The Front Porch Blog « Appalachian Voices

Of Monsters and Zombies: NC Legislature Turning into Bad Horror Flick

Monday, May 6th, 2013 | Posted by Davis Wax

Scary things are going on in the NC Legislative Building in Raleigh. Photo by Yassie

Among the scary legislation developing in the North Carolina assembly, there are two bills — one a monster of bad environmental reform and the other back from the dead in order to snuff out the state’s renewable energy — which stand out from the creepy pack. These bills are not exactly the slow and shambling kind of creatures from old 50s horror movies, though, and are moving quickly through the state legislature.

The first, the newly-drafted Senate Bill 612, or Regulatory Reform Act, could have many wide-sweeping and detrimental consequences for environmental regulations in North Carolina. The legislation, which passed through the state Senate last Thursday, would limit how local governments can produce and control regulations to protect the environment. Among other measures to weaken environmental protections, the bill would:

Loosen requirements for cleaning up groundwater pollution
Loosen requirements for burying demolition debris
Force state environmental rules to be equal to or less strong than federal standards
Loosen regulations in place to help wetlands
Create a fast-track system for erosion-control permits

The first point, fewer requirements for cleaning up pollution in groundwater, is hugely concerning. This provision would increase compliance boundaries to a facility’s property line, allowing coal-fired power plants and other industrial facilities to pollute groundwater farther away from their sites.

Second on the list, demolition debris can contain anything from lead paint to asbestos to PCBs, all of which are more likely to pollute water sources if not adequately buried. The provision does not clarify how coal ash waste applies to “demolition debris” and thus the bill could help power plants avoid certain aspects of the permitting process for coal ash ponds.

Another worrisome aspect of the bill is that it would require state environmental agencies and commissions to identify and repeal any existing rules that are stricter than similar federal rules and likewise would not allow local governments to produce rules stronger than state or federal rules.

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Rushed Anti-Renewable Energy Bill Stalls in Committee

Wednesday, April 24th, 2013 | Posted by Davis Wax

Shine On: Clean energy in North Carolina will continue to create jobs and yield benefits after a bill to repeal the state's renewable standard failed in committee today. Image licensed under Creative Commons.

A bill in the N.C. House that would repeal the state’s Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard (REPS) failed today in the House Committee on Public Utilities and Energy by a vote of 18-13.

According to the N.C. Sustainable Energy Association talk of insufficient votes in the Environment Committee prompted Rep. Mike Hager to withdraw the “Affordable and Reliable Electricity Act” from the committee’s scheduled hearing in order to attempt to push it through the Public Utilities Committee, which he chairs.

“If the only way a business can move forward is with a subsidy, then maybe we need to rethink the business,” said Hager, a former Duke Energy employee and the bill’s primary sponsor. Fellow lawmakers responded by saying that Duke Energy has an effective subsidy through its huge monopoly on electricity distribution in the state and that subsidies have been used to help up-and-coming industries for decades.

Even after Hager agreed to keep the 12.5 percent commitment to renewable energy from retail sales of state utilities in the bill in order to make it more appealing, a bipartisan majority including several key Republicans in the Utilities Committee still killed the legislation. In the most recent version Hager pushed through, the bill would still allow companies like Duke Energy to let their renewable energy contracts run out without expecting them to pursue any further commitments to wind, solar, biomass, or other industries.

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Coal Ash Floods Congress and the Courts

Tuesday, April 23rd, 2013 | Posted by Brian Sewell

e. The trend is likely to continue until EPA announces clear rules to regulate the to

Since the 2008 Kingston, Tenn., coal ash spill, the toxic waste has been hotly debated in the media, Congress and the courts.

On April 11, the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Environment and Economy held a hearing in part to promote the Coal Ash Recycling and Oversight Act of 2013, drafted legislation that would prevent the EPA from implementing federal regulation of coal ash, leaving regulation up to the states.

Some witnesses, including the former director of the Mine Safety and Health Academy, Jack Spadaro, and Lisa Evans, an attorney for Earthjustice focused on hazardous waste, testified against the draft, which is modeled on past legislation that failed and was called “unprecedented” in environmental law by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service.

