laurel is a largely agricultural, but MountainTrue has not yet done enough additional monitoring to determine the extent agriculture impacts the stream. The Bent Creek site is a bit of mystery, but there are some limitations in the sampling that make it hard to fully quantify the results.

The timing of our testing greatly impacts the bacteria counts. Our samples are taken once a week. Therefore, they are just a snapshot in time. It is possible that sometimes a volunteer’s sampling just happens to fall right after a rain event for multiple weeks in a row. In a place like Western North Carolina, rain is a big factor in the results of our work.

The Ugly

Highest E. Coli count – Hominy Creek Greenway 7500/100Ml. We don’t actually have a photo of this event, but the image at the top of this post is another ugly one from Hominy Creek Greenway coming in at over 1700.

A Big Thank You to Our Biomonitoring Volunteers!

Mary Beth and Jim

Mary Beth Hayes, left and Jim Czarnezki, front, two of our dedicated volunteers.

Alex and Laura-Faye

Alex Rodriguez and Laura-Faye Weir netting some microorganisms.

Laura-Faye and Evan

Laura-Faye Weir and Evan Parker sifting through a catch.

MountainTrue wants to thank all the dedicated volunteers who have helped make this another successful year for our biomonitoring programing. Our nine teams of volunteers sampled 21 sites throughout Henderson County, and you can expect the results of this testing in the coming weeks.

Biomonitoring, or biological monitoring, involves sampling and identifying aquatic macroinvertebrates, including insects, snails, worms, mussels, clams and crustaceans. Macroinvertebrates are sensitive to pollution such as sediment, excess nutrients and various chemicals. The diversity, health and abundance of macroinvertebrates found in a stream is a strong indicator of water quality over a period of time and can give a general idea of what may be polluting a stream.

“Using benthic macroinvertebrates to monitor stream health is very effective because the bugs we collect have been living in the stream for several months and provide an indication of the conditions in the stream over an extended period of time,” explains biomonitoring volunteer Jim Czarnezki who is a retired expert in the field. “By looking at the presence or absence of sensitive species, we can determine if a pollution event occurred even if we cannot determine what the specific pollutant was.”

Our biomonitoring program is part of our ongoing effort to monitor water quality throughout the Henderson County. This MountainTrue program is part of the larger SMIE or Stream Monitoring Information Exchange – a regional program managed by the Environmental Quality Institute to determine the health of streams and provide high-quality data. The data is compiled by EQI into an annual report, which are published on our website here: https://mountaintrue.org/water-quality-committee/

MountainTrue collects samples bi-annually during the months of October and April. The majority of our volunteers are people who live and work in Henderson County. Some are retirees. Some are working professionals. Others are students at Warren Wilson, UNCA and Blue Ridge Community College. All have a deep commitment to clean waters and healthy ecosystems.

“Biomonitoring streams is a great way to really see life in streams. It is amazing how many little creatures are in a sample of water, under rocks or in a leaf pile,” says Dorothee Kellinghuse, a student at Warren Wilson. “As a person who loves nature with all its creatures and beauty, it is my goal to preserve and protect the habitat of which I am a part.”

To volunteer for our SMIE biomonitoring program

Email Evan Parker

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Three Local Events For Climate Action

Three Local Events For Climate Action

This December, world leaders will meet in Paris to hammer out a new climate agreement. As part of a global movement, hundreds of thousands of people in cities and towns around the world will gather and participate in events to send Paris a clear message: Now is the time to take bold action on climate change!

Europe’s climate chief, Miguel Canete, has warned that there is no “Plan B.” Leaders must develop a plan that cuts greenhouse gas emissions, expands renewable energy infrastructure and helps poor countries adapt to the environmental effects of climate change.

Mark your calendar and attend one of these local rallies to show your support for a meaningful new global climate agreement:

November 29: Hendersonville Rally for Climate Action

This rally takes place on steps of the Historic Courthouse in Hendersonville. The goal is to show leaders meeting in Paris that “our movement cannot be ignored, and we will accept nothing less than an ambitious climate deal, with a global commitment to 100 percent clean energy.” Read an article about the rally and the larger Global Climate March in the Hendersonville Times-News.

Date: November 29
Time: 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Location: Hendersonville Historic Courthouse, 1 Historic Courthouse Sq # 4, Hendersonville, NC 28792
If the weather does not cooperate, we will gather in the meeting room on the second floor of the Historic County Courthouse. See you there!

