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State environmental agency takes action to address deficiencies at three coal ash facilities
Story Date: 3/17/2014
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Source: NCDENR, 3/13/14
State environmental regulators plan to modify permits to require Duke Energy to eliminate all unauthorized discharges and potentially move coal ash from the basins at the Riverbend and Asheville power plants. The modifications will also require Duke to dewater and accelerate closure of the coal ash ponds at the utility’s Sutton plant.
“In a March 12 letter, Duke Energy responded to a demand for information from Gov. McCrory and me. