From 10 a.m.-4 p.m.on March 6, WNCA and our French Broad Riverkeeper will be building a new stairway from the river at the Rhodes Ranch campsite on the French Broad River Paddle Trail℠.
We’ll meet in the Ingles parking lot (6478 Brevard Road, Etowah).
This work will involve heavy machinery and tools to cut down trees and debris. Please bring chainsaws, loppers, gloves, lunch and water. (Let us know if you don’t have these tools.)
We always have fun working on the Paddle Trail and making it even more awesome for users. If you’d like to lend a hand, please RSVP to Kirby@W NCA.org with your phone number and what tools, if any, you can bring.
Thank you and see you on March 6!
Below is a summary of our French Broad Riverkeeper’s work and observations about the oil spill at Hominy Creek on Feb. 14. WNCA has gathered information on how you can help us stop this type on incident from happening again.
What You Can Do:
Current state law requires the responsible party of a spill (oil, sewage, etc) to notify the public within 24 hours. The state then has 48 hours to notify the public. This law needs to change to ensure the state is notified immediately and that the public is also notified immediately.
Contact your legislator and let them know we want them to act on this issue:
There must be better communication from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to the public. DENR should use existing technology (Twitter, Facebook, email, etc.) to notify the public and impacted municipalities immediately. Also, additional oil storage facilities should be inspected to make sure they are properly constructed and maintained to prevent future spills.
Contact DENR to let them know oil facilities should all be inspected and that the public needs good timely information to protect human health and the environment.
- Drew Elliot, public information officer, drew.elliot@ncdenr.gov or (919) 707-8619
- Mitch Gillespie, assistant secretary of the environment: mitch.gillespie@ncdenr.gov or (919) 707-8619
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Video: French Broad Riverkeeper Hartwell Carson got an update Feb. 16 about the Hominy Creek oil spill from EPA emergency response coordinator Terry Stillman. Stillman shared information on the cleanup effort and what the community can expect over the coming days and weeks.
French Broad Riverkeeper’s summary of events surrounding the Hominy Creek oil spill:
At about 1:30 p.m. on Friday Feb. 14, workers at the Vulcan Materials Co., noticed oil running through their property.
Oil bubbling out of the sediment when stirred up.
They quickly built berms and basins to try to prevent the oil from entering Hominy Creek, which dissects Vulcan’s quarry. Workers at the quarry notified Harrison Construction Co., that the spill originated from the company’s 20,000 gallon fuel oil tank, which was leaking.
Harrison Construction reported there were 5,800 gallons in the tank at the time of the release, and about 5,000 escaped the tank. A portion of that oil was captured on site before entering Hominy Creek. The oil leaked from the tank when a coupling failed. The concrete containment system, that is required by law, also failed, because the drain valve was left open. The drain valve is used to drain rain water, but is supposed to remain closed in the event of a spill.
The Feb. 17 edition of the Asheville Citizen-Times quoted Harrison Construction President Todd Quigg as saying he “does not know whether human or mechanical error, or a combination, is to blame for allowing diesel fuel leaking from a tank to escape a secondary containment system and get into Hominy Creek through a storm water runoff pipe.”
WNCA’s French Broad RiverkeeperHartwell Carson and Asheville Greenworks’ Volunteer/Clean Communities Coordinator Eric Bradford talk on scene with EPA Emergency Response staff.
NEO Corp., an environmental remediation company, was on the site shortly after the spill and began to use a vacuum truck to remove oil that had pooled up on the site. Around 3 p.m., as required by law, Harrison Construction called the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to report the spill.
Harrison Construction reported that the spill was contained, and it was not until additional calls were made by the public that the local fire department, then DENR, and then EPA from Atlanta responded.
It is still unclear why the spill was reported as contained and what DENR did to investigate the original call.
The Buncombe County Fire Marshal surveyed the river Friday at about 6:30 p.m., finding oil as far downstream as East Oakview Road. He instructed the company to place oil absorbent booms at Hominy Creek Road, downstream where they observed oil in the creek. No booms were placed in the river prior to the fire marshal’s instructions. It is still unclear why Harrison Construction did not try to remediate the oil in the creek, prior to instructions from the fire marshal. DENR arrived on the scene sometime after 6 p.m., and EPA arrived a few hours after that. Oil absorbent booms were placed in the river that afternoon and evening. Booms were placed overnight and based on what was visible Friday it was believed the spill had not reached the French Broad River. The spill was reported in the media by WLOS TV at 9 p.m. on Friday night, but it was reported as being contained.
Local photographer Bill Rhodes noticed the spill on Saturday morning, at the spot where Sand Hill Road crosses Hominy Creek, near Biltmore Lake. Rhodes also saw that the oil at Hominy Creek Park was entering the French Broad River and a few miles down the French Broad River at French Broad River Park.
Rhodes called the fire department, and crews then installed additional booms across Hominy Creek, just before it enters the French Broad River. WNCA French Broad Riverkeeper Hartwell Carson and Eric Bradford of Asheville Greenworks saw and reported lots of oil visible on the river at about noon on Saturday.
EPA and the hired cleanup contractor, ERC, put oil absorbent pads in the eddy where oil gathered on Pond Road. The original oil boom is visible with the hard plastic boom that was added Feb. 15.
Booms were also added in a few other locations along Hominy Creek on Saturday, and Saturday night additional hard plastic booms were added to support the soft absorbent booms.
As of Tuesday afternoon (Feb. 18), a lot of oil remained in all parts of Hominy Creek. The fuel oil smell was still heavy, and there was sheen and some product visible in the water
EPA and DENR both say it will take some time before all of the oil sheen is gone from the creek.
DENR has taken water samples to investigate the impact of the spill and WNCA will be watching the spill, cleanup, enforcement and impact to the river closely to fully understand what went wrong, what impact there is to the river, and what can be done better in the future to make sure this type of incident does not happen again.
Feb 19: Five days after the Hominy Creek oil spill, you can still smell fuel at the creek. Our French Broad Riverkeeper reports that as many as five hours passed before cleanup crews took measures to protect area rivers. Click here to view the story.
Feb. 25: Asheville Fire Chief Scott Burnette releases a PowerPoint updated on the Hominy Creek oil spill. See it here.
Feb. 26: From the Asheville Citizen-Times: “State environmental officials issued a notice of violation to the company blamed for spilling thousands of gallons of fuel oil and contaminating Hominy Creek. Harrison Construction Co. faces fines of up to $25,000 per day for each of three violations cited in the notice, said Chuck Cranford of the N.C. Division of Water Resources. Meanwhile, Cranford said cleanup efforts to contain the fuel spilled on Feb. 14 have concluded and the creek appears to be free of contaminants.”
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
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.
From 10 a.m.-4 p.m.on March 6, WNCA and our French Broad Riverkeeper will be building a new stairway from the river at the Rhodes Ranch campsite on the French Broad River Paddle Trail℠. 
