Notice: Part 2 has been cancelled due to the city of Asheville North Fork Water Treatment Plant’s scheduling errors.
Urban Water Cycle Tour
Our local rivers and natural waters are part of our everyday life. Join MountainTrue for two separate tours which will help get you better acquainted with the water you use to drink, wash, and flush. Where does our water come from, and where does it go? Thursday we will tour Buncombe County’s Wastewater Treatment plant (where our water goes), and Friday we will tour the City of Asheville’s Water Treatment Plant (where our water comes from). You may attend one, or both. Register for each separately. Free!
Both tours will last up to two hours and will be mostly outdoors. Please dress accordingly with the weather and wear sturdy walking shoes. We will be walking quite a distance, and up a few hills. Bring water to drink.
Part 1
Wastewater Treatment Plant Tour Metropolitan Sewerage District of Buncombe County Date: Thursday, April 9th 2015
Time: 10:00AM Location: 2028 Riverside Dr, Asheville Carpool: Meet at Earth Fare in Westgate at 9:40AM Registration Deadline: Open until 15 person maximum is filled
Part 2 (cancelled)
Water Treatment Plant Tour City of Asheville – North Fork Water Treatment Plant Date: Friday, April 10th 2015 Time: 10:00AM Location: 3374 N Fork Left Frk, Black Mountain Carpool: Meet at Earth Fare in Westgate at 9:15AM Registration Deadline: Open until 15 person maximum is filled
Date: March 7 Time: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Location: Mountain True Southern Regional Office located at 611 N. Church Street, Suite 101 Hendersonville Cost: FREE. (Donations are gladly accepted to help cover costs of printed materials.) Registration Deadline: March 3
MountainTrue’s Southern Regional office will host a hands-on Adopt-A-Stream Workshop. Learn about a community-based monitoring program where you will receive both classroom and field experience for identifying stream health and water quality issues. Through regular monitoring, debris removal, and trash pick-up, individuals or teams help protect the life and health of the streams and adjacent ecosystems. After the training, you’ll be able to join an existing Adopt-A-Stream team or start your own to become an environmental steward.
Participants should bring a snack, a water bottle, and appropriate outdoor clothing and rain gear. We will not be getting into the stream, so boots or waders are not necessary. Registration is required by March 3rd. Donations are gladly accepted to help cover costs of printed materials.
Date: March 21 Time: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Location: Blue Ridge Community College in Flat Rock (exact building and room will be emailed to participants as the training approaches) Cost: $5 suggested donation for new participants to cover materials Registration Deadline: March 16
Each April and October, more than 40 MountainTrue volunteers head out to sample 20 sites across Henderson County for aquatic life. These dedicated volunteers look in various stream habitats to find quick crawling predators, spiny turtle mayflies, and a range of other benthic macroinvertebrates, or stream insects. These insects serve as biological indicators of water quality over time as some are more sensitive or tolerant to pollution and changes in the stream channel than others. By sampling the amount and diversity of these insects at each site, MountainTrue is able to use this information combined with data from chemical and physical monitoring programs to paint a bigger picture of what is influencing the overall health of our watersheds.
This training is designed for both new volunteers and as a refresher course for current volunteers. Training covers aquatic insect morphology and identification as well as sampling protocol. The training includes both a lab and field portion so dress appropriately for being outdoors. Attendees should bring boots or waders if available. A $5 suggested donation for new participants to cover printed materials. Registration required by March 16. A schedule for the day and information regarding lunch will be emailed to all registries in the week before the training.
Toxic Sulfur Pollution Exceeding Safe Levels in Asheville
New Report and Analysis Demonstrate Dangerous Air Pollution Levels Up To 3.5 Times Safe Limits
ASHEVILLE, NC – A new report demonstrates that Duke Energy’s Asheville coal plant has been emitting harmful sulfur dioxide (SO2) pollution at levels considered unsafe by the Environmental Protection Agency for the past several years. Areas impacted include parts of South Asheville, Fairview, and Leicester, as well as trails in the Bent Creek Forest.
An air modeling study by Air Resource Specialists[1] shows that concentrations of SO2 in the air near people’s homes downwind of the Asheville coal plant are up to 3.5 times higher than what EPA has determined to be safe. According to the study, the plant’s pollution has exceeded these minimum public health standards approximately one out of every three to four days since 2010.
A separate analysis[2] of operations at the plant points to the two causes of this increased pollution: Duke apparently has not been running its pollution protection technology fully and, at the same time, has switched to cheaper, dirtier, higher-sulfur coal. The most likely reason for these changes is to reduce the cost of running this plant, which is one of the utility’s most expensive to operate.
Air pollution controls, “scrubbers”, were installed at the plant in 2005 and 2006. The analysis released today suggests that when first installed, those safeguards were run at acceptable levels, but have been turned down in recent years.
“These new findings reveal dangers to families who live in and visit the impacted area and who breathe the air that is being polluted by Duke Energy’s coal plant,” said Kelly Martin, North Carolina Representative of the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Campaign.
“Fortunately, there is an easy way for Duke to eliminate this health threat and restore clean air to Asheville: they can run the plant’s pollution control technology as it was designed to be operated and can return to using coal with lower sulfur content,” said Julie Mayfield, Co-Director of MountainTrue(formerly, the Western North Carolina Alliance). “We urge Duke Energy to take the steps necessary to stop their pollution and protect our families.”
