Recently, the issue of coal ash ponds in North Carolina have been prevalent in the news following the most recent coal ash disaster in the Dan River and surrounding areas. Yet the disposal/storage of coal ash has been an issue in this region for at least the past thirty years.
The Southeast is home to 40% of the nation’s coal impoundments, and nearly every major river in the Southeast region has one or more lagoons along its banks. Current state legislation is lax regarding the regulation and maintenance of these storage ponds. Currently, the laws are so relaxed that Duke Energy and Progress Energy Carolinas is able to sell its coal ash for $0.50-$1 per ton as fill for commercial land development and even the Charlotte airport. The practice of using coal ash for fill has been around since the early 90s, and there is no system in place to test the effects of this practice on groundwater, much less notify property owners of the presence of potentially hazardous pollutants buried on their land.
Coal ash is the waste left over after coal burning, North Carolina’s energy source of choice, at the moment. The ash contains several concentrated heavy metals like arsenic, mercury, and lead. The ash waste is stored in ponds in the form of slurry or used as land-fill in large commercial real estate. When coal ash storage is mismanaged (or, in the case of many of North Carolina’s ponds, under-managed), these hazardous pollutants can seep out of the ash and into groundwater, where they pose a threat to humans, as well as the flora and fauna of North Carolina.
Liners typically prevent rainwater from leaching ash pollutants into the surrounding groundwater; however, liners can be ineffective. In the recent Dan River coal ash spill, corrugated metal lining was corroded by the harsh metals, leading to the most major leak in recent memory.
Coal ash leakage in NC rivers doesn’t only affect the wildlife and fauna of the region, but also the land’s use for recreation, tourism, and research.
The danger of mismanagement coal ash pond mismanagement cannot be taken lightly. Pollution of surrounding groundwater, wells, lakes, rivers, and streams by coal ash pollutants will lead to horrible consequences for state on many levels. The safety of drinking water is obviously at the top of the list of concerns. For example, arsenic levels in a public well in Wilmington, NC are 27 times above the state standard due to coal ash leakage. A state-owned utility on the Waccamaw River discharges 650,000 tons of coal ash into the plant’s waste pools, which have been proven to be leaking into the Waccamaw River which flows into the Waccamaw National Wildlife Refuge.
A volunteer shows the obvious differences among natural North Carolina river bottom and coal ash leakage. The ash destroys not only the aesthetic beauty of the rivers where it leaches harsh metals, but also damages the ecosystem’s integrity.
Lack of knowledge and responsibility for management of coal ash ponds that are vulnerable to leaks is a major state issue that will need to be addressed in the coming months. The lack of legislation and checks in place to monitor the many harmful effects of ineffective coal ash storage is a main reason why the situation has become so significant so quickly. Governor Pat McCrory’s proposal to limit the construction of new coal ash ponds falls short of sufficient by allowing energy companies like Duke to create their own timelines and checkpoints for the reworking of the coal ash storage system.
Want to know if there’s a coal ash pond or storage site near you? Check this website for information about the locations of coal ash ponds in the Southeastern US: SoutheastCoalAsh.Org.
Coal Ash and NC State Forests
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Posted on February 16, 2014 by adgrant
Recently, the issue of coal ash ponds in North Carolina have been prevalent in the news following the most recent coal ash disaster in the Dan River and surrounding areas. Yet the disposal/storage of coal ash has been an issue in this region for at least the past thirty years.
The Southeast is home to 40% of the nation’s coal impoundments, and nearly every major river in the Southeast region has one or more lagoons along its banks. Current state legislation is lax regarding the regulation and maintenance of these storage ponds. Currently, the laws are so relaxed that Duke Energy and Progress Energy Carolinas is able to sell its coal ash for $0.50-$1 per ton as fill for commercial land development and even the Charlotte airport. The practice of using coal ash for fill has been around since the early 90s, and there is no system in place to test the effects of this practice on groundwater, much less notify property owners of the presence of potentially hazardous pollutants buried on their land.
Coal ash is the waste left over after coal burning, North Carolina’s energy source of choice, at the moment. The ash contains several concentrated heavy metals like arsenic, mercury, and lead. The ash waste is stored in ponds in the form of slurry or used as land-fill in large commercial real estate. When coal ash storage is mismanaged (or, in the case of many of North Carolina’s ponds, under-managed), these hazardous pollutants can seep out of the ash and into groundwater, where they pose a threat to humans, as well as the flora and fauna of North Carolina.
Liners typically prevent rainwater from leaching ash pollutants into the surrounding groundwater; however, liners can be ineffective. In the recent Dan River coal ash spill, corrugated metal lining was corroded by the harsh metals, leading to the most major leak in recent memory.
The danger of mismanagement coal ash pond mismanagement cannot be taken lightly. Pollution of surrounding groundwater, wells, lakes, rivers, and streams by coal ash pollutants will lead to horrible consequences for state on many levels. The safety of drinking water is obviously at the top of the list of concerns. For example, arsenic levels in a public well in Wilmington, NC are 27 times above the state standard due to coal ash leakage. A state-owned utility on the Waccamaw River discharges 650,000 tons of coal ash into the plant’s waste pools, which have been proven to be leaking into the Waccamaw River which flows into the Waccamaw National Wildlife Refuge.
Lack of knowledge and responsibility for management of coal ash ponds that are vulnerable to leaks is a major state issue that will need to be addressed in the coming months. The lack of legislation and checks in place to monitor the many harmful effects of ineffective coal ash storage is a main reason why the situation has become so significant so quickly. Governor Pat McCrory’s proposal to limit the construction of new coal ash ponds falls short of sufficient by allowing energy companies like Duke to create their own timelines and checkpoints for the reworking of the coal ash storage system.
Want to know if there’s a coal ash pond or storage site near you? Check this website for information about the locations of coal ash ponds in the Southeastern US: SoutheastCoalAsh.Org.
http://www.southernenvironment.org/cases/logging_in_the_national_forests/
http://www.southernenvironment.org/news-and-press/press-releases/dan-river-groups-seek-cleanup-of-dukes-coal-ash-pollution
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2014/04/20/4852864/coal-ash-nc-fill-sites.html#.U1a5xuZdUao
http://appvoices.org/tag/north-carolina/
http://www.southeastcoalash.org/
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2014/04/20/4852864/coal-ash-nc-fill-sites.html#.U1a5xuZdUao
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