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Coal ash case: DEQ 2, Duke Energy 0
By: Lisa Sorg, NC Policy Watch Oct. 29, 2019 An administrative law judge has again ruled against Duke Energy, determining that state environmental regulators acted appropriately in several aspects of requiring the utility to fully excavate its unlined coal ash basins. Judge Selina Malherbe ruled on two motions yesterday: DEQ provided adequate notice to Duke Energy prior to issuing the April 1, 2019 closure election decision; DEQ properly limited Duke Energy to filing a single closure plan for each coal ash impoundment. “The judge’s ruling confirms that DEQ acted openly and transparently as we made an informed decision on the closure of the coal…
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Lead Isotopes Provide New Tool for Tracking Coal Ash in Dust, Soil and Sediments
Featuring: Avner Vengosh, Gary Dwyer, Zhen Wang Oct. 22, 2019 DURHAM, N.C. – Inhaling dust that contains fly ash particles from coal combustion has been linked to lung and heart disease, cancer, nervous system disorders and other ill effects. But tracking the presence of coal ash in dust has been a challenge for scientists. Until now. Researchers at Duke University and the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill have developed a new forensic tracer that uses lead isotopes to detect coal fly ash in dust and other solids, including soil and sediments. Fly ash is a fine particulate produced by burning pulverized coal. Tests…
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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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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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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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Controversial Duke Energy ratemaking bill stalls in North Carolina
By: Elizabeth Ouzts, Energy News Network July 24, 2019 The proposal would allow state regulators to approve multiyear rate increases based on projected spending. A controversial North Carolina bill to allow regulators to approve multiyear rate increases for Duke Energy is stalled in the Republican-controlled General Assembly. Authored by leaders of both parties, Senate Bill 559 cleared the Senate in May and looked poised for passage by the House of Representatives earlier this month. But it was pulled from the full House calendar July 10, reassigned to committee the following week, and hasn’t been debated or discussed since. The maneuvers are a strong sign…
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Five years after Dan River coal ash spill, Duke Energy settlement would add land to Mayo State Park
By: Lisa Sorg, NC Policy Watch July 22, 2019 The Mayo River in Mayo State Park, Rockingham County (Photo: NC State Parks) This story has been updated with news regarding the purchase and transferal of the 64 acres by Duke Energy. A settlement between Duke Energy and state and federal officials over the 2014 Dan River spill would impose no significant financial penalties, but it would preserve key tracts of land along the Mayo River, according to court documents. Announced Friday, the…
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NC utility rate bill ignites a fight over who pays
By: Ned Barnett, Raleigh News & Observer May 25, 2019 About 40 environmental advocates visited the Legislative Building last Tuesday with a mission to stop what they see as a potential massive cost shift from Duke Energy to its customers. Their target is Senate Bill 559, legislation that they say could make it easier for Duke Energy to pass on costs that should be paid by the utility and its shareholders. Customer advocates say passing on “grid modernization” costs alone could raise the average residential customer bill by $400 a year over a 10-year period and large industrial customers could see their…
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Standing Together Against Coal Ash Injustice
The news was announced on April Fools Day, but it was no joke! DEQ (TheNC Dept. of Environmental Quality), backed by strong science, stood with coal ash communities in their decision to order Duke Energy to excavate coal ash from every remaining site in the state and move it into lined landfills. Duke Energy wasted no time in rebuking DEQ, speaking scathingly about the ordered clean-up, and leveraging its power to safeguard its own interests, but NC residents, businesses, and organizations, will not be standing down. On April 2, Senate…
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Victory for Coal Ash Communities Across NC!
You did it! You spoke out against injustice, and won! On April 1st, DEQ announced that communities across North Carolina will have toxic coal ash removed from unlined, leaking pits and placed in lined landfills. Since the Dan River spill 5 years ago, impacted coal ash community members and advocates have been coming together to demand cleanup of the coal ash that Duke Energy dumped in their communities. There have been countless letters written, phone…
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