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  1. #11
    Senior Member JohnDoe2's Avatar
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    1. Duke Energy's coal-ash spill has utterly ruined a river | Grist
    2. grist.org/.../duke-energys-coal-ash-spill-has-utterly-ruined-...‎
      Grist
      by John Upton

      23 hours ago - Experts have only just started getting a handle on the environmental and health impacts of Sunday's spill of tens of thousands of tons of toxic ...
    Last edited by JohnDoe2; 08-20-2014 at 09:23 PM.
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  2. #12
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    NC admits mistake, says arsenic topped safe level

    North Carolina's environmental agency said Sunday it wrongly declared all test results for the arsenic levels in the Dan River as safe for people after a massive coal ash spill. A water sample taken Monday , ...

    Associated Press
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  3. #13
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    Feds investigate N.C. coal ash spill

    RALEIGH, N.C. - Federal authorities have launched a criminal investigation into a massive coal ash spill into the Dan River.

    The U.S. Attorney's Office in Raleigh issued a grand jury subpoenas demanding records from Duke Energy and the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources. The subpoenas seek emails, memos and reports from 2010 through the Feb. 2 spill.

    The Associated Press obtained a copy on Thursday of the subpoena issued to the state. A Duke spokesman confirmed the company had also received one.

    The spill at a Duke Energy plant in Eden spewed enough toxic sludge into the river to fill 73 Olympic-sized pools. It was the third-largest coal ash spill in U.S. history.

    Prosecutors ordered the state environmental agency's chief lawyer to appear next month before a grand jury.

    http://www.cbsnews.com/news/feds-inv...oal-ash-spill/
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  4. #14
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    Duke Energy downplays concern of NC officials that 2nd pipe at coal ash dump could collapse

    Published February 15, 2014Associated Press

    EDEN, N.C. – Duke Energy says a second pipe under a coal ash dump in North Carolina is not in immediate danger of collapse, despite concerns from state regulators that the pipe could fail and trigger another toxic spill into the Dan River.

    The state Department of Environmental Resources said Friday that video taken inside the concrete pipe shows wide gaps through which potentially contaminated water could gush and then flow into the river.


    Duke spokeswoman Paige Sheehan says the company's assessment is that "no immediate action" is necessary. The state has given Duke 10 days to come up with a plan to fix the leaks.


    The third largest coal ash spill in U.S. history was triggered Feb. 2 when a similar pipe at Duke's dump collapsed, turning the river gray for miles.


    http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/02/15...sh-dump-could/

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  5. #15
    Senior Member JohnDoe2's Avatar
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    U.S. widens inquiry of Duke Energy's coal ash spill in North Carolina


    New federal subpoenas seek information about ties between Duke Energy and North Carolina regulators before the coal ash spill.
    Amy Adams of the environmental group Appalachian Voices checks for coal ash in the Dan River earlier this month.(Gerry Broome / Associated Press / February 5, 2014)




    By David Zucchino
    February 19, 2014, 7:57 p.m.

    RALEIGH, N.C. — Federal prosecutors have broadened their criminal investigation of state environmental regulators after a massive coal ash spill Feb. 2 that contaminated the Dan River in North Carolina, issuing 20 more subpoenas demanding documents about communications and possible payments and gifts.

    The subpoenas, disclosed Wednesday, require the state Department of Environment and Natural Resources to produce records of any payments or "items of value" received from or provided to Duke Energy, the giant utility whose coal ash containment basin spilled as much as 82,000 tons of toxic coal and 27 million gallons of contaminated water into the river.


    About 19 agency employees are required to produce documents — "to include but not limited to: cash, check, wire transfer and stock transfer," the subpoenas say — and most are compelled to testify before a federal grand jury March 18. In an attached letter, the U.S. attorney in Raleigh, Thomas G. Walker, described a "criminal investigation of a suspected felony."


