COAL ASH
Coal ash.
When the Dan River coal ash spill occurred in February 2014, Yadkin Riverkeeper staff were some of the first responders, collecting water samples and alerting the public to the extent of coal ash contamination. Since then our focus has shifted to making sure that a disaster like Dan River does not occur in the Yadkin Basin.
NC drinking water contamination near Duke Energy coal ash site.
When the Dan River spill occurred in February 2014, Yadkin Riverkeeper staff were some of the first responders on the site to alert the public to the extent of coal ash contamination.
In October 2016, after a two year campaign, Yadkin Riverkeeper secured a clean up of the Buck Steam Station coal ash pits. Under this agreement, Duke Energy is obligated to excavate and recycle the over 5 million tons of coal ash sitting in unlined pits. Buck Steam Station is Duke’s oldest coal plant, opened in 1926 and stopped burning coal in 2013. It is the 8th of 14 sites in North Carolina to be placed under a clean up agreement.
Going forward, Yadkin Riverkeeper will continue to work with the Dukeville community and monitor the situation at Buck to ensure that clean up is conducted in a timely manner that protects the river and community. For more information on the clean up agreement, click here.
For background information on what's happening in Dukeville see videos from 60 Minutes, Vice News and Center for American Progress.