EPA agrees to deadline for first-ever U.S. coal ash regulations

Duke Energy’s Asheville-area coal plant

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Late Wednesday, the Environmental Protection Agency announced plans to finalize first-ever federal regulations for the disposal of coal ash by Dec. 19, 2014, according to a settlement in a lawsuit brought by environmental and public health groups and a Native American tribe. The settlement does not dictate the content of the final regulation, but it confirms that the agency will finalize a rule by a date certain after years of delay.

A copy of the settlement can be found here.

The settlement is in response to a lawsuit brought in 2012 by Earthjustice on behalf of the Western North Carolina Alliance, Appalachian Voices; Chesapeake Climate Action Network; Environmental Integrity Project (D.C., Penn.); Kentuckians For The Commonwealth; Moapa Band of Paiutes; Montana Environmental Information Center; Physicians for Social Responsibility (DC); Prairie Rivers Network ; Sierra Club (Calif.); and Southern Alliance for Clean Energy (eight southeast states)

In October, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that the EPA has a mandatory duty to review and revise its waste regulations under the Resource and Conservation Recovery Act. The EPA has never finalized any federal regulations for the disposal of coal ash—the nation’s second largest industrial waste stream.

Taking overdue action to safeguard communities from coal ash was the first promise the Obama Administration made to the American public. Former EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson vowed to finalize coal ash regulations following a spill in Kingston, Tenn., where over a billion gallons of coal ash burst through a dam and damaged or destroyed two dozen homes and 300 acres of riverfront property. In the aftermath of that disaster, the EPA proposed various regulatory options in May 2010 and held seven public hearings in August and September of that year. Environmental and public health groups, community organizations, Native American tribes and others generated more than 450,000 public comments on EPA’s proposed regulation, calling for the strongest protections under the law. But since then, despite coal ash contamination at more than 200 sites nationwide, the EPA has failed to finalize the protections under pressure from industry, the White House and some members of Congress.

A timeline of coal ash events from the TVA spill to today’s settlement can be found here.

The following statement is made on behalf of the organizations involved in this lawsuit:

“Now we have certainty that EPA is going to take some action to protect us and all of the hundreds of communities across the country that are being poisoned by coal ash dumps. Since the disaster in Kingston, we have seen more tragic spills, and the list of sites where coal ash is contaminating our water keeps growing.  Today, we are celebrating because the rule we need is finally in sight.

“But this deadline alone is not enough.  EPA needs to finalize a federally enforceable rule that will clean up the air and water pollution that threatens people in hundreds of communities across the country. Coal ash has already poisoned too many lakes, rivers, streams and groundwater aquifers. It is time to close dangerous unlined ash impoundments like the one that burst at Kingston.

“Utility companies need to stop dumping ash into unlined pits and start safely disposing of ash in properly designed landfills. Groundwater testing is needed at these ash dumps, data needs to be shared with the public, and power companies must act promptly to clean up their mess. A rule that requires anything less than these common-sense safeguards will leave thousands of people who live near ash dumps in harm’s way.”

An online version of this press release can be found here.

For information about coal ash in North Carolina, Maryland, Kentucky, Montana, Nevada, Illinois, Tennessee or other southern states, as well as the implications this decision will have locally, please contact the following representatives:

Amy Adams, Appalachian Voices, (828) 262-1500; amy@appvoices.org (North Carolina)
Diana Dascalu-Joffe, Chesapeake Climate Action Network, (703) 772-2472; Diana@chesapeakeclimate.org (Maryland)
Hartwell Carson, French Broad Riverkeeper at the Western North Carolina Alliance, (828) 258-8737; hartwell@wnca.org (North Carolina)
Mary Love, Kentuckians For The Commonwealth, (502) 541-7434; mbloveky@yahoo.com (Kentucky)
Vickie Simmons, Moapa Band of Paiutes (702) 865-2910; simmonsvickie@ymail.com (Nevada)
Anne Hedges, Montana Environmental Information Center, (406) 443-2520; ahedges@meic.org (Montana)
Alan H. Lockwood MD, Physicians for Social Responsibility, (716) 836-0674, ahl@buffalo.edu (New York/Pennsylvania)
Traci Barkley, Prairie Rivers Network, (217) 621-3013; tbarkley@prairierivers.org (Illinois)
Ulla Reeves, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, (828) 713-7486; ulla@cleanenergy.org (Southeast)

For information about the lawsuit, federal legislation, or the status of the pending EPA regulation, please contact the following representatives:

Jared Saylor, Earthjustice, (202) 745-5213; jsaylor@earthjustice.org
Lisa Widawsky-Hallowell, Environmental Integrity Project, (202) 294-3282; lhallowell@environmentalintegrity.org
Kim Teplitzky, Sierra Club (267) 307-4707; kim.teplitzky@sierraclub.org

Feb. 11: NC DOT public hearing on regional transportation priorities

During the 2013 legislative session, the General Assembly passed a bill overhauling how the state prioritizes and funds transportation projects.  There are now three pots of funding – state, regional, and local – each with a different set of criteria for determining how projects will be prioritized and funded. 

Early this year, NC DOT will be prioritizing those projects in the state funding pot and, as part of that process, is holding hearings around the state to hear from citizens what projects they believe are most important.  Included in this statewide category are interstate projects of statewide significance, including the I-26 Connector.  

Please attend the hearing from 4-7 p.m. Feb. 11 in the Haynes Building, AB Tech, Enka Campus

If you can’t attend, you  can still comment by submitting a Comment Form, which can be found here.  (Scroll down to Division 13.)

Tell DOT what you think about transportation generally, where state dollars ought to be invested, and what you want to see in the I-26 Connector Project specifically.  Here are some talking points you may use:

• More investment of state dollars in multiple modes of transportation.  From the recent GroWNC regional planning process, we know that citizens want increased investment in modes of transportation other than just vehicles – greenways, bike paths, commuter trails, transit, sidewalks.  The new state funding program actually cuts the amount of state dollars going toward these modes, which takes us in the wrong direction for our health, our communities, and our environment.

• Look for low-cost but effective solutions.  Cost is a large factor in the new prioritization program, and projects that are cost effective will score the best.  Projects in this region continue to be larger and more expensive than they need to be (i.e. Leicester Highway and I-26) because DOT refuses to consider more context-sensitive, low cost alternatives.  DOT should enable projects here to score better by looking at lower cost solutions.

• The I-26 Connector Project should minimize destruction of neighborhoods, homes, and businesses and should match the character of Asheville.  NCDOT and the Federal Highway Administration are still insisting on 10 lanes through West Asheville and six lanes of interstate traffic across the river.  This is too large a footprint for a road that handles mostly local, not interstate traffic, and in light of state and national data showing people are driving less and less each year.  DOT should consider a smaller footprint, and therefore a smaller price tag, which will help the project score better.  A smaller footprint might also reduce opposition to the project because fewer homes and businesses will be lost.

• The I-26 Connector Project should result in safe travel for both interstate and local traffic.  While there may be other options to achieve this, the best way to improve safety on the Jeff Bowen Bridges is to return Patton Avenue to a local street, as contemplated in Asheville’s long range plan.  This will improve opportunities for bike and pedestrian commuters to downtown and will increase the tax base for the City of Asheville by opening up new opportunities for urban, mixed-use development.

• The I-26 Connector Project should improve connections for all transportation modes.  This cannot be just an investment for vehicles.  Asheville has invested tremendously in its bike and pedestrian infrastructure recently and wants to do even more.   The City recently amended its Greenway plan to include several greenway segments that should be advanced as part of this project.   Also, the more infrastructure there is for bikes and pedestrians the more those modes will be used and the less local traffic there will be on our roads, including I-26/I-240.

Local groups seek clean up of Duke’s coal ash pollution across North Carolina

Press Release from the Southern Environmental Law Center

For Immediate Release: Jan. 15, 2014

Contacts:
Kathleen Sullivan, SELC, 919-967-1450 or ksullivan@selcnc.org
Frank Holleman, SELC, 864- 979-9431 or fholleman@selcnc.org

Representing:
Matthew Starr, Upper Neuse Riverkeeper, 919-856-1180 or matthew@neuseriver.org
Christine Ellis, Winyah Rivers Foundation, 843-267-3161 or christine@winyahrivers.org
Kemp Burdette, Cape Fear River Watch, 910-762-5606 or kemp@cfrw.us
Dean Naujoks, Yadkin Riverkeeper, 336-837-7669 or dean@yadkinriverkeeper.org
Julie Mayfield, Western North Carolina Alliance, 828-258-8737 or Julie@wnca.org
Amy Adams, Appalachian Voices, 828-262-1500 or amy@appvoices.org
Donna Lisenby, Waterkeeper Alliance, 704-277-6055 or dlisenby@waterkeeper.org

Local groups seek clean up of Duke’s coal ash pollution across North Carolina

 CHAPEL HILL, N.C.—The Southern Environmental Law Center today filed motions to allow seven local conservation groups to participate in state court enforcement actions against Duke Energy’s illegal coal ash pollution of lakes, rivers, and groundwater supplying drinking water for individual families and local communities throughout North Carolina.  The motion was filed on behalf of groups dedicated to protecting public waters across North Carolina, from the Broad River in the west to the Cape Fear at the coast.

“Duke’s coal ash pollution is threatening rivers, lakes, and drinking water in every part of North Carolina,” said Frank Holleman, senior attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center. “Local groups from around the state have come together to help ensure that the state and Duke Energy take meaningful action to clean up Duke’s illegal coal ash pollution across North Carolina.”

The Neuse Riverkeeper Foundation, the Yadkin Riverkeeper, Cape Fear River Watch, Appalachian Voices, Western North Carolina Alliance, the Winyah Rivers Foundation, and Waterkeeper Alliance seek to stop and clean up unpermitted streams of contaminated surface water discharging from many of Duke’s coal ash lagoons, as well as persistent groundwater pollution leaching from these unlined impoundments.

For example, the Lee facility on the banks of the Neuse River near Goldsboro has groundwater concentrations of arsenic as high as 665 parts per billion, more than 60 times the North Carolina standard, near neighboring residential areas. Other sites have a long legacy of illegal, unpermitted coal ash discharges: at Belews Lake, selenium from coal ash killed off nearly all the lake’s fish in the 1980s, and problems persist today.

“With DENR’s declared mission of ‘customer service’ to its polluter-permittees, groups like ours that are dedicated to protecting our lakes and rivers for recreation and drinking water need a voice in this process,” said Yadkin Riverkeeper Dean Naujoks.

Last year, the North Carolina Department of the Environment and Natural Resources filed enforcement actions against Duke for its coal ash pollution at its Asheville and Riverbend facilities after local conservation groups announced their intent to take private legal action.  When conservation groups sent another notice of intent to sue over pollution at the Sutton facility near Wilmington, DENR filed its own actions for Duke’s other 12 coal ash sites around North Carolina.

DENR and Duke proposed a settlement of the Asheville and Riverbend cases that does not require Duke to clean up its coal ash pollution, and almost 5,000 citizens and organizations submitted comments opposed to the settlement.  The court has not yet decided whether to accept the proposed settlement.

“South Carolina is busy cleaning up its coal ash problem – it’s time for North Carolina to catch up,” said Christine Ellis of the Winyah Rivers Foundation.

The Winyah Rivers Foundation, represented by the Southern Environmental Law Center, recently obtained a settlement under which South Carolina utility Santee Cooper will remove all of its coal ash from unlined lagoons on the banks of the Waccamaw River. Facing similar liability at two other coal ash sites, the utility announced plans to remove all its coal ash from those sites as well, for a total of 11 million tons of coal ash to be recycled or moved to dry storage in lined landfills.  An earlier suit by Charlotte’s Catawba Riverkeeper Foundation resulted in the cleanup of 2.4 million tons of coal ash by South Carolina utility SCE&G.

The North Carolina court has previously allowed other groups to intervene with respect to Duke’s coal ash sites on Mountain Island Lake, north of Charlotte; on Lakes Wylie and Norman along the Catawba River; Duke’s Asheville site; and its Sutton site near Wilmington on the Cape Fear River.  Today’s intervention motion asks for the same action for additional sites represented by the seven conservation groups.  Those additional facilities are: Buck, on High Rock Lake near Salisbury; Cliffside, on the Broad River near Shelby; Weatherspoon, on the Lumber River near Lumberton; Lee, on the Upper Neuse River north of Goldsboro; Cape Fear, on the Cape Fear River south of Jordan Lake in Chatham County; and Belews Creek on Belews Lake near Winston-Salem.

