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What to watch in the Appalachian Trail ACP fight
By: Niina Farah, E&E News October 7, 2019 Parties on either side of a newly picked Supreme Court case on the Atlantic Coast pipeline see starkly different consequences of justices weighing in on the legal conflict. The high court agreed last Friday to hear an appeal of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that the Forest Service could not authorize the pipeline to cross hundreds of feet beneath the Appalachian Trail (Greenwire, Oct. 4). Critics of the 4th Circuit decision — the pipeline developers, a coalition of states and other industry groups — see a ruling by…
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NC not among states getting federal grants to study PFAS exposure on health
By: Greg Barnes, North Carolina Health News September 25, 2019 North Carolina is not among seven states that will be awarded federal grant funding to conduct health studies on people in specific communities who have been drinking water contaminated with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as PFAS. The reason: North Carolina, which is said to have the third-worst PFAS contamination in the country, did not apply for a grant. “It had nothing to do with someone dropping a ball at all in this case,” said Heather Stapleton, a researcher at Duke University whose work includes PFAS contamination. Stapleton said she…
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Presentations from 35th Annual Meeting Celebration!
Thanks to all those who attended our 35th Anniversary Celebration working with NC communities to promote environmental justice! Check out the presentations from our wonderful speakers by clicking on the links below: Fighting the Harms of Coal Ash – Complete Excavation, Increased Threats To Communities Deborah Graham, SalisburyBobby Jones, GoldsboroXavier Boatright, Clean Water for NC
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Pipeline protest reaches downtown Roanoke
By: Heather Rousseau, The Roanoke Times September 24, 2019 About 150 people gathered in downtown Roanoke to protest against two proposed natural gas pipelines on Monday. Pipeline Protest SUN SiNG Collective performs at a rally with about 150 people gathered in downtown Roanoke Monday protesting against two proposed natural gas pipelines. Protesters from Virginia,…
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Coal Ash Is Hazardous. Coal Ash Is Waste. But According to the EPA, Coal Ash Is Not “Hazardous Waste.”
By: Jeff Turrentine, NRDC September 6, 2019 A memorial to the workers that have become ill or died since they participated in the clean-up of the Kingston Fossil Plant coal ash spill Coal ash, a catchall term for several kinds of waste left over at power plants that burn coal, typically contains a number of substances harmful to human health—arsenic, chromium, lead, and mercury among them. Coal ash is incredibly dangerous. Short-term exposure…
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As Pipeline Construction Booms, Citizens Take Inspections Into Their Own Hands
By: Brittany Patterson, WV Public Broadcasting August 29, 2019 On a recent hot, August weekend, about a dozen citizens spent three days along the route of the Mountain Valley Pipeline. Armed with cameras, smartphones and drones the volunteers traveled portions of the pipeline’s route under construction from Monroe to Doddridge counties. “There was several things that we saw,” said Summers County resident and organic farmer Neal Laferriere. Laferriere organized the three-day “violations blitz.” He said volunteers documented small problems like poorly-maintained erosion controls as well as much larger ones. “Sediment-laden water in one situation was overflowing…
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In the House, a major amendment to controversial Duke Energy rate-making bill hands the hot potato back to the Senate
By: Lisa Sorg, NC Policy Watch August 21, 2019 A key provision in Senate Bill 559 was upended in the House Tuesday afternoon, which made the measure more palatable to opponents but added uncertainty to it future. Colloquially known as the Duke Energy rate-making bill, it contained a controversial section that allowed the utilities commission to approve multi-year rate plans. Utilities could then avoid requesting rate hikes more often. While bill proponents in the legislature said it would add certainty to rate-making, there’s no guarantee that rates would decrease. If they increased, customers could be locked into higher bills for…
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Celebrating 35 Years of Working with NC Communities!
Join us in celebration of 35 years of working together! Sept. 21, 1:30 – 5:00 PM The Grey Eagle, 185 Clingman Avenue, Asheville Register on our Eventbrite Page! Clean Water for NC and our many community allies have been hard at work standing up against threats to drinking water, public health, and environmental justice. Join us for stories and updates from the frontlines of drinking water and community environmental justice action, Saturday, September 21st in Asheville! Program Highlights Include: Fighting the Harms of Coal Ash—Stories from Impacted Communities The Climate…
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With town of Eureka drowning in sewage bills, state takes control
By: Kirk Ross, Carolina Public Press August 7, 2019 In early June, the small northern Wayne County town of Eureka, got its official warning letter from the N.C. Department of State Treasurer that, due to concern about how the town was handling its sewer system funds, the state intended to take over its finances and assume direct control of the town. A month later, the department has made good on its promise, taking over the town’s accounts, impounding its books and financial records, and setting a new temporary budget for operations. It’s not the first time the state has taken over a town…
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BREAKING: Judge rules for DEQ in Round 1 of coal ash cleanup appeal
By: Lisa Sorg, NC Policy Watch August 2, 2019 State environmental regulators were not wrong in choosing the method of closure — excavation and removal of millions of tons of coal ash — at Duke Energy impoundments, Administrative Law Judge Selina Malherbe has ruled. Duke Energy had contested DEQ’s April 1 decision to require it to excavate all of the coal ash from nine unlined impoundments at its remaining six plants. The ash would then be placed in lined landfills onsite or offsite. Private lawsuits already have compelled Duke Energy to excavate ash from impoundments at eight of its 14 North Carolina plants. Duke…
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