“Without a doubt, when mismanaged, coal ash harms Americans nationwide by poisoning water and air and by threatening the very existence of communities living near high hazard dams,” Evans said at the hearing. “We must work together to establish regulations that foremost prevent injury to health and ensure the safety of all communities.”

Spadaro, who has been involved in the evaluation and regulation of coal waste dams since 1972 and wrote federal and state regulations governing the structural integrity of dams in the wake of the Buffalo Creek Flood, cautioned subcommittee members against moving ahead with the draft. According to Spadaro, the proposed legislation lacks the adequate engineering requirements and enforcement by a federal agency necessary to prevent another spill similar to the TVA disaster that would lead to irreversible environmental damage and possible loss of life.

“There are thousands of such structures in the United States at this time,” Spadaro said, “and the failure of one or more of these dams is assured unless strict engineering standards are imposed.” The Southeast is home to 40 percent of the nation’s coal ash impoundments, and according to the EPA, contains 21 of the nation’s 45 high hazard dams.

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First Annual Climate Convergence in Raleigh, NC

Tuesday, April 23rd, 2013 | Posted by Sandra Diaz

Citizens converged in Raleigh yesterday to demand that political leadership begin to address the challenge of climate change. North Carolina House Rep. Pricey Harrison reminds the crowd that the state legislature belongs to the people. She recently re-introduced the Appalachian Mountains Preservation Act that would a) ban the burning of mountaintop-removal coal in the state, b) put into place comprehensive rules for the storage and disposal of coal ash waste, c) place a moratorium on the construction of new coal plants, and d) divest state pension funds from fossil fuels.

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Renewable Energy Standard Targeted by N.C. Legislature

Friday, April 19th, 2013 | Posted by Davis Wax

North Carolina is number five in solar, but that huge success is under attack in Raleigh. Photo by SEIA.

Despite job creation directly linked to North Carolina’s burgeoning clean energy industry, the state’s modest renewable energy standard continues to be targeted by lawmakers.

The “Affordable and Reliable Energy Act,” which narrowly passed the House Commerce Committee, would warp the state renewable energy portfolio standard into a shadow of the law created with bipartisan support and the backing of the state’s largest electric utilities in 2007.

According to a study by RTI International and La Capra Associates, the state’s renewable standard has led to a net gain of over 20,000 clean energy jobs even while more than 100,000 jobs were lost in the N.C. economy during the same five years. The state’s clean energy investment has created a net revenue of $113 million since 2007, while the total economic benefit of clean energy over the past five years was $1.7 billion.

Investors are listening up and jumping on board, too, as clean energy investment has grown 13-fold over the past five years in North Carolina, resulting in an estimated 8.2 million megawatts being saved through renewable energy and energy efficiency projects. Additionally, it is estimated that state government energy efficiency programs have saved $427 million in taxpayer money.

Solar energy has soared in North Carolina due to the REPS. The state is fifth in the nation in solar installed and is projected to reach number four by this year, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association. Out of the 30 utility-scale solar projects in the Southeast in 2012, 21 were in North Carolina.

Those benefits could be cut short if the tunnel vision that has taken over North Carolina politics prevails.

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Clean Water News: Congress Backs Down, N.C. Steps Up

Tuesday, March 26th, 2013 | Posted by Sandra Diaz

Thallium was once used as rat poison. Now DENR is suing Progress Energy for Thallium polluting the French Broad River from its Asheville power plant.

Last week, there was concern that the U.S. Senate budget resolution would end up containing measures to decrease funding for initiatives of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency such as the release of guidelines for coal ash disposal and rules to ensure states are following water quality standards. Thanks to good Americans like yourself speaking up, the Senate budget remained free of dirty water amendments.

While the budget resolution is non-binding, and the Senate Appropriations Committee decides how funding gets allocated later in the process, the resolution send a strong message regarding the Senate’s priorities. Unfortunately, one of the more controversial amendments that did pass was in support of building the Keystone XL pipeline.

While the Senate backed down on loading up the budget resolution with dirty water clauses, the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources stepped and up and decided to take legal action against Progress Energy for the release of toxic heavy metals from their Asheville plant into the French Broad River.

Western North Carolina Alliance, Sierra Club, and Southern Alliance for Clean Energy had filed a notice of intent to sue Progress Energy for violating the Clean Water Act for unpermitted seeps into the French Broad River. It appears DENR took notice and is now taking up their own case against Progress Energy. DENR is seeking injunctive relief and demanding Progress Energy solve the issue in lieu of the state seeking monetary damages.

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Canvassing Against Coal Ash

Friday, March 15th, 2013 | Posted by Matt Grimley

The Red, White & Water team hit the streets near Belmont, N.C., to speak with residents who live near Duke Energy's G.G. Allen Steam Station about the threats of coal ash pollution.

Last Saturday, the Red, White and Water team traveled to Belmont, N.C., to the G.G. Allen Steam Station for a day of canvassing. Walking door-to-door, we asked residents of the communities near the coal-fired power plant if they had been impacted by water pollution.

I met Archie Dixon, who was featured in the Gaston Gazette a few months ago. Dixon had complained to Duke Energy, which owns the power plant, about coal ash staining his property and getting into his drinking water. I spoke with him while he and his grandson (also named Archie, or “Lil’ Arch”) waited for a plumber for a broken pipe on their property. In his garage sat a waist-high stack of bottled water. Mr. Dixon said that he still refuses to drink his own home’s water.

The pollution near the plant happens in two ways. One is through coal ash ponds. Coal ash is the waste byproduct from burning coal and it contains contaminants such as arsenic, mercury and chromium. Because the one active coal ash pond at G.G. Allen is an unlined impoundment, these toxics can seep into groundwater. Tests near the plant have revealed exceedances in manganese, iron and nickel in the groundwater.

Effluent is the other form of pollution at G.G. Allen — the plant wastewater that discharges directly into the surface waters of nearby Lake Wylie. Under the Clean Water Act, permits are issued for each of the plant’s discharge points. These permits, however, only set limits for traditional pollutants, including oil and grease, “total suspended solids” and pH. They rarely limit pollutants such as mercury, selenium, and arsenic. And with a lack of federal guidelines, many states don’t set their own permit limits for these toxic chemicals.

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North Carolina Cares About Clean Water

Thursday, March 7th, 2013 | Posted by

According to a recent report by Land for Tomorrow, 91 percent of residents in North Carolina and surrounding states believe it is “important” or “very important” to conserve and protect water and other natural resources. Additionally, a 2002 publication of the N.C. State Economist it was found that people are willing to pay more money in the form of travel expenses in order to enjoy higher levels of water quality. Based on an estimated 14.7 million water-related recreation trips each year by North Carolinians, annual economic savings from water improvements are estimated to be $11.9 million for the Neuse waterway, $14.7 million for Cape Fear improvements, and $6.5 for Tar-Pamlico. While protection of natural resources may sometimes be a divisive topic, residents of North Carolina share a common desire for clean water, with good reason. Clean water is good for the environment and the economy.

The benefits of clean water can also be understood by realizing the costs associated with water treatment. According to a report by the N.C. Division of Water Quality, costs to be considered include additional water treatment, developing new drinking water sources or providing emergency replacement water, public information campaigns when pollution incidents arouse public and media interest, and payment for consulting services and staff time. When Burlington, N.C., found contaminants in their source water that were not eliminated during treatment, city subsidies were used to eliminate it from source waters.

Perhaps a more important measurement of the economic benefits of clean water is the success of publicly funded solutions for addressing water pollution. The N.C. General Assembly established the North Carolina Clean Water Management Trust Fund in 1996 and its funding of resource conservation has strengthened the state’s economic vitality. According to a report by the Trust for Public Land, every dollar invested In the N.C. Clean Water Management Trust Fund returns four dollars to the state in the areas of drinking water protection, flood control, tourism and outdoor recreation.

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Finding Arsenic in Mountain Island Lake: Even a Sixth Grader Can Do It

Wednesday, February 20th, 2013 | Posted by Matt Grimley

Just recently, sixth grader Anna Behnke found high levels of arsenic near her home on Mountain Island Lake, a drinking water source for hundreds of thousands in the Charlotte, N.C. metro area. The contamination — which exceeds EPA drinking water standards twenty-fold — comes from coal ash seepage at Duke Energy’s Riverbend power plant, which the utility announced it will decommission in April without a plan to deal with the coal ash ponds on site.

View full article here.

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N.C. State Rep. Harrison: Let the EPA Do Its Job

Wednesday, February 20th, 2013 | Posted by Davis Wax

Watch N.C. Rep. Pricey Harrison testify before the U.S. House Subcommittee on Environment and Economy.

What should the role of the states be in protecting human health and the environment?

Last Friday, the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment and Economy held a hearing to untangle that complex question. North Carolina Rep. Pricey Harrison testified to the committee on the need for increased oversight and regulatory enforcement by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

“The question is not whether states or the federal government have a role in environmental protection,” she told subcommittee members, “but whether each is playing its appropriate role under current law.”

Harrison highlighted the growing concerns of North Carolinians’ surrounding coal ash pollution from disposal ponds owned by Duke Energy as an example of how states are failing to protect citizens. The state began requiring more extensive groundwater monitoring a few years ago. But even now, with known instances of groundwater standards violations, no action has been taken by the state to get Duke Energy to address the contamination.

Another emerging issue is the reckless push to bring hydraulic fracturing to the state. State Senate Bill 76 would allow fracking in the state in two years, no matter the status of the state’s regulatory development, resources or staffing.

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N.C. Rep. Pricey Harrison to Make Case for Federal Environmental Protections

Thursday, February 14th, 2013 | Posted by Brian Sewell

North Carolina Rep. Pricey Harrison will testify at a House subcommittee hearing on the states' role in environmental protection.

On Friday morning, North Carolina Rep. Pricey Harrison will testify before a House hearing on “the role of the states in protecting the environment under current law.” It’s an area she knows a lot about – in 2007, Harrison introduced a bill to prohibit utilities in North Carolina from purchasing or burning coal from mountaintop removal mines.

Subcommittee members will hear testimony on issues related to current laws including the Safe Drinking Water Act and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act under which states are given the primary authority to regulate wastewater and coal ash pollution.

Watch Rep. Pricey Harrison’s testimony and the hearing Friday at 9:30 a.m. here.

During tomorrow’s hearing, Harrison will likely focus on the concerns of North Carolinians surrounding coal ash and the state’s failure to adequately protect communities and local waterways. The problem of coal ash is growing in North Carolina, and even as Duke Energy begins to retire ancient coal-fired power plants, the state has no clear plan on how to deal with legacy ash disposal sites that will remain long after plants are closed.

Learn about the hazards and history of coal ash sites in North Carolina and across the Southeast.

Duke merged with Progress Energy last year to become the largest utility in the country. Meanwhile, the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources is coming off a fresh round of budget cuts, and faces continued uncertainty if North Carolina lawmakers continue on their current path.

Adding insult to injury, nearly every step of the process to bring fracking to North Carolina has been haphazardly handled. Now, the state General Assembly has introduced a law to circumvent the rule-making commission it put in place, you know, if it isn’t moving fast enough.

North Carolina has a history of environmental leadership, but recent proposals in the state legislature, including a reckless plan to remove all the members of several environmental commissions, are threatening to reverse that trend.

Lawmakers are on an anti-regulatory bender in the Tarheel State. And without federal oversight North Carolinians will be at risk as underfunded state agencies work to enforce environmental rules while finding ways to prevent the next budget cut.

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Duke CEO Could Be New Energy Guru || N.C. Round-Up

Friday, February 8th, 2013 | Posted by Davis Wax

Over the past few weeks there has been a spurt of environmental and energy news in North Carolina and its capital, Raleigh. The developing issues include departing Charlotte-based Duke Energy CEO Jim Rogers being considered for the President’s cabinet, a new bill looking to end state environmental and health rules, and the governor’s endorsement of offshore wind power.

