BREAKING: Asheville coal plant retirement signals end to coal ash pollution

Continued Reliance on Fossil Fuels Troubling to the Region

Asheville, NC – In an announcement today, Duke Energy revealed a proposal to retire the Asheville Plant, a 414 MW nameplate capacity (376 MW operating capacity) coal-fired power plant located near Asheville, North Carolina. The announcement includes plans to replace coal-fired power at the plant with new, larger gas fired generation options. Additionally, Duke has committed to building a solar farm on the site of coal ash ponds near the plant. Today’s announcement marks the 190^th coal plant announced for retirement since the beginning of the Beyond Coal campaign.

In Response to Today’s Announcement MountainTrue, Sierra Club, Southern Environmental Law Center and Waterkeeper Alliance issued the following joint statement:

“For the last three years the Asheville Beyond Coal Campaign and thousands of individuals have called on Duke Energy to transition our region off of coal. This has been a struggle to protect our health, our families and our communities. It has required tireless effort to pursue a brighter vision for Asheville. We can declare victory in securing closure of the plant, for it means an end is in sight for the air, water, and carbon pollution from this plant, but Duke’s announcement to build new gas is inconsistent with the clean energy vision we have called for.

“While we applaud Duke’s decision to retire the Asheville plant, Duke failed to hear what people wanted in its place. Folks want a bright future that supports clean energy, not a giant gas plant polluting Asheville for another 30 years. North Carolina has the opportunity to be a leader in clean energy generation through aggressive investments in solar power and energy efficiency, and Duke Energy must be a partner in that effort – but moves like this deeply undermine the ability to bring online clean, reliable 21^st century energy options that will create good jobs right here at home.

“North Carolinians deserve clean water and home grown electricity options that invest in local communities and create jobs here in our community. North Carolina has some of the best potential in the nation to harvest the sun for our power needs but Duke Energy must be a partner in that investment if the state is ever to see the real benefits of clean energy. While the proposed solar farm is a step in the right direction, it falls far short of the investment needed to move the region to a clean energy future.

“Additionally, this announcement does nothing to address evidence of unsafe air pollution from the Asheville Plant; under Duke’s proposal, the plant could continue to emit sulfur dioxide at levels that threaten public health until the coal-burning units are retired.

“The retirement of the Asheville Plant is a step in the right direction, but it is a half measure, undermined by continuing reliance on an economically unpredictable and polluting source of power. Duke can do better, and our community deserves better. We will continue to use every tool at our disposal to fight for clean energy solutions for Western North Carolina.”

MSNBC: Duke Energy admits guilt in coal ash case

Rachel Maddow reports on the guilty plea by Duke Energy to nine criminal violations of the federal Clean Water Act, vindicating Riverkeeper activists who caught the North Carolina company in the act of illegal polluting.

5/13: Rally for Racial & Environmental Justice

Action Expired

Join us from 11 a.m – 1 p.m. May 13 on Halifax Mall in Raleigh to call for the state of North Carolina to take urgent action to help communities living with pollution and impacts from industrial swine and poultry production.

Most North Carolina residents, except those living in “hog country” and near poultry operations, are unaware of how much environmental damage and human pain and suffering industrial meat production inflicts on people and their environment. For too long, industrial meat operations in North Carolina and across the country have been disproportionately located in communities of color where residents are forced to endure the smell, water quality impacts and the embarrassment associated with the facilities operating near their homes. Meanwhile, State officials have turned a blind eye to the impacts on local communities while catering to the interests of multinational corporations that dictate industry practices.

This past September, Waterkeeper Alliance, North Carolina Environmental Justice Network and Rural Empowerment Association for Community Help, represented by Earthjustice and the University of North Carolina Center for Civil Rights, filed a complaint with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Civil Rights alleging that lax regulation of hog waste disposal by the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) discriminates against minority communities in eastern North Carolina. And in February, the U.S. EPA determined that an investigation is warranted.

Esteemed leaders of the environmental and civil rights movements will gather in downtown Raleigh to urge the State of North Carolina to take much-needed action to set things right and call on citizens to demand clean water and healthy air for ALL communities.

Speakers include:

“Community Speak Out” – North Carolina residents affected by pollution and impacts of industrial meat operations share their stories
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., President of Waterkeeper Alliance
Reverend Curtis Gatewood, Campaign Coordinator of North Carolina NAACP
Reverend Dr. Gerald Durley, Providence Missionary Baptist Church, Atlanta, GA
Rev. Dr. Anthony (Tony) Hicks, North Carolina Environmental Justice Network
Naeema Muhammad, Executive Director of North Carolina Environmental Justice Network
Devon Hall, Director, Rural Empowerment Association for Community Help (REACH)
Larry Baldwin, North Carolina CAFO Coordinator, Waterkeeper Alliance
Dr. Steve Wing, Researcher and Associate Professor of Epidemiology, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

North Carolina Waterkeeper organizations are providing bus transportation to and from the rally. If you’re interested in riding with a group, CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR A SEAT ON THE BUS FROM ASHEVILLE.

3/21: Help us stencil storm drains — then toast our work at Twin Leaf Brewery

Come out and stencil the storm drains of downtown! Storm drains run to the French Broad River and many times people dump litter and/or hazardous waste materials, such as oil or paint, down these grates.

Let’s leave a little art to get people aware of how the system is connected. We’ll spend a few hours stenciling and then toast our hard work at the brewery.

Contact Anna@mountaintrue.org for any questions.

Details:

March 21: 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.

Meet at Twin Leaf Brewery (for a map/directions click here)

All stenciling materials will be provided by the City of Asheville.

SIGN UP BY CLICKING HERE

Volunteer to help our Riverkeeper protect the French Broad watershed

The French Broad Watershed in North Carolina covers more than 2,800 square miles. In 2008, more than 15 percent of the streams in the watershed were impaired for bacterial pollution.

While bacterial pollution in the French Broad watershed is prevalent, it is largely undetected and therefore unresolved. Bacteria impairment is a significant health concern, as the presence of certain types of bacteria increases the likelihood of waterborne pathogens, increasing the risks to human and aquatic health. Despite the importance of understanding the effects of bacteria pollution, knowledge about its distribution is the key to reducing and preventing future pollution.

The Riverkeeper has developed a program that uses local volunteers to monitor fecal coliform levels in in the French Broad River and its surrounding tributaries. Samples are taken weekly and the results are posted here in the Swim Guide, which was created to inform the public about the environmental safety of their local waterways. It helps users identify which waterways are safe for swimming and recreation. The French Broad Riverkeeper also uses the data from this program to identify areas of point-source pollution, and in turn, develops tactics to remediate these problems.

Bacteria in our streams come from a variety of sources, including leaking sewer lines, faulty septic systems, straight piped sewage, animal waste, agricultural runoff, and other point and non-point sources. Mountain True’s French Broad Riverkeeper is currently looking into the sources of pollution in Henderson and Buncombe counties. The Riverkeeper has developed a bacteria monitoring program that, with the help of volunteers, involves sampling for fecal coliform levels in the French Broad River and surrounding tributaries.

The presence of fecal coliform bacteria in water is a strong indicator of the presence of waterborne pathogens, such as giardia, cholera, and several other gastrointestinal diseases. However, while testing for specific diseases is expensive and not as accurate, the Riverkeeper tests for fecal coliforms and can identify the presence of E. coli, which can then be used to quantitatively express the quality of the water. Depending on the use of the stream, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) uses the # of E. coli/100 mL sample to identify whether a stream is impaired and unsuitable for fishing, swimming, and drinking, or if it is healthy.

Along with Waterkeeper Alliance’s Pure Farms Pure Water campaign, the French Broad Riverkeeper is focusing bacterial sampling around Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) in Henderson and Buncombe counties. While other sources of pollution may be identified through sampling, CAFOs can contribute to bacteria pollution through leaks in waste storage lagoons, improperly discharging waste around streams, and waste runoff from rain and misapplication. The Riverkeeper identified four CAFOs last year that are contributing to high fecal coliform contamination. The Riverkeeper hopes to identify additional sources and work with known polluters to mitigate contamination in the future.

Check out the current EPA status of impaired streams in the French Broad Watershed to see which waterways are impaired near you.

Volunteer with us by clicking here!

HBO’s ‘Vice News’ features Riverkeeper’s work on Cliffside coal-fired power plant

HBO’s Vice News will feature our French Broad Riverkeeper’s work concerning Duke Energy’s coal-fired power plant at Cliffside.

From the Vice News website:

Coal ash, which contains many of the world’s worst carcinogens, is what’s left over when coal is burnt for electricity. An estimated 113 million tons of coal ash are produced annually in the US, and stored in almost every state — some of it literally in people’s backyards. With very little government oversight and few safeguards in place, toxic chemicals have been known to leak from these storage sites and into nearby communities, contaminating drinking water and making residents sick. In the upcoming series, VICE News travels across the US to meet the people and visit the areas most affected by this toxic waste stream. Since coal production is predicted to remain steady for the next few decades, coal ash will be a problem that will affect the US for years to come.