###

About the Southern Environmental Law Center

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

About the Neuse Riverkeeper Foundation

Neuse RIVERKEEPER® Foundation protects, restores and preserves the Neuse River basin through education, advocacy and enforcement, in order to provide clean water for drinking, recreation and enjoyment to the communities that it serves.

About the 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. For more information, visit YadkinRiverkeeper.org or call 336-722-4949.

About Western North Carolina Alliance

For more than 30 years, the Western North Carolina Alliance has been a trusted community partner, marshalling grassroots support to keep our forests healthy, our air and water clean, and our communities vibrant.www.WNCA.org

About Cape Fear River Watch

Founded in 1993, Cape Fear River Watch works to protect and improve the water quality of the Lower Cape Fear River Basin through education, advocacy, and action.

About the Winyah Rivers Foundation

The Winyah Rivers Foundation is a non-profit environmental organization whose mission is to protect, preserve, monitor and revitalize the health of the lands and waters of the greater Winyah Bay watershed. Our goal is to protect our community’s right to fishable, swimmable and drinkable water. We pursue this goal through education and advocacy programs in support of our mission to protect our river resources. These programs are developed and implemented to increase the scientific literacy of our community, including local decision makers, and to engage them in environmental stewardship and planning for river resource protections.

About Appalachian Voices

Appalachian Voices is an award-winning, environmental nonprofit organization committed to protecting the natural resources of central and southern Appalachia, focusing on reducing coal’s impact on the region and advancing our vision for a cleaner energy future. Founded in 1997, we are headquartered in Boone, N.C. with offices in Charlottesville, Va.; Knoxville, Tn. and Washington, D.C. www.AppalachianVoices.org

About the 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.

Jan. 23: WNCA’s Mayfield to take part in ECO public legislative forum

From ECO:

The Environmental and Conservation Organization will host a public forum at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 23 at the City Operations Center, 305 Williams St., in Hendersonville, to focus on North Carolina’s roll back of environmental protections.

AC-T: N.C. Wildlife Commission holds WNC public hearing on rule changes Jan. 14

Jan. 10, Asheville Citizen-Times:

As happens each year, the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission proposes changes to its fishing, hunting and trapping rules across the state, and conducts public hearings to let people know what the proposals are and answer any questions.

The public hearing for District 9 in Western North Carolina on proposed changes to the state’s wildlife management, game lands and fishing regulations, will  be Tuesday, Jan. 14, in Murphy.

The public hearing, which begins at 7 p.m., will be held in the Enloe Multi-purpose Room at Tri-County Community College.  The Wildlife Resources Commission also has scheduled a staff presentation 30 minutes before the hearing to discuss statewide black bear management objectives.

The 6:30 p.m. presentation and discussion will give background information about rule proposals that further objectives in the North Carolina Black Bear Management Plan, 2012-2022. The plan assists the Wildlife Commission in managing bear hunting to maintain healthy bear populations consistent with habitat where bears occur, and balancing the consideration of stakeholders.

Other hunting proposals make changes to the Western Archery Deer Season, and adjust regulations for black powder firearms and crossbows.

Of interest to anglers is a statewide proposed regulation that encourages private landowners to allow public angler access to inland fishing waters through their property under an agreement with the Commission.  The proposal provides landowners the ability to prescribe allowable activities on their property.  Each area will be clearly marked with signs identifying activities allowed.

Another statewide proposed fishing regulation will provide anglers the option to label trotlines, set hooks and jug hooks with their names and addresses or with their WRC customer numbers.  Allowing anglers to use their WRC customer numbers will help protect privacy by limiting the personal information required on the labels.

The “Public Hearings Applying to 2014-2015 Fishing, Hunting and Trapping Seasons” booklet, which provides a detailed list of all 42 proposed regulations, along with a comment form, is available online at www.ncwildlife.org.