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Cliffside Coal Ash Classification Background Information

Feb. 9 2016

In its Residual Impoundment Risk Classifications report released on Friday, January 29, the DEQ classified two of the Cliffside coal ash pits as low and one as “low/intermediate” priority for cleanup. This is despite years of testing that show high levels of toxic arsenic, chromium, cobalt, hexavalent chromium, thallium and vanadium contaminating groundwater and flowing into the Broad River. A classification of high or even intermediate priority would require Duke Energy to remove coal ash from the Broad River’s banks, while a low rating means coal ash will be left in place to pollute a public drinking water source in perpetuity.

“CLEAN THEM UP!” DEQ should mandate that all the coal ash pits throughout North Carolina are cleaned up.

The Cliffside coal ash pits have been classified as “low” and “low/intermediate” by the DEQ and may not be cleaned up, but instead could just be drained and capped in place where they will continue to leach toxic pollutants into our rivers and groundwater. The safest solution for our communities is to dig up the coal ash and move it to dry, lined pits away from waterways. Submit public comment via mountaintrue.org and RSVP to attend to the DEQ public hearings in Cleveland and Rutherford counties on March 14 and tell the DEQ to CLEAN THEM UP!

DEQ has given Cliffside communities and the Broad River the short end of the stick.

Of the 32 coal ash pits in North Carolina, only four are rated low risk and two those are at Cliffside. The third dumpsite at Cliffside is rated “low/intermediate risk,” which is a classification that doesn’t even exist under state law. The Coal Ash Management Act specifies three classifications: “High risk” and “intermediate risk” pits are to be excavated with the ash moved to a safer location, and “low risk” are to be drained and capped in place. The DEQ has made up a fourth designation: “low/intermediate.” It is unclear if these would be treated any differently than “low risk” pits, which would be allowed to continue to pollute groundwater and the Broad River indefinitely.

DEQ is wrong to classify the Cliffside coal ash ponds as “low” and “low/intermediate” risk.

The DEQ has classified two of the Cliffside coal ash pits as “low” and one as “low/intermediate” risk, despite testing that shows high levels of toxic arsenic, chromium, cobalt, hexavalent chromium, thallium and vanadium contaminating groundwater and flowing into the Broad River. Even Duke Energy thinks the DEQ is wrong; one of the ponds is so high risk for a potential catastrophic problem that Duke is voluntarily cleaning up the coal ash on its own.

On every criteria set out in the Coal Ash Management Act, Cliffside deserves a failing grade.
DEQ is required to rate the ponds “high”, “intermediate” or “low” based on three criteria: the impact to surface water, the impact to groundwater and dam safety. According to the DEQ’s own Corrective Action Plan for the Cliffside Steam Station Ash Basin (November 16, 2015) all three of the Cliffside sites deserve a failing grade.

Cliffside gets an F on Pollution of Groundwater.
All three Cliffside coal ash ponds pollute the groundwater with high levels of toxic metals, including arsenic at over 468 times the state’s public health safety standard, vanadium at 690 times the standard, chromium at 83 times the standard, hexavalent chromium at 185 times the standard and cobalt at 119 times the standard. The polluted groundwater from all three pits flows into the Broad River which is a drinking water sources for Shelby, NC, Gaffney, SC, and other downstream municipalities.

Cliffside gets an F on Pollution of Surface Water:
All three coal ash ponds pollute the Broad River and Suck Creek with 28 illegal discharges that dump hundreds of thousands of gallons of water polluted with toxic heavy metals each day, including chromium at 51 times the state’s health safety standard, arsenic at 37 times the standard, hexavalent chromium at 11 times the standard and cobalt at 19 times the standard.

Cliffside gets an F for the Deficiency of its Dam Structures:
DEQ has rated the dams as low risk despite the fact that the three Cliffside coal ash dams received five notices of deficiency for structural integrity in 2014. DEQ has justified its ratings based on the outcome of future renovations to the dams’ structure that have yet to be completed. The Coal Ash Management Act was designed to rate the dams on their current risk and, currently, all the dams have received recent notice of deficiencies for many of the same problems that caused the Dan River spill.

The pollution from the Cliffside coal ash pits is full of dangerous toxic metals.
The EPA has found that living next to a coal ash disposal site can increase your risk of cancer or other diseases. Testing around the Cliffside coal ash pits has shown high levels of several dangerous toxic metals, including:

Arsenic – can cause heart disease, cancer, stroke, chronic lower respiratory diseases and diabetes.
Chromium – is a carcinogen and can also cause ulcers and other stomach problems
Cobalt –  that has been linked to cardiovascular disease, gastrointestinal disorders, blood poisoning, liver injury, thyroid problems and skin problems.
Hexavalent Chromium –  a carcinogen that can also cause stomach and intestinal ulcers, it was the subject of the movie Erin Brockovich, which was based on the true story of groundwater contamination in Hinkley, California by Pacific Gas Electric Company.
Vanadium – can lead to birth defects as well as lung, throat and eye problems.

The toxic pollution from the Cliffside coal ash pits is also dangerous for fish and wildlife.
Exposure to these toxic metals can also lead to death and mutation of fish and wildlife. The 2008 coal ash spill at Kingston Fossil Plant in Tennessee killed massive amounts of fish in the Emory River, and, in 1976, coal ash toxins completely eliminated 19 species in Belews Lake, North Carolina. For more information on coal ash’s effects on wildlife: http://www.southeastcoalash.org/?page_id=2013

Complete excavation and dry storage is the best way to clean up coal ash and to prevent the ongoing pollution of our groundwater, rivers and wells.
The Cliffside coal ash pits are basically holes in the ground along the banks of the Broad River and Suck Creek that are leaking toxic chemicals into ground and surface waters. According to Duke Energy’s latest corrective action plan, capping and leaving the ash in place will continue to cause contamination for 250 years for several toxic pollutants.

The communities living closest to the Cliffside coal ash ponds may be getting sick from the pollution.
DEQ’s well receptor survey for Cliffside identified 53 water supply wells within 1 mile of the compliance boundary, including at least 18 within 1500 feet. Out of 17 wells tested by DEQ, 17 were polluted and residents have been told not to drink the water. There are reports of health issues, including cardiovascular illness, which can be associated with long-term consumption of cobalt. Duke Energy is providing bottled water to these families because they’ve been told not to drink, cook with, or bathe with their water.

The Broad River is a drinking water source and popular recreation destination; it should not be left behind in the coal ash cleanup.
The Broad River is a drinking water source for Shelby NC, Gaffney, SC and other downstream municipalities, and a popular destinations for anglers, recreational boaters, kayakers and swimmers. By polluting our waters we not only put our residents’ health at risk but hurt businesses that depend on a healthy and safe river.

Governor McCrory needs to take responsibility; he should intervene.
It’s been over two years since the Dan River coal ash spill, when the North Carolina legislature finally woke up and began to confront the immensity of our state’s coal ash problem. Governor McCrory and his Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), on the other hand, have dragged their feet when it’s come to cleaning up coal ash. They have tried to block lawsuits by citizens to clean up coal sites, agreed not to seek information from Duke Energy in its enforcement cases, neglected to enforce state groundwater regulations and attempted to block the cleanup of several coal ash sites through the courts. It’s time for Governor McCrory and his political appointees within the DEQ to put our communities’ health above the interests of industry polluters. It’s time for Governor McCrory to clean up his act and North Carolina’s toxic coal ash.