Storm Causing Duke Coal Ash to Spill into N.C. River

Coal ash is likely entering the Cape Fear River in Wilmington, North Carolina, environmentalists said Friday. Rising water in the area, due to heavy rain and storm surge from Hurricane Florence, is still a problem. 

Duke Energy confirmed breaches to a cooling lake dam at its L.V. Sutton plant in Wilmington, although it said coal ash -- industrial waste created by coal-burning power plants -- is probably not moving into the river. 

The state has been closely monitoring conditions at the facility. Since Thursday night, high water from the Cape Fear River has flowed into Sutton Lake on the north side and into the river on the south side. On Friday morning, state dam safety officials were notified of a dam breach of between 100 and 200 feet at the south end of Sutton Lake. There may also be smaller breaches in the dam, according to the state. 

"The Cape Fear River has spilled into the Sutton Lake. It has spilled over into their transmission yard. Duke has evacuated their employees," Michael Regan, secretary of the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, said Friday. "What we don't know at this point is if any coal ash has filtered into the Cape Fear River." 

The department said it is working with other agencies to monitor the situation. It plans to conduct flyovers as well as on-the-ground testing and drone inspections of the dam.

 

Duke Energy spokeswoman Paige Sheehan confirmed that nine employees were at the plant overnight, although "they safely left as the flooding began to occur." The team included regular plant operators and some employees sent to monitor the situation after the hurricane, she said. 

"They left the plant itself but stayed nearby the property on higher ground," she added. Additional engineering experts are being brought in to assist with the situation, and large stones are being added to stop the breach. 

 

"Although river flooding has approached the two inactive coal basins at the facility, it appears there are currently no structural issues with those impoundments," said Bridget Munger, deputy communications director for the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, on Friday, noting that state teams from three regulatory divisions are on site.

Coal ash is one of the largest forms of industrial waste, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency. It contains heavy metals including arsenic, lead and mercury, which can pose serious health risks. 

According to the EPA, exposure to coal ash waste "can cause severe health and environmental problems in the form of cancer and non-cancer risks in humans, lowered IQ among children, and deformities and reproductive harm in fish and wildlife. Many of these pollutants, once in the environment, remain there for years."

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