Nearly 20,000 children and adults suffer from asthma in Buncombe County[3]. “It is beyond my moral imagination that Duke Energy would permit this public health hazard to endanger our community,” said Richard Fireman, M.D., retired Emergency Medicine Physician. “We know that air pollution from sulfur dioxide triggers asthma attacks and airway constriction. It exacerbates other respiratory problems including bronchitis and emphysema, requiring emergency medical treatment and hospital admissions. Sulfur dioxidecan also form other toxic sulfur compounds that can aggravate existing heart disease, causing hospital admissions and unexpected, premature death.”
“While we’ve just learned about the extent and intensity of sulfur dioxide pollution in Asheville’s air, Duke’s coal plant has been a known source of pollution affecting our water and our climate for decades. It’s time for Duke to take responsibility for this pollution and protect the health of our communities, not just some of the time, but all the time,” Martin said.
Previously, watchdog groups have discovered dangerous pollution from the plant’s coal ash pits, including mercury, leaking into the French Broad River in violation of the Clean Water Act. The plant is also the largest source of carbon pollution in Western North Carolina, making it the leading contributor to climate disruption in the region.
[1] D. Howard Gebhart, Air Resource Specialists, Inc., Air Quality Dispersion Modeling 1-Hour Average Standard for Sulfur Dioxide: Duke Energy — Asheville Plant (Feb. 13, 2015)
[2] Ranajit Sahu, Analysis of Scrubber Operation: Duke Energy — Asheville Plant (Feb. 16, 2015)
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 postedhere 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 Watercampaign, 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.
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.
Common sense, pragmatic rules to protect against structural failure, water and air pollution
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced the first national regulations to provide for the safe disposal of coal combustion residuals (coal ash) from coal-fired power plants. The final rule establishes safeguards to protect communities from coal ash impoundment failures, like the catastrophic Kingston, Tenn., spill in 2008, and establishes safeguards to prevent groundwater contamination and air emissions from coal ash disposal.
“EPA is taking action to protect our communities from the risk of mismanaged coal ash disposal units, and putting in place safeguards to help prevent the next catastrophic coal ash impoundment failure, which can cost millions for local businesses, communities and states,” said EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy. “These strong safeguards will protect drinking water from contamination, air from coal ash dust, and our communities from structural failures, while providing facilities a practical approach for implementation.”
EPA has been studying the effects of coal ash disposal on the environment and public health for many years. In the wake of the failure of the TVA coal ash pond in Kingston, TN, EPA began a multi-year effort to help ensure the safety of the nation’s coal ash disposal facilities, including assessing more than 500 facilities across the country. Improperly constructed or managed coal ash disposal units have been linked to nearly 160 cases of harm to surface or ground water or to the air. EPA carefully evaluated more than 450,000 comments on the proposed rule, testimony from eight public hearings, and information gathered from three notices soliciting comment on new data and analyses.
Improperly constructed or managed coal ash disposal units have resulted in the catastrophic failure of surface impoundments, damages to surface water, groundwater and the air. The first federal requirements for impoundments and landfills to address these risks include: ·The closure of surface impoundments and landfills that fail to meet engineering and structural standards and will no longer receive coal ash;
·Reducing the risk of catastrophic failure by requiring regular inspections of the structural safety of surface impoundments;
·Restrictions on the location of new surface impoundments and landfills so that they cannot be built in sensitive areas such as wetlands and earthquake zones;
·Protecting groundwater by requiring monitoring, immediate cleanup of contamination, and closure of unlined surface impoundments that are polluting groundwater;
·Protecting communities using fugitive dust controls to reduce windblown coal ash dust;
·Requiring liner barriers for new units and proper closure of surface impoundments and landfills that will no longer receive CCRs.
In response to comments received on the proposal, the final rule makes a number of changes by providing greater clarity on technical requirements for coal ash landfills and surface impoundments under Subtitle D of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), the nation’s primary law for regulating solid waste.
Implementation of these technical requirements will be reported through comprehensive and regular disclosure to states, and communities to enable them to monitor and oversee these requirements. The rule requires that power plant owners and operators provide detailed information to citizens and states to fully understand how their communities may be impacted. The rule sets out new transparency requirements, including recordkeeping and reporting requirements, as well as the requirement for each facility to post specific information to a publicly-accessible website. This will provide the public with information such as annual groundwater monitoring results, and corrective action reports, coal ash fugitive dust control plans, and closure completion notifications.
This final rule also supports the responsible recycling of coal ash by distinguishing safe, beneficial use from disposal. In 2012, almost 40 percent of all coal ash produced was recycled (beneficially used), rather than disposed. Beneficial use of coal ash can produce positive environmental, economic and performance benefits such as reduced use of virgin resources, lower greenhouse gas emissions, reduced cost of coal ash disposal, and improved strength and durability of materials.
EPA is committed to working closely with our state partners on implementation of this rule. To ease implementation and harmonize the regulatory requirements for coal ash landfills and surface impoundments, EPA encourages states to adopt the federal minimum criteria, revise their Solid Waste Management Plans (SWMPs) and submit these revisions to EPA for approval. A revised and approved SMWP will signal EPA’s opinion that the state SWMP meets the federal criteria.