    The latest subpoenas seek records not only about the Feb. 2 spill but about dealings between the agency and Duke Energy regarding coal ash ponds at all 14 North Carolina Duke plants since 2009.


    Duke Energy, the country's largest electricity provider, said it received a second federal subpoena Wednesday related to the spill. A spokesman, Thomas Williams, declined to provide details.


    A deepening sense of crisis has surrounded the spill, which state regulators and Duke have consistently downplayed while working closely to contain the coal ash and the political fallout. Environmental groups have accused the agency and utility of a cozy partnership and a secretly arranged "sweetheart deal" on coal ash basins.


    The agency has had to backtrack after first saying arsenic levels from the spill, caused by a ruptured storm-water pipe, were within safety standards. Meanwhile, environmental groups have produced test results that they say show levels of arsenic, lead and other toxic heavy metals far above state safety levels.


    On Tuesday, the agency and Duke had to contend with a report by the U.S. Fisheries and Wildlife Service documenting a 5-foot deep "coal ash bar" 75 feet long and 15 feet wide near the spill site. The report said the bottom of the Dan River was coated with coal ash up to 70 miles from the spill site, threatening fish and mussels.


    That report came the same day the state agency announced it had detected elevated levels of arsenic from a second cracked pipe spilling coal ash at the Dan River plant. The agency said it had ordered Duke to stop the spill, and on Wednesday said it was 90% contained.


    The agency attacked news coverage and heatedly denied that it had been too soft on Duke. In his second news conference on the spill, the agency's embattled secretary, John Skvarla, said any suggestion that his department "and Duke Energy got together and made some smoky backroom deal with a nominal fine is just absolutely not true."


    After being peppered with questions for more than an hour, Skvarla and his aides ended the news conference and retreated to the elevators as journalists continued to shout questions. "Why are you running away from the press?" one reporter cried.


    During the briefing at agency headquarters, Skvarla denied environmental groups' accusations that the department had filed last-minute lawsuits last summer to preclude them from suing Duke in federal court. The state reached an agreement with Duke that did not require the utility to clean coal ash basins at two plants.


    Environmental groups say the agency sued to protect Duke and to block the groups' federal lawsuits, which, if successful, would have required Duke to move the basins away from waterways and into lined lagoons. Their lawsuits also would have exposed Duke to potential fines far larger than the $99,000 penalty the agency proposed for the $50-billion company.


    Skvarla told reporters Wednesday that in fact his agency and environmental groups were "partners" in seeking to clean up waterways and groundwater contaminated by Duke coal ash. He said news reports had falsely "portrayed that we are in an adversarial role."


    Those comments surprised environmental groups, which have accused the agency of allowing coal ash to seep into waterways and groundwater for years from 32 coal ash basins at Duke's plants in the state.


    "There's been a very adversarial posture from this agency from the very beginning," said Peter Harrison, a lawyer with the environmental group Waterkeeper Alliance. He called Skvarla's comments "little more than fluff."


    "What we haven't heard from the agency is any satisfactory answers on the damage to the Dan River and how they intend to mitigate it," Harrison said. He has used a kayak to collect water samples at the spill site that show much higher levels of heavy metals than results released by the agency or Duke.


    The agency has accused Duke of illegal discharges of coal ash from two ruptured storm-water pipes under a 27-acre containment basin at Duke's shuttered Dan River coal-fired plant in Eden, N.C. It has not fined the utility, saying it will wait until after its investigation to assess any penalties.


    Skvarla assured reporters that his agency was taking a careful, long-term approach to dealing with coal ash spills while it investigates the Feb. 2 incident. The goal is to "clean up coal ash ponds as quickly as possible" and require Duke to mitigate any damage to the river, fish or wildlife, he said.


    Skvarla said his agency had reached a consent decree with Duke to avoid years of litigation that would delay dealing with coal ash. He denied news reports that he had asked a judge last week to "scuttle" the agreement, saying he had asked that the deal be held in abeyance while the agency investigates the Dan River spill.


    With a video presentation airing over his shoulder, Skvarla said the lawsuits and proposed fine were the first ever against Duke Energy in the state, although he acknowledged that the fine was "irrelevant in the grand scheme of things … like a grain of sand on a mile of beach."


    But the agreement was designed to quickly "get to the endgame: getting these coal ash ponds cleaned up," Skvarla said. "We held Duke's feet to the fire."


    Agency spokesman Drew Elliot said Skvarla had not personally received a subpoena. He said the agency had made public all subpoenas.


    Skvarla said the agency had not started an internal investigation.


    The subpoenas disclosed by the agency Wednesday were dated Wednesday and Feb. 11. The agency was served with two other federal subpoenas Feb. 10.


    Among the agency employees named in subpoenas was Tom Reeder, the Division of Water Quality director who has been at the forefront of the state's response to the spill. In a video address to agency employees in July, Reeder said the agency had a "moral obligation" to review environmental regulations and "relieve the regulated community of that burden."


    Skvarla was appointed by Republican Gov. Pat McCrory, a 28-year employee of Duke Energy whose campaigns and supporters received $1.1 million in contributions from Duke. The governor said on state ethics forms that he held Duke Energy stock in excess of $10,000 but did not disclose the amount.


    Skvarla is a Raleigh lawyer and businessman who has helped run an environmental mitigation company, cargo airline and waste management company, and owns a golf course community. He has said his agency is a "partner" to those it regulates and considers them "customers."


    Skvarla said he had no role in McCrory's 2012 campaign.


    Elliot, the spokesman, said the secretary had donated to the campaign. He declined to specify the amount.


    http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-...#ixzz2ttCpC5yL
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  6. #16
    Senior Member JohnDoe2's Avatar
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    Second North Carolina coal ash spill plugged, but concerns remain
    Workers with Duke Energy on Wednesday work to seal a pipe leaking coal ash into the Dan River in North Carolina. On Friday state officials announced the leak had been plugged. (Rob Brown / News & Record / February 19, 2014)





    By David Zucchino
    February 21, 2014, 5:26 p.m.


    RALEIGH, N.C. -- A second ruptured stormwater pipe that has been spilling toxic coal ash into the Dan River in North Carolina and Virginia has been sealed, North Carolina officials announced late Friday.

    The state's Department of Environment and Natural Resources said Duke Energy, whose coal ash containment basin in Eden, N.C., is the source of the ash, managed to block the discharge with a concrete plug. The 36-inch pipe has been leaking coal ash since since approximately Feb. 14, spilling arsenic and other heavy metals into the river.


    On Feb. 2, a broken 48-inch storm water pipe at the same shuttered Duke coal-fired plant spewed tons of coal ash and 27 million gallons of contaminated water into the Dan River. Duke first said the spill was between 50,000 and 82,000 tons, but later reduced the estimate to 30,000 to 39,000 tons.


    The environmental agency announced six days later that the 48-inch pipe had been sealed. But the river remains contaminated with coal ash as environmental groups clash with the agency and Duke over the extent of danger to humans and damage to fish, wildlife and the environment.


    Municipal water officials in Danville and South Boston, two Virginia towns downstream, have said normal filtering and treatment of water drawn from the Dan have left it safe to drink.


    On Monday, the North Carolina environmental agency announced that it was testing water in the John H. Kerr reservoir on the Virginia-North Carolina border after Virginia officials spotted coal ash on the lake surface. The reservoir, 80 miles from the spill site, is fed by the Dan River and other waterways.


    Coal ash is a byproduct of burning coal for electricity. Last week, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said the Dan River bottom was coated with coal ash from the Feb. 2 spill site to a point at least 70 miles downstream, threatening fish and mussels. Near the spill, ash lies 5 feet thick in what the wildlife agency described as a "coal ash bar" 75 feet long and 15 feet wide.


    On Friday, the state environmental agency reported that its latest tests of river water show that levels of aluminum and iron, two heavy metals, exceed state surface water standards. The samples, collected Feb. 7, indicate that levels of aluminum and iron continue to drop, the agency said.


    "While aluminum and iron are naturally occurring metals in many rivers, state environmental officials remain concerned about the long-term health of the Dan River,’’ the agency said in a statement.


    Environmental groups have accused the agency of protecting Duke Energy, the nation’s largest electricity provider, and blocking attempts by environmentalists to sue the utility in federal court and force it to shut down coal ash basins. They say that for years the agency has taken no action to stop the seepage of coal ash from 32 basins at 14 Duke Energy coal-fired plants in North Carolina.


    Federal investigators have launched a criminal investigation, issuing subpoenas to the agency and to Duke for records related to the utility's coal ash basins, including the Dan River facility. Both the agency and Duke say they are cooperating with investigators.


    The agency disputes the allegations by environmentalists, noting that it sued Duke last summer and proposed fines for coal ash leaks at two Duke plants. The agency has said it is requiring Duke to clean up the Dan River and expects to cite and fine the company after it completes an investigation of the spill.


    The agency's director was appointed by Republican Gov. Pat McCrory, who worked for Duke Energy for 28 years. The utility gave $1.1 million to McCrory's campaigns or to groups that supported him.


    http://www.latimes.com/nation/nation...#ixzz2u1ZyQEDp
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  7. #17
    Senior Member JohnDoe2's Avatar
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    Duke Energy receives 5 more citations weeks after coal ash spill

    By David Zucchino
    March 3, 2014, 6:27 p.m.

    FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. — After weeks of downplaying a massive coal ash spill, North Carolina regulators issued violation notices Monday to five more Duke Energy power plants, in addition to two citations late last week at the site that polluted the Dan River a month ago.

    Also Monday, the state Department of Environment and Natural Resources described the Feb. 2 spill as an “environmental disaster.”


    The latest five citations focused on Duke Energy’s coal ash storage basins in five counties, where regulators say the giant utility failed to secure proper permits for storm water discharges. Regulators say more enforcement actions are possible as they look into the handling of coal ash at all 14 Duke-owned power plants in North Carolina.


    The violations carry potential fines of $25,000 per day per violation, pending the outcome of an agency investigation.


    At least 39,000 tons of coal ash and 27 million gallons of contaminated water spilled into the Dan River Feb. 2 after a storm water pipe breach at a Duke Energy plant in Eden, N.C. The spill coated the river bottom with coal ash for at least 70 miles in North Carolina and Virginia, leaving piles 5 feet deep in some locations.


    Environmental groups have accused the state Department of Environment and Natural Resources of ignoring years of coal ash seepage at 32 Duke Energy coal ash storage basins. The agency cooperated closely with Duke Energy in the days after the spill, joining the utility in issuing statements that downplayed its severity.


    But the agency backed down in the face of public pressure. It also backtracked on initial statements about safe surface water levels, acknowledging a week after the spill that it had detected arsenic that exceeded safe levels. And after the agency assured residents there was no danger to humans or wildlife, state health officials warned people to avoid contact with the Dan River and not eat fish taken from its waters.


    Municipal water officials in two Virginia cities downstream have said normal treatment makes water from the Dan safe to drink.


    Environmental groups have taken their own water samples, however, which showed levels of arsenic, lead and other heavy metals exceeding state surface water standards.


    Since the Republican Party won control of the Legislature in 2010 and the governor’s office in 2012, the state environmental agency has adopted a policy of cooperating with and assisting those it regulates, entities the new agency director calls “customers.”


    The agency admitted in court in August that Duke Energy was violating state and federal environmental laws by leaking coal ash into the Dan River from the 27-acre basin that failed in February, yet waited until late Friday to issue violation notices for storm water runoff.


    Federal prosecutors have launched a criminal investigation into the agency’s relationship with Duke Energy regarding coal ash basins. In subpoenas issued to officials at the agency and at Duke Energy, prosecutors say they are seeking records of any cash transactions or exchange of items of value.


    The agency “knew about these violations yet took no action until after the spill, the federal criminal grand jury and intense press scrutiny,’’ Frank Holleman, senior attorney for the Southern Environmental Law Center, said of the coal ash leaks at the Dan River plant.


    The law center attempted to sue Duke Energy in federal court last year to force it to clean up its 32 coal ash containment basins. But its suit was blocked by the state agency, which sued Duke in federal court.

    Holleman said the state lawsuits were designed to protect Duke Energy because they did not require the utility to clean up or move the ash basins, and because the state proposed a fine far lower than Duke would have faced if the environmental center had prevailed in federal court under the Clean Water Act.

    The law center wants Duke to move its coal ash to dry, lined landfills away from waterways. The two biggest utilities in neighboring South Carolina agreed to do so under pressure from the center, Holleman said.


    “It is shocking that Duke Energy was openly violating the most fundamental requirements of clean water laws, and discharging industrial storm water directly into the Dan River illegally,’’ Holleman said.


    John Skvarla, the secretary of Environment and Natural Resources, has said the agency is a “partner’’ to those it regulates, whom he considers “customers.’’ Skvarla, a Raleigh businessman, was appointed by Republican Gov. Pat McCrory, who worked for Duke Energy for 28 years.


    In a letter to a Raleigh newspaper in December, Skvarla wrote: “People in the private sector pour their hearts and souls into their work; instead of crushing their dreams, they now have a state government that treats them as partners.’’


    On Monday, Skvarla adopted a more aggressive tone toward the country’s largest electricity utility a month after the third-worst coal ash spill in U.S. history.


    “Our agency is determined to make sure that all of these facilities are in compliance with state and federal law,’’ Skvarla said in a statement.

    “We are doing everything in our power to prevent environmental disasters like what we’ve seen at the Dan River. We are committed to protecting public health and the natural resources of our state.’’


    http://www.latimes.com/nation/nation...#ixzz2v2CEhKkS
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  8. #18
    Senior Member JohnDoe2's Avatar
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      1. Federal grand jury to examine NC coal ash spill

        CBS News ‎- 2 hours ago
        Did regulators look the other way when toxic coalash leaked from Duke Energy power plants? Residents still fearful of contaminants in the ...

      1. Spill Stirs Watchdog to Act

        Wall Street Journal - 1 hour ago
      2. Duke Energy accused of mishandling more coal ash wastewater

        Los Angeles Times‎ - 20 hours ago


      More news for COAL SPILL


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    2. NCDENR - Dan River Spill

      portal.ncdenr.org/web/guest/dan-river-spill

      In response to the recent coal ash spill at Duke Energy's Dan River facility in Eden, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources formed an internal ...
    3. After North Carolina spill, coal ash ponds face extinction | Reuters

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      3 days ago - NEW YORK (Reuters) - Power producers' coal ash disposal ponds like the one that leaked toxic sludge into a North Carolina river in February ...
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    6. The Martin County coal slurry spill was an accident that occurred after midnight on October 11, 2000 when the bottom of a coalslurry impoundment owned by ...
    7. Coal-Ash Spill Stirs EPA to Act - WSJ.com

      online.wsj.com/.../SB1000142405270230328780...‎
      The Wall Street Journal

      2 hours ago - North Carolina's governor and Duke Energy are at odds over the company's obligations to clean up a coal-ash spilland to remove or remediate ...
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  9. #19
    Senior Member JohnDoe2's Avatar
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    Regulators say Duke pumped coal ash into NC river

    CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina regulators say Duke Energy
    illegally pumped 61 million gallons of contaminated water from a coal ash pit into the Cape Fear River, marking the eighth time in less than a month the nation's largest electricity company has been cited for environmental violations...

    Associated Press
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  10. #20
    Senior Member JohnDoe2's Avatar
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