Jim Rogers in Energy Spotlight, Mixed Record and All

With Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu officially resigned, who will become the DOE’s new chief? The business world has speculated that Jim Rogers, the outgoing CEO of Duke Energy, is a likely candidate.

Duke Energy, the company Rogers is leaving, opened three new N.C. plants in December.

GreenTech Media cited his experience with coal, gas and nuclear industries and Bloomberg Businessweek highlighted his solar and wind experience as well as his potential to bring an energy policy that “sharply reduces carbon emissions”. Rogers’ role in bringing the Democratic National Convention to Charlotte last year may also improve his chances of becoming President Obama’s head adviser on energy.

While Rogers has repeatedly stated his disinterest in joining the president’s cabinet, John Downey at the Charlotte Business Journal has pointed to Rogers’ recent Bloomberg Television interview as a sign that the out-the-door CEO has considered what he would do in such a position. When asked what he would bring to the DOE job, writes Downey, Rogers cited his years of experience in the energy sector and being able to get “the balance right between cheap, affordable energy and meeting our environmental goals.”

Under Rogers, however, Duke Energy has had a mixed reputation in supporting renewable energy in North Carolina. The company is still a paying member of the American Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC, which creates model state laws that frequently roll back health and environmental protections in favor of promoting industry.

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N.C. Environmental Commissions Under Attack by Senate Bill 10

Wednesday, February 6th, 2013 | Posted by Davis Wax

Update: In about 48 hours, with almost no chance for public input, the North Carolina state Senate passed a poorly designed bill to fire all current members from several N.C. advisory boards and commissions, including the Utilities Commission and Environmental Management Commission. Give your state Rep. a call today and ask that they oppose this legislative overstep and actually govern. [http://www.ncleg.net/representation/WhoRepresentsMe.aspx]

An unprecedented power grab is in the works in North Carolina, where Republican majority leaders are looking to cut and replace environmental and other key decision-makers on the party’s own terms.

State Sen. Bill Rabon introduced SB 10 aimed at removing environmental experts from state committees. Photo credit to ncleg.net.

The N.C. Senate Rules Committee met on Feb. 5 concerning Senate Bill 10, the “Government Reorganization and Efficiency Act,” legislation that seeks to remove 131 members of eight influential state boards and commissions before their terms are up. This action would see the effective gutting of environmental experts from the state’s decision-making process and the likely appointment of new, pro-industry members.

If there were ever a time to send a message to your North Carolina state senator, it would be now. Call them or email them today!

Among the committees being affected are the Coastal Resources Commission, the Environmental Management Commission, the Industrial Commission, and the Wildlife Resources Commission. Most importantly, the bill would allow the General Assembly and the governor to hand-pick replacements.

The number of environmentally-focused boards possibly being stripped of their membership could spell disaster for ongoing projects concerned with regulating pollution and protecting the environment. The new commission members would not have the level of expertise or the familiarity with the projects of current members, thus ensuring the degradation of the state’s progress toward proper environmental protection.

That’s not the whole story, though, as further steps are being taken to weaken the influence of environmentally-conscious voices in the legislature.

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Despite Positive PR for Duke Energy, Our Water is Still at Risk

Friday, February 1st, 2013 | Posted by Sandra Diaz

Duke Energy announced it would retire the Riverbend Power Plant in April, two years ahead of schedule. A good headline, but water is still being put at risk.

Don’t like what people are saying about you? Change the conversation!

Duke Energy has gotten a ton of mileage for their decision to retire or convert some of their older, more inefficient power plants in the Tarheel State. It’s environmentally-friendly after all – recycling news stories!

And you can create a whole new news story by moving your timeline. Duke Energy announced today they will be retiring their octogenarian coal plants, Riverbend in Gaston County and Buck in Rowan County this April, nearly two years ahead of schedule.

And while we are happy that Mountain Island Lake and the Yadkin River will be suffering from less pollution from toxic heavy metals like arsenic, selenium, chromium and so on, could it be that Duke Energy is trying to distract from the PR crisis they are currently facing around their leaking coal ash impoundments?

Like the fact that Western North Carolina Alliance intends to pursue legal action against Progress Energy for not complying with the Clean Water Act and allowing illegal discharges into the French Broad River. Or that the Catawba Riverkeeper has documented seeps into Mountain Island Lake, Charlotte’s drinking water supply, and Lake Wylie. Or how about that the Cape Fear Riverkeeper is reporting high arsenic levels in groundwater near well water supplies at the Sutton plant in Wilmington.

On top of that, Duke University scientists publishing reports that seem to back up many of these claims. So while Duke’s announcement is indeed good news for water, we need to continue to hold Duke and Progress accountable. There is more to be done.

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Coal Ash: Now a Part of a Balanced Breakfast

Thursday, January 31st, 2013 | Posted by Hallie Carde

This just in: in addition to fruits and veggies, our nation’s children should be getting their daily dose of coal ash. Or at least that’s what statements at a public hearing in Franklin County, Missouri, seem to suggest.

Just last week, there was a hearing for a lawsuit filed by the Labadie Environmental Organization over a zoning amendment that would allow Ameren Corp. to construct a new coal ash landfill in the heart of a floodplain. Toxicologist Dr. Lisa J.N. Bradley, testifying on behalf of Ameren Energy Corporation, said, “A child could consume coal ash every day and have no increased exposure to arsenic.”

Bradley was recently elected to the Executive Committee of the American Coal Ash Association, a lobbying organization whose membership includes Ameren, Duke Energy, Southern Company and other large coal-burning utilities. Unfortunately, it seems that conflict of interest was lost on Associate Circuit Court Judge Robert D. Schollmeyer, who dismissed the lawsuit citing Bradley’s testimony.

Maximiliano Calcano, age 2, is one of the first children born with a dramatic birth defect attributed to the coal ash dumping in the Dominican Republic.

There are many who have had to face the traumatic effects of toxic coal ash firsthand. Following the AES Corporation’s dumping of 80,000 tons of coal ash waste along the shores of the Dominican Republic between 2003 and 2004, the country’s women have suffered years of consistent miscarriages, abnormal levels of arsenic in their blood, and births to babies with cranial deformities, external organs, and missing limbs.

While we have yet to uncover such a horrific case here in the states, concerns over coal ash are real. Archie Dixon lives just south of Belmont, N.C., where Duke Energy’s coal ash ponds are some of his closest and most unwelcome neighbors. Distrustful of the visible grime and discoloration of his water, Mr. Dixon has been buying bottled water for years, unwilling to ingest the water from his home’s private well. Despite reassurance from Duke Energy officials who say that lab tests show that the sediment in Mr. Dixon’s water is of naturally occurring materials, he refuses to take any risks with his water. Dixon is not the only member of his community concerned about coal ash.

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The New Faces and Issues of North Carolina

Tuesday, January 15th, 2013 | Posted by

THE NEW FACES

For the first time since 1870, the Republican party controls both the executive and legislative branches in North Carolina government. With the General Assembly sporting veto-proof majorities in both its chambers, and Pat McCrory’s election making him the state’s first Republican governor in 20 years, the political landscape in North Carolina has morphed.

As the first Republican governor of North Carolina in more than 20 years, Pat McCrory will preside over Republican supermajorities in the state House and Senate.

Whether it’s for the better is undecided, as McCrory has a mixed environmental record. As mayor of Charlotte, he pushed for air quality protection, light rail development, tree preservation and smart urban growth.

McCrory, however, is vocal in his support of bringing offshore drilling and fracking to the state. He sidestepped the sea-level rise debate last year in the state legislature, saying he wanted to wait before “developing harsh regulations against facts that are still being debated.”

His administration will likely cut back on the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ regulatory powers. His pick for head of DENR, John Skvarla, has been the CEO since 2005 of Restoration Systems, an environmental firm that restores damaged wetlands and collects credits to offset development elsewhere.

Since his appointment, Skvarla has commented that he wants to find common ground, as soon as possible, with environmentalists and that determining the most cost-effective regulations will be one of his biggest priorities.

During a recent interview with Laura Leslie and WRAL-TV, Skvarla said that North Carolina is “not going to go backward in air and water quality protection.”

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New NC DENR Boss Isn’t Sure About Global Warming

Friday, January 11th, 2013 | Posted by Tabitha Lunsford

Watch as John Skvarla, North Carolina’s new head of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, sidesteps a question about climate change (near the end of the video) and supports the continuance of fracking.

As the state pursues more controversial forms of energy production, he believes that “we are not going to go backward in air and water quality protection.”

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A New Year, New Plants for Duke Energy

Friday, January 4th, 2013 | Posted by Brian Sewell

Duke Energy's 825-megawatt Cliffside Steam Station Unit 6 in Mooresboro, N.C., which began commercial operation Dec. 30, 2012, could be the last coal plant built in the state.

As we ring in the New Year, Duke Energy is touting three facilities that came online at the end of 2012 with a combined capacity of 2,365 megawatts of new generation. The newly operational units include the Cliffside Power Station Unit 6, and natural gas-fired units at the Dan River Power Station and the H.F. Lee Plant.

The new unit at Cliffside, which Duke calls “state-of-the-art” and “the cleanest pulverized coal plant in the country,” could be the last coal-burning unit to be built in the state due to cost-prohibitive regulations on new coal plants. It began commercial operation on Dec. 30, replacing four 1940s-era coal units that were retired in October 2011.

Located about an hour west of Charlotte, N.C., in Cleveland County, plans for the Cliffside Power Station expansion were mired in controversy beginning in 2007. Much of the criticism was aimed at the N.C. Utilities Commission, which was seen as rushing the permitting process for the new units at Cliffside. Thousands of letters and comments by North Carolina residents were sent to the commission opposing the $2.2 billion project. Eventually, only one of the two proposed units was approved by the commission.

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Ol’ Dan River (Despite Coal Ash) Just Keeps Rollin’

Monday, December 17th, 2012 | Posted by Matt Grimley

Appalachian Voices recently submitted their comments to the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources on Dan River Steam Station’s new permit to discharge coal ash.

As we all know, coal ash isn’t a pretty thing. The harmful leftovers from burning coal contain toxic contaminants like chromium and arsenic, and seep into our waterways, threatening wildlife and human health all in one fell swoop.

Current testing at the Dan River Steam Station, according to the new website southeastcoalash.org, reveals levels of antimony, arsenic, iron, manganese, sulfate and total dissolved solids above state groundwater standards. That’s unacceptable — coal ash shouldn’t interfere at all with groundwater, surface water, or the waters we drink and play in. To keep coal ash at bay, the ponds of sludge located at Dan River and other sites should be properly lined and covered.

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Singin’ the Catawba River Blues After Commission’s Decision On Coal Ash

Thursday, December 6th, 2012 | Posted by Hallie Carde

North Carolina, we have a problem.

The waste from burning coal, known as coal ash, continues to threaten our state’s water supply. Seepage from coal ash impoundments is contaminating North Carolina’s water at various sites throughout the state. Unaddressed in the past and denied in the present, this pollution demands a stronger fight to protect clean water, and advocates are putting up that fight.

Unfortunately, advocates for N.C.’s clean water recently lost a battle on the coal ash front. This past Monday, the Environmental Management Commission (EMC) ruled against a petition to require Duke Energy to clean up contamination resulting from 14 of their coal ash pits.

Monday’s hearing ended in a 9-2 decision that the company’s coal ash sites are exempt from the requirements of the state’s groundwater standards and therefore do not require immediate clean up.

In October, the Southern Environmental Law Center filed a formal complaint on behalf of four organizations (Cape Fear River Watch, Sierra Club, Waterkeeper Alliance, and Western N.C. Alliance) against Progress and Duke Energies to clean up the contamination from their coal ash ponds.

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