Coal Ash Basin at Belews Creek Power Plant
Nearly 50 concerned citizens gathered at North Rowan High School in Spencer on the evening of February 24 to learn more about Duke Energy’s closure plan for its coal ash basins at the Buck Power Station on the Yadkin River in Rowan County. The NC Department of Environmental Quality or NCDEQ, conducted the hearing and will be responsible for approving final closure plans and other water quality permits.
YRK executive director, Edgar Miller, asked questions and commented on the plan during the meeting. Community member Deborah Graham also testified about Duke’s needed to be a good corporate citizen and do the right thing to properly clean up the coal ash impoundments. Other speakers expressed concerns about Duke Energy’s management of the coal ash basins and whether all the disposal sites had been identified.
Miller’s comments focused on issues related to stormwater and wastewater management resulting from the excavation of the coal ash and intentional breeching of earthen dams, corrective action for groundwater contamination and remediation, coal ash management, transportation and disposal and the coal ash recycling process to be permitted on site.
Major recommendations to NCDEQ from YRK’s comments include:
1. Include effluent limits for heavy metals associated with coal ash such as mercury, arsenic, cadmium, chromium and selenium as part of Duke Energy’s National Pollution Discharge Elimination System or NPDES permit revisions.
2. Require monitoring of emissions for the Staged Turbulent Air Reactor or “STAR” coal ash recycling system for heavy metals associated with coal ash.
3. Need for a comprehensive emergency spill response plan and plans to minimize airborne dust from coal ash removal and transportation activities.
4. Comprehensive groundwater data contained in the Comprehensive Site Assessment and the Corrective Action Plan is required to fully evaluate the closure plan.
5. Duke Energy should work with community organizations and share real time data to ensure community support for the clean up effort.
In addition to specific comments on the closure plan, YRK raised issues related to the management and recycling of the estimated 6.7 million tons of coal combustible residues or CCR on site. The plan indicates Duke has no intention to build an on-site landfill to “handle” the balance of the 2.7 million tons of coal ash that will not be recycled by the 2030 deadline. The on-site STAR system, which has been permitted by the state and should be operation later this year, is projected to process 400,000 tons of CCR per year for its 10-year operating life.
Written comments are due on the plan by March 16. For more information go to NCDEQ’s website at: