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
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.
“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.
February 3, 2014
Contacts:
Ulla Reeves, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, ulla@cleanenergy.org, (828) -713-7486
Amy Adams, Appalachian Voices, amy@appvoices.org, (828) 262-1500
Donna Lisenby, Waterkeeper Alliance, dlisenby@waterkeeper.org, (704) 277-6055
Tiffany Haworth, Executive Director, thaworth@danriver.org, (336) 627-6270
Bridget Whelan, North Carolina Conservation Network, bridget@ncconservationnetwork.org, (313) 919-5919
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The Dan River runs black: Initial indications estimate as much as 22 million gallons of coal ash could already be in the Dan River. Appalachian Voices and our allies are demanding accountability and disclose from Duke Energy.
Asheville, N.C. — Upon receiving news of a new coal ash disaster in North Carolina, concerned community and environmental organizations call upon Duke Energy and the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources to immediately notify the public of the severity of the disaster. Groups cite recent West Virginia chemical spill as evidence for the need for immediate and full disclosure on the part of the responsible party.
Initial indications are that 22 million gallons of coal ash could already be in the Dan River headed toward the downstream communities of Eden and Danville. Eyewitness sightings claimed the Dan River was “running black” earlier today in Eden. For comparison, the Kingston Tennessee Valley Authority disaster dumped over 1 billion gallons of coal ash into the Clinch and Emory Rivers five years ago.
Both of the Dan River coal ash impoundments are unlined and carry a high hazard rating from the EPA, meaning a dam failure would cause damage to local communities and infrastructure and likely cause loss of life. Coal ash waste reads like a “who’s who list” of toxic heavy metals. From arsenic, boron, and chromium to selenium, mercury and lead, coal ash is a serious threat to aquatic ecosystems and local drinking water.
The spill comes just days after millions of gallons of sewage spilled into North Carolina’s Haw River, and state environmental officials failed to notify the public within the 48 hours that the law requires.
Duke Energy is currently in litigation for alleged pollution at all 14 coal ash dump sites in North Carolina. The utility has repeatedly claimed that its coal ash storage facilities are safe and comply with environmental protection laws. Groups have continued to call on Duke Energy to address legacy issues of toxic coal ash to ensure proper long-term storage of the hazardous waste upon closure of any coal plant.
Statements:
“Based on our experiences with the Kingston dam break, we know that toxic coal ash dumped into waters is an environmental disaster that requires swift attention and cleanup,” stated Ulla Reeves, High Risk Energy Program Director with the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy. “Downstream communities’ drinking water could be at risk and residents need to be forewarned immediately.”
“State environmental officials failed to immediately notify the public about a major toxic spill in one of our precious waterways,” said Stephanie Schweickert, affiliate organizer with the North Carolina Conservation Network. “Coal ash is extremely dangerous and the communities near the spill deserve information about their health and safety.”
“The Dan River Basin Association has a full time staff person in Rockingham County dedicated to the protection and promotion of the natural and cultural resources here. We are very concerned about the potential impact this spill will have on drinking water and the outdoor recreational economy, “says Tiffany Haworth, Executive Director of the Dan River Basin Association. “We have worked hard with community members to assure that our local rivers are clean and here for future generations, and we will continue to do so until this matter is resolved.”
“Five days after I sampled the river after the Kingston coal ash spill, I found arsenic, lead, chromium and other metals were 2 to 300 times higher than drinking water standards and the plume of coal ash stretched more than 20 miles,” said Donna Lisenby, Global Coal Campaign Coordinator for Waterkeeper Alliance. “The Dan River spill happened on Sunday and Duke Energy still has not reported the results of any water quality tests-this is unacceptable. Downstream communities need to know what pollutants Duke dumped into the Dan River.”
From the Charlotte Observer, 2/3/2014
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.
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.
The Dan River plant is about 130 miles northeast of Charlotte near the Virginia line.
The North Carolina environmental agency said it notified downstream water districts of the spill. The nearest municipality that draws water from the Dan River, Danville, reported no problems with its water.
Duke and the North Carolina agency took water samples from the river but said results are not yet back. Coal ash contains metals that can be toxic in high concentrations.
The pond’s dam beside the river “remains secure,” Duke said. Some erosion has occurred on the side of a berm farthest from the river, it said, and engineers are working to stabilize it.
Independent engineers who inspected the pond’s dam in 2009 for the Environmental Protection Agency found it in good condition, but they noted some seepage and recommended a stability study on the structure’s river side. Built in 1956, it was divided into two ponds in the 1970s.
The report said the dam had “significant hazard potential” if it were breached, mainly for property and environmental damage.
A security guard spotted an unusually low water level in the ash pond about 2 p.m. Sunday, Culbert said, leading to the discovery of the pipe break.
Ash was visible on the banks of the Dan River on Monday, and the water was tinted gray.
“While it is early in the investigation and state officials do not yet know of any possible impacts to water quality, staff members have been notifying downstream communities with drinking water intakes,” the North Carolina environmental agency reported late Monday afternoon.
Danville, Va.’s water intake is about 6 miles downstream of the pond.
Barry Dunkley, the city’s water director, said in a release that “all water leaving our treatment facility has met public health standards. We do not anticipate any problems going forward in treating the water we draw from the Dan River.”
A 1-billion gallon spill of ash slurry at a Tennessee Valley Authority power plant in Tennessee in 2008 ignited national debate over coal ash.
Last week the EPA, which had been sued by two North Carolina environmental groups among others, said it would issue the first federal rules on ash-handling by December.
Duke has closed seven of its 14 North Carolina coal-fired power plants, including Dan River, and is evaluating ways to close the ash ponds at those sites. Groundwater contamination has been found around all 14 of its unlined ash ponds, although much of the contamination may occur naturally.
Ash ponds are at the Allen power plant in Gaston County near Belmont and at the Riverbend plant on Mountain Island Lake near Mount Holly.
North Carolina environmental officials, pressured by advocacy groups, sued Duke last year over ash handling at all its coal plants. Environmentalists say Duke should remove the ash from the retired ponds, as utilities in South Carolina have agreed to do.
