Duke Energy has been operating many coal-based power plants in North Carolina. In 2014 Duke Energy used more than 40 Million tons of coal to produce electricity [1]. Burning coal creates vast amounts of coal ash that contain toxic materials such as arsenic and lead. On the same year, more than 80,000 tons of coal ash leaked from a coal ash containment pond into the Dan River [2]. The passage of the Coal Ash Management Act of 2014 was induced by the spill [2]. Duke Energy, then, decided to relocate the coal ash into containment sites for “re-use” purposes in Moncure in Chatham and Sanford in Lee County. Both sites have a capacity of 20 million tons [2]. The local community has been fighting this decision through courts and environmental activism. BLUE RIDGE ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE LEAGUE (BFREDL) has been campaigning to stop the dumping of coals ash into the Chatham County site. They sent a letter to Duke Energy President demanding the “cease the dumping of coal ash on the Brickhaven community in Chatham County, NC” [3]. In 2015 Chatham County officials agreed to provide Duke Energy with a permit to continue its operations in coal ash site in exchange for $19 million; however, two years later a judge ruled to stop any excavations in the coal ash landfills [4]. Chatham County residents expressed their content in the court’s ruling. The president of CHATHAM CITIZENS AGAINST COAL ASH DUMP said that it was a victory for the residents of the county [4].
Signs put by Moncure residents in protest to the coal ash landfill [5]
References:
- Duke Energy 2014 Sustainability Report. (2015). Retrieved from https://sustainabilityreport.duke-energy.com/2014/our-sustainability-plan-and-goals/value-creation-at-duke-energy/
- Carignan, A., Culley, M., Dinkins, L., Farge, C., Heath, D., Irby, P., . . . Posey, R. (2016, December 13). Environmental Justice Concerns Associated with Potential Coal Ash Sites in North Carolina. Retrieved from https://ie.unc.edu/files/2017/01/ENEC698-Coal-Ash-Relocation-pits-Final-Paper.pdf
- BREDL Coal Ash Campaign. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.bredl.org/campaigns/coalash.htm
- NEWS & MEDIA. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.nocoalash.org/news-media/
- Boraks, D. (2016, February 9). Coal Ash Is Moving, But Landfill Neighbors Fight Back. Retrieved from http://wfae.org/post/coal-ash-moving-landfill-neighbors-fight-back