Air Permit Hearing Tonight on Gas Power Plants in Person County

A combined cycle methane gas power plant. Here’s what you can do: Duke Energy wants to build two new methane gas power plants in Person County (north of Durham). What we know: Investing in fossil fuels (gas) is bad for the climate & costly for customers. Duke Energy proposed these power plants as part of a plan to retire the Roxboro coal plant. The coal ash from that plant poisoned local residents’ groundwater. In Person, the rate of emergency room visits for asthma is higher than the state average. Person County’s cancer rate is higher than the state average. Now, Duke Energy is seeking an air permit for one of these gas plants. Tell NC Department of Environmental Quality: We can’t retire one environmental injustice, to replace it with another. Join us at the air permit hearing on Nov. 12 or submit your public comment online. Talking points below! Air Permit Public Hearing on Roxboro Gas Power Plant Date: Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024 Time: 6 p.m. (doors open 5:30pm) Location: Piedmont Community College auditorium, Room D-101 Address: 1715 College Drive, Roxboro   Submit a public comment! DAQ.publiccomments@deq.nc.gov with “DukeRoxboro.24A” in the subject line Voicemail: 919-707-8714   Mail (postmarked by Nov. 22) NCDEQ Division of Air Quality 1628 Mail Service Center Raleigh, North Carolina 27699-1628   Sample Comment & Talking Points Dear NC DEQ, My name is _______, I am a local resident. Do not issue the air permit for the Roxboro Steam Electric Plant. This matters to me because __________________________ (insert your personal reason here!). Do not retire one environmental injustice in Person County, just to replace it with another. Here are some of my concerns: Duke Energy’s own “environmental justice” analysis shows the plant may increase the community’s already high risk of cancer from harmful air pollutants. Duke Energy wants to run the gas plant & the coal plant at the same time, unclear how long. That’s more pollution for the community, not less. Duke Energy estimates the gas plant will emit more volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and carbon monoxide than the existing coal plant. VOCs can cause liver, kidney and nervous system damage. Low to moderate levels of carbon monoxide can cause chest pain, impaired vision, and reduced brain function. The draft permit doesn’t have an effective plan to monitor for sulfur dioxide, sulfuric acid, and arsenic. In 2032, new Clean Air Act rules will take effect. Until then, the plant would run 80% of the year, emitting more than 2x the total carbon pollution the Roxboro coal units it is replacing produced in 2023. Duke Energy does not provide all the relevant pollution data. Duke fails to demonstrate why the data they do provide accurately predicts future pollution levels. The long-standing community directly next to the proposed gas plant is predominantly African American. The community has suffered the impacts from the existing coal plant for nearly 60 years. This is an environmental injustice. Issuing this permit would continue that injustice. Sincerely, Fact Sheets: Proposed Gas Powerplants/T-15 Pipeline & Air Permit The two methane gas power plants Duke Energy is proposing in Person County would be fed by the T-15 pipeline. Hyco Lake Gas Power plants & T-15 Pipeline: Learn more about both projects from this fact sheet. Learn ore about the T-15 pipeline and its proposed route at www.no-t15.org Air Permit Fact Sheet: Find detailed information about the air permit for the gas plants and community concerns.

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Coal Ash in NC and in the Triangle

 Coal ash community advocates & CWFNC staff in 2019. CWFNC has been involved in the environmental justice fight for coal ash clean-up for over a decade. Thank you to Jonathan Poston for contributing this article. Is there a local environmental issue you care about? Consider writing about it for CWFNC’s newsletter & blog! In 2014, a major spill at a Duke Energy site in Eden, NC, dumped 39,000 tons of coal ash into the Dan River, shining a national spotlight on the issue. Now, the region has multiple coal ash ponds that threaten the local environment, especially around lakes, rivers, and groundwater supplies. Duke Energy, the state’s largest energy company, has been at the center of the controversy. The company is responsible for managing several coal ash storage sites, some of which are located near major waterways like the Neuse and Cape Fear rivers. Over time, toxic chemicals and heavy metals from these sites have seeped into the groundwater, impacting drinking water for nearby communities. These toxic elements can contaminate drinking water supplies and affect air quality. This leads to  increased risk of cancer,respiratory diseases, and neurological damage. Local ecosystems are also at risk, as coal ash can harm aquatic life and pollute soil, disrupting the balance of regional biodiversity. Local Response in the Triangle The Triangle area (Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill) of North Carolina, known for its vibrant communities and research institutions, has also struggled with coal ash contamination. Most of the impact is visible in Chapel Hill where there is a highly publicized coal ash site that was discovered only in 2013, after 40-50 years of contaminating groundwater. However, nearby residents use the town’s public water system, protecting their access to safe drinking water. The issue has become a focal point of environmental activism, as residents and organizations work to combat its damaging effects in Chapel Hill. The coal ash site is located at 828 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., the Chapel Hill Police Department headquarters. This site contains coal ash and construction debris from the 1960s and 1970s, discovered by the Town in 2013. Since then, the Town has worked with the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ) to follow all environmental laws and ensure public health and safety. (Photo on left: a sign indicates the site of Chapel Hill’s coal ash disposal site remediation project) In January of this year (2024) the EPA began considering adding the Chapel Hill coal ash site to the superfund list. And, as of July of this year the NC Dept of Environmental Quality (NC – DEQ) proposed that the coal ash site should be capped. While these are positive steps, locals dispute whether simply covering the site with a few feet of clean fill really mitigates the risks of arsenic and radium, along with the 18 other toxic chemicals found amid the waste. Note: From 2014 -2019, CWFNC and the Alliance of Carolinians Together Against Coal Ash worked to organize for well testing, filtration systems for contaminated wells and a complete removal of all Duke coal ash to above ground storage in impermeable sites We recently learned that some filtration systems are failing and will be working with residents to organize to get failing systems fixed

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