November 29: Light Up the Night

Come to “Light Up the Night: A Vigil for the Paris Climate Talks” on November 29, 5:00 PM, at Grove Park on Charlotte Street across from St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, as we unite our hearts and longings for a good outcome for the Paris Climate Talks. Join the Green Grannies in song as we hold candles and send our wishes to Paris in solidarity with events all over the world! Sponsored by 350Asheville and The Green Grannies. Contact palmtree747@gmail.com

Date: November 29
Time: 5:00 PM
Location: Grove Park on Charlotte Street, across from St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Asheville

December 6: People’s Pilgrimage for the Paris Climate Talks

The “People’s Pilgrimage for the Paris Climate Talks” will demonstrate with banners and signs, voices and feet in support of commitments from global powers to fight climate change. The public in invited to meet at the pavilion at Asheville’s Carrier Park on Amboy Road and walk two miles along the French Broad River to French Broad River Park. Along the way, supporters will stop at the river, a wetland, a contaminated parcel that is being reclaimed, and an electric power substation to hear about the sites and to share in music, poetry and prayer. This event is sponsored by the Creation Care Alliance of Western North Carolina.

Date: December 6
Time: 2:00 pm – 4:30 pm
Location: The pavilion at Carrier Park on Amboy Road, Asheville, NC

Make Duke Pay…for YOU to Save Energy and Money!

Energy efficiency might not be as exciting as solar power, but it’s the most affordable, most effective way for any household to save energy and money! Even simple weatherization (sealing all the cracks and holes in your house that waste about 30% of the energy that you pay for) can cut up to $480 annually off of utility bills!

There are lots of existing programs and incentives, many through Duke Energy, to help households, businesses and houses of worship save energy and money on monthly bills. It can be hard to find the right information and figure out where to start, but don’t worry, MountainTrue is here to help!

Find out more!

Sept. 29: Creation Care Alliance General Meeting

10/29: Creation Care Alliance General Meeting

First Baptist Church
5 Oak Street, Asheville
October 29, 5:30-7pm
All are welcome.

Special Guests Greg Yost from Circle of Mercy Congregation and Steve Norris will discuss how Beyond Extreme Energy (BXE) tries to inform and infuse their political and environmental action with moral and spiritual power. Most recently, BXE organized an 18-day Fast For No New Permits in front of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in Washington DC.

Steve and Greg will also provide background on how the issues Beyond Extreme Energy organizes around fit into the larger climate justice picture and how others may become involved. Steve and Greg have worked together on many projects since first getting to know one another in jail following a 2012 Bank Of America protest in Charlotte. Steve is a builder from Fairview and was formerly an instructor at Warren Wilson College teaching courses in environmentalism and social justice history. Greg is from Mars Hill and is a high school math teacher.

Making Music & Making a Difference

11/20 Making Music & Making a Difference

Enjoy the an evening of music and fun with the Warren Wilson College Old-Time and Bluegrass Bands. This is a concert to benefit the Creation Care Alliance of WNC.

Friday, November 20, 7:00 pm
First Christian Church of Black Mountain
201 Blue Ridge Rd.

Event is Free
All contributions go to Creation Care Alliance.

11/12: Hendersonville Green Drinks on the Threats to Our National Forests

11/12 Hendersonville Green Drinks: Mountain True’s Josh Kelly on the Threats to Our National Forests

HENDERSONVILLE, NC — MountainTrue Public Lands Field Biologist Josh Kelly is the featured presenter for the next Hendersonville Green Drinks on Thursday, November 12, from 6–8 p.m. at The Taproom at Monte’s, 2024 Asheville Hwy in Hendersonville.

WHAT: Hendersonville Green Drinks, hosted by MountainTrue
WHO: Josh Kelly, MountainTrue Field Biologist
WHEN: November 12, from 6-8pm
WHERE: The Taproom at Monte’s, 2024 Asheville Hwy in Hendersonville

Kelly’s presentation, entitled Threats to Our National Forests, Here and Across the Nation, will focus on budgetary and legislative threats to National Forests including attempts to privatize federal lands, the potential death of the Land & Water Conservation Fund, and fire borrowing. Kelly will also give an update on the revision of the Nantahala-Pisgah National Forest’s management plan and provide attendees with proactive ways to get involved in protecting public land.

Come to Green Drinks to learn more about current environmental issues, have relevant discussions, and meet up with like-minded people. Everyone is welcome. You don’t have to drink at Green Drinks, just come and listen. The Taproom at Monte’s has a good selection of beers as well as non-alcoholic beverages. Monte’s also has great subs if you’re hungry. For more information about Hendersonville’s Green Drinks, contact Mark Stierwalt, Southern Regional Director for MountainTrue at (828) 692-0385 ext. 1004, or Mark@mountaintrue.org.

MountainTrue and Sierra Club Respond to Duke Energy’s Revised ‘Modernization’ Project

Media contacts:
Karim Olaechea, MountainTrue
E: karim@mountaintrue.org, C: 415-535-9004

Melissa Williams, Sierra Club
E: melissa.williams@sierraclub.org, C: 828-545-0443

ASHEVILLE, NC – Duke Energy today announced a dramatic reconfiguration to their Carolinas Modernization Project, scrapping a proposed 40-mile transmission line that would have cut through the counties of Buncombe, Henderson and Polk in North Carolina and Spartanburg in South Carolina; eliminating a new substation in Campobello, S.C.; and reducing the size of a proposed new natural gas plant slated to replace the current coal-fired plant at Lake Julian outside of Asheville.

At the press conference, Duke Energy laid out the specifics of their revision: Whereas the company had initially proposed a single 650-megawatt natural gas-powered plant, Duke Energy now plans to build two side-by-side 280-megawatt natural gas units, 90 megawatts less than what was originally proposed.

The company has said that they will work with the City of Asheville to fulfill the recently adopted Clean Energy Framework and that construction of an additional 190 MW peaking unit (one that is only used when power demand is at its high) in 2023 could be delayed through greater collaboration on energy efficiency programs, renewable energy, demand-side management, and new technologies.

Julie Mayfield, co-director of MountainTrue — the primary organizer of the Carolina Land Coalition:

“Eliminating transmission lines and a proposed substation is a significant win for the residents of Western North Carolina and upstate South Carolina. We came together, voiced our concerns, and Duke Energy heard our call. We applaud Duke for listening to our communities, going back to the drawing board and setting a new course that is more consistent with our values and respectful of our region’s natural heritage.

Today we can celebrate but tomorrow we go back to work. Though we are pleased the proposed plant is smaller than originally proposed, natural gas is still a major contributor to climate change, and our region is already feeling the impacts.

MountainTrue and the Carolina Land Coalition look forward to working with Duke Energy, the City of Asheville, and others throughout the region to marshal new resources and make meaningful investments in renewable energy, energy efficiency and demand reduction. Through that collaborative work, we can achieve the clean energy future we all want and need.”

Kelly Martin, senior campaign representative for the Beyond Coal campaign in North Carolina, said:

“We’re glad to see that Duke Energy is responding to the concerns of people in WNC by abandoning the transmission lines, paring down the scale of this oversized project, and delaying the build of a portion of the natural gas plant to give time for clean energy solutions to get in place. The cost of investing in clean, reliable, renewable energy sources is dropping rapidly. Investments in energy efficiency and clean energy are a smart bet and, if done right, could prevent the need for any more natural gas to be built in our region. The City of Asheville’s recently adopted Clean Energy Framework is a great place for these solutions to take shape.

We look forward to the day when Duke Energy ends its reliance on fossil fuels altogether, for the sake of our public health, water quality, and slowing down climate change.”

**read below for more reactions in bold**

How We Got To This Announcement

In 2009, The French Broad Riverkeeper, a program of MountainTrue, discovered that Duke Energy’s Lake Julian coal ash pits were illegally polluting the French Broad River. In 2012, MountainTrue and the Sierra Club, along with other local organizations launched the Asheville Beyond Coal campaign geared at retiring the Asheville Coal Plant, the region’s largest contributor to global climate change and air and water pollution.

The Asheville Beyond Coal campaign, and MountainTrue’s former campaign coordinator Anna Jane Joyner, were featured in last year’s Showtime’s documentary series “Years of Living Dangerously.” Additionally, the coal ash issue, and the litigation brought by the Southern Environmental Law Center on behalf of MountainTrue, the Sierra Club, the WaterKeeper Alliance and other environmental groups, was featured in local, statewide and national press, including on MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show and CBS News.

In the aftermath of the Dan River spill of 2014, and under immense political, legal and public pressure, the State of North Carolina adopted the nation’s first coal ash legislation, requiring Duke Energy to address its coal ash pollution and to fully excavate coal ash at four sites around the state, including Asheville.

After three years of public campaigning and litigation by MountainTrue and the Asheville Beyond Coal campaign partners, Duke Energy announced the closing of the Asheville coal plant in the May 2015. However, in conjunction with the announcement, Duke laid out the broad strokes of the Carolinas Modernization Project: a large, new natural gas plant that would replace the coal plant on Lake Julian, a new substation for Campobello, SC, and 40 miles of transmission lines between the two.

MountainTrue worked with local leaders in Henderson and Polk Counties to establish the Carolinas Land Coalition, bringing together residents in Western North Carolina and upstate South Carolina. Over 1,271 individuals and 31 businesses and community organizations joined the coalition and called on Duke Energy to revise their plans in order to reduce the negative impact on communities and the region’s economy and environment.

On Oct. 8, 2015, Duke Energy announced that they would put their “Modernization” plans on hold in order to consider other alternatives, citing community concerns expressed through more than 9,000 public comments.

Duke Energy listened, and on Nov. 4, the company announced a revised plan that eliminates the contested Campobello substation and the 40-miles of transmission lines, and reduces the proposed size of the natural gas plant on Lake Julian.

“This is a testament to what’s possible when communities come together to demand a better future for us all. This movement has been truly awe-inspiring, with neighbors and strangers alike coming together on common ground,” says Joan Walker, campaign coordinator for MountainTrue and Carolina Land Coalition. “We’ve made real progress and we couldn’t have done that without the tireless efforts of folks throughout the foothills and mountains.”

For many residents, involvement in the Carolina Land Coalition was a new experience in community organizing and environmental advocacy. Phillip Brown, a member of the Carolina Land Coalition and a farmer and resident of Mills River whose family has lived in the area since the 1830s, explained, “I, like many of us, don’t generally get out and participate in political protests and activism. However, this was a fight we just couldn’t stay out of. While I’m glad to see that Duke has made a better decision now, I think it’s important that we all stay vigilant to make sure they keep making the right decisions for the people of Western North Carolina. We’re in this fight for the long haul. It’s not just about my backyard anymore, it’s about our land, our homes and keeping and maintaining the natural heritage of Western North Carolina and the Foothills for the future.”

Mark Stierwalt, southern regional director for MountainTrue is cautiously hopeful. “We’ve dodged a bullet. This is a win, but there’s still much work to be done. The coalition needs to remain attentive and hold Duke to its promises.” For MountainTrue, this is an improvement over the immediate harms of coal, but the revised plan still commits the region to decades of dependence on fossil-fuels, namely natural gas — a powerful greenhouse gas.

North Carolina and South Carolina public utility regulators will hold public hearings on Duke Energy’s plan in the near future. MountainTrue, the Carolina Land Coalition and the Sierra Club will be rallying public comment and accessing opportunities to engage in the public utility regulators’ permitting processes. We will also be scrutinizing the plan, mobilizing residents throughout the region and advocating for the best solutions for Western North Carolina and upstate South Carolina. MountainTrue will promote greater use of energy efficiency by educating the public about existing programs that help them cut their use and shrink their electric bills. For guides to WNC energy efficiency programs, visit bit.ly/MTGreenEnergy.

To keep up with the latest news and events, visit mountaintrue.org, carolinalandcoalition.org and sierraclub.org/ashevillebeyondcoal.

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11/9 & 11/16: Forest Service Public Meetings

As part of the Forest Planning process for the Nantahala and Pisgah national forests, the Forest Service has evaluated lands, rivers and streams that could be eligible for protection as Wilderness areas or as Wild and Scenic Rivers. If approved, this could:

Keep logging, road-building and mining out of 364,000 acres of backcountry and our most special wild places.
Designate 53 pristine waterways as Wild and Scenic Rivers. This is the strongest form of protection for these rivers. Eligibility would create 1/4-mile buffers to maintain the outstanding quality of rivers and prevent dams from being built on these waterways.

In addition to attending the meetings, click here to submit your comments TODAY!

Attend one of the Forest Service’s public meetings:

November 9, 2015, 6-8pm
Tartan Hall, 26 Church St.
Franklin, NC 28734

November 16, 2015, 6-8pm
2015 Mountain View Room,Kimmel Arena
University of NC Asheville
1 University Heights
Asheville, NC 28801