Riverkeepers Respond to Duke’s Coal Ash Dishonesty

Action Expired

Nov. 8 2017

Over the weekend, Duke Energy Spokesperson Danielle Peoples responded to MountainTrue’s paddle protest on the Broad River with multiple untrue statements about the dangers of coal ash and the extent of Duke’s pollution at their power plant in Cliffside, NC [“Battle over coal ash continues in Cliffside” (11/5/17)]. In a Letter-to-the-Editor for the Shelby Star, Western North Carolina’s Riverkeepers stand up for the truth on coal ash and our rivers and set the record straight.

It’s time for Duke Energy to come clean on coal ash pollution. In a recent article that ran in the Shelby Star [“Battle over coal ash continues in Cliffside” (11/5/17)], Duke Energy spokesperson Danielle Peoples made numerous misleading statements about the dangers of coal ash and the ongoing pollution that is happening at Cliffside.

First, Peoples tells the Star that Duke has “finished excavating the basin earlier this year.” Problem solved, right? Well, not exactly. There are three ash basins at Cliffside, and Duke Energy has only excavated its smallest one. The truth is that 90% of coal ash stored in ponds at that site remain in its two unlined pits, which continue to pollute area groundwater and the Broad River.

Inexplicably, People’s claim about Cliffside is compounded by a glaring error in the Star’s reporting — that Duke Energy has closed all of its coal ash ponds around the state. This isn’t true at the Allen and Marshall plants near Charlotte, the Belews Creek plant near Winston-Salem, and it isn’t true at Cliffside where Duke Energy continues to operate a very active pond that they sluice wet ash into and discharge wastewater out of every day. We know this because this is how they operate under their current wastewater permit, and that doesn’t count all the additional illegal discharges that we’ve found.

What does the future have in store for Cliffside? Duke says that capping these unlined pits will solve the problem, but if the company has its way the remaining coal ash will be left sitting in up to 50 feet* of groundwater, continuing to pollute our groundwater and the river for centuries.

The most dangerous of Peoples’ assertions is that coal ash is nonhazardous. Here she hides behind a regulatory and legal technicality. While it is true that the Environmental Protection Agency declined to regulate coal ash as “hazardous waste” under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, the EPA was equally clear that “there is significant potential for [coal ash ponds] to leach hazardous constituents into groundwater, impair drinking water supplies and cause adverse impacts on human health and the environment.” The EPA has set health limits on the toxic heavy metals and other constituents found in the coal ash at Cliffside because they are dangerous to people.

Here in North Carolina, when a small business owner or company makes a mess, we expect them to clean it up. Duke Energy is the largest utility company in the country – they can handle it.

David Caldwell, Broad River Alliance Hartwell Carson, French Broad Riverkeeper Gray Jernigan, Green Riverkeeper Andy Hill, Watauga Riverkeeper

*The original version of this post said “60 feet” instead of “50 feet” of groundwater. The error has been corrected.

Want to get involved? Support our petition to make Duke Energy clean up their coal ash pollution of the Broad River and sign up for clean water action opportunities here.

Putting the modern in Duke Energy’s “modernization” plan

Southern Alliance for Clean Energy featured the following guest blog from Joan Walker, MountainTrue’s Campaign Director/Interim Southern Region Director detailing the history and current opportunities for public engagement on Duke Energy’s Western Carolina’s “Modernization” Project.

On January 26, in Asheville, our communities will have their only chance to speak on Duke Energy’s plans for Western North Carolina at a public hearing of the North Carolina Utilities Commission. This is the final chapter in a long campaign that has brought our communities together in the fight for a smarter, cleaner energy future.

Let’s rewind to May of 2015, when Duke Energy announced they would retire their Asheville coal-fired power plant. Those of us who have been working for years to secure that retirement experienced a confusing mix of excitement and disappointment. While our region would finally be free from our dependence on coal, Duke was planning a massive new natural gas-powered infrastructure project.

Carolina Land Coalition Carries On!

Last week a group of Carolina Land Coalition leaders met and unanimously agreed that the Carolina Land Coalition will continue to protect our land from Duke Energy’s long-term plans. We dodged a bullet when the transmission lines and substations were cancelled, but WNC will stay in the crosshairs as long as our region’s largest utility continues to prioritize fossil fuels to meet our growing demand.

Energy efficiency and renewable energy are realistic, affordable and attainable solutions. These are technologies that create more jobs, help lower utility bills and will keep our air, water and land clean and safe from more power plants and transmission lines in the future. MountainTrue and Carolina Land Coalition are committed to promoting those common sense solutions in partnership with local communities, organizations, governments and, yes, Duke Energy. Compared to the sprint we did together this summer fighting the “modernization” plan, this will be a marathon. We hope you’ll stay with us as we plan and implement this next phase of work! If you’re interested in playing an active leadership role in the Coalition moving forward please email Joan Walker, MountainTrue’s Campaign Coordinator at joan@mountaintrue.org.

In the near term, we’re still waiting to see what Duke Energy does next in regards to improvements to existing lines and the new gas plant. When the plan for the new plant is released after the new year, we’ll analyze it and support folks in making public comments to get the very best plan possible. The process for line upgrades is less clear at this point, but we’re doing our best to find out what kind of information Duke is required to share with the public and how the public can give their input.

Stay tuned to the website at www.CarolinaLandCoalition.org for updates, a new vision statement and more. I hope you’ll remain and get even more involved as we move toward a truly modern energy future for our beautiful mountains and communities!

Show your support! Join Carolina Land Coalition and receive updates and action opportunities!

Carolina Land Coalition unites to challenge Duke’s power plans

Action Expired

HENDERSONVILLE – Communities, neighbors and grassroots organizations across Western Carolina have joined forces to oppose Duke Energy’s Western Carolina expansion plans, including a network of power transmission lines, a large-scale gas-fired power plant near Asheville and substation at Campobello, SC.

The Carolina Land Coalition brings together regional partners, in both Western North Carolina and upstate South Carolina, who would be especially impacted by the planned transmission lines between the power plant at Lake Julian and the new substation in Campobello, SC.
Ever since Duke Energy released maps showing potential routes for those lines, communities and residents in the region have been vocal in their opposition. The Carolina Land Coalition combines resources and perspectives to speak as a unified voice in opposition to Duke’s expansion plans.

“We know that the only way to form a strong defense is to form a unified offense.” said Garnet Fisher, a member of Carolina Land Coalition. “We’ve partnered with our neighbors because we want Duke to know we aren’t interested in their ‘not in my backyard’ game. These mountains are our entire community’s backyard and we will all work together to protect our land and to defend the public interest.”

The Carolina Land Coalition emerged as a joint campaign between community groups and the regional environmental advocacy organization MountainTrue, which also serves to support the Coalition. So far, 15 member groups and 306 individual members have signed on in support.
“We plan to challenge this ‘Modernization’ plan with every resource available,” said MountainTrue co-Director Julie Mayfield. “While the detriment to the property owners is clear, there has been no such consideration for the visitors, businesses that rely on tourism, neighbors or residents whose access to pristine natural beauty will be impacted by these lines.”

“We didn’t want this fight,” says Mills River resident and Carolina Land Coalition supporter Phillip Brown. “All my family and I want to do is what we’ve always done for nearly eight generations here in Western North Carolina: work our family farm, raise our babies and be left alone, leaving others be in their turn. But if anyone comes in here wanting to take our land to enrich themselves, land that my dad work hard for his whole life so it would stay in the family, we have to fight, and we will. We’re all in it for the duration.”

Visit the CarolinaLandCoalition.org website to find regular updates on the Duke’s plans and to join the Coalition in opposing Duke Energy’s plans.

MountainTrue Calls for Duke Energy to Justify WNC “Modernization” Plan

Duke Energy’s so-called “Modernization” Plan doubles down on fossil fuels and threatens to disrupt hundreds of property owners, sensitive habitats, and the visual beauty of Western North Carolina’s mountains. In an August 2 article in the Hendersonville Times-News, Duke Energy cites “explosive” growth and increased energy demand in WNC to justify both a bigger fossil-fueled power plant at Lake Julian and a massive and expensive 56-mile network of high-voltage transmission lines between WNC and Campobello, South Carolina. However, Duke has so far not provided solid data to back up their claim or an explanation WNC deserves.

While Asheville and other areas are growing, according to the NC Office of State Management and Budget, outlooks through 2020 indicate WNC will see only moderate or low population growth across all 23 counties.

Additionally, population growth does not necessarily mean a proportional growth in demand for electricity and per capita demand is decreasing with more efficient construction and appliance standards. Duke Energy’s focus on the growth of peak energy use disregards even its own programs designed to reduce consumer demand (see more about those here). These programs are working, so why not increase those efforts?

Notably, Duke has failed to show why further investment in fossil fuels is the best choice for our region rather than unlocking the full potential of renewable energy to meet electricity needs. By moving forward with a gas-fired plant, Duke Energy is committing WNC to a dependence on fossil fuel and denying the rapidly accelerating reality of affordable renewable energy resources.

Duke Energy relies on the same population argument when justifying the need for its proposed expansive network of transmission lines, but has not provided a cost comparison for upgrading existing lines. Duke maintains that these lines are needed to supply WNC extra power during peak seasonal energy usage, but a company spokesperson told the Hendersonville Times-News that “the lines will be able to send power both ways.” It is our belief that WNC does not want to be an exporter of energy to South Carolina. And again, Duke has yet to make a convincing case for this level of infrastructure, or address whether the proposed lines impact the ability to import cleaner renewable energy from other parts of the state and country.

We still need answers. Duke is guaranteed a rate of return on all capital investments, and has a profit incentive to build both of these large projects. Duke has made broad statements of need, but still has not released a true detailed analysis demonstrating that need. All of these factors should be examined together to ensure Duke is proposing the least impactful project both in terms of the environment and rates.

In the absence of this analysis, and by locking WNC into a fossil fuel future with these oversized projects, this plan appears to be a backward-looking “Fossilization” plan rather than a true “Modernization” plan.

Want to know more? Find out if your property is in the crosshairs of Duke’s plans for transmission lines and submit your comments (whether or not you’re impacted) at bit.ly/DukeLines.

Contact: Brian Postelle, Interim Communications Manager
(828) 258-8737
brian@mountaintrue.org

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