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Thursday, March 28, 2024

State environment department asks court to strike agreement between Duke Energy, environmental group

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The North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources has asked a state court to strike down an agreement between Duke Energy and the Southern Environmental Law Center on which coal-ash pits the company would prioritize in its cleanup efforts.

The energy company and the environmental group struck a deal that prioritized cleanup at Duke Energy’s Cape Fear, Lee and Weatherspoon facilities. In its filing, DENR said the agreement between the company and the environmental law center “circumvent the public participation and scientific analysis required by the Coal Ash Management Act.”

The act, passed by the North Carolina General Assembly, required that Duke Energy clean up leaking coal ash from all 14 of its sites. The act was passed following a major spill of coal ash into the Dan River from Duke Energy’s Eden, N.C. facility. Coal ash is a byproduct of coal-fired electricity production.

“The Coal Ash Management Act mandates a transparent process with significant opportunity for public involvement in key decisions related to the closure of Duke Energy’s coal ash impoundments,” said DENR Secretary Donald van der Vaart.  “Because the environmental impact and potential cost to ratepayers is so significant, DENR is not prepared to rely exclusively on Duke Energy’s and the SELC’s opinions about how to prioritize the excavation of coal ash sites. Instead, we believe science and public input, as required by law, should drive the decision-making process.”

But the environmental group said DENR’s actions would slow the cleanup process, adding that both SELC and Duke Energy agree that these sites needed to be cleaned first.

“DENR, which is supposed to protect North Carolina’s clean water and communities, today opposes an order that would protect North Carolina’s clean water and communities,” said Frank Holleman, senior attorney at the Chapel Hill-based Southern Environmental Law Center.

“The public has made clear that it wants these unlined, leaking coal ash sites cleaned up,” he said. “Instead, DENR is acting as a bureaucracy which wants to exercise control and which is not committed to cleaning up dangerous coal ash sites.  These sites have serious leaks into neighboring waters, dangerous dams, and groundwater contamination.  DENR would allow this pollution to continue and these dangers to continue, putting bureaucracy ahead of the safety of communities and clean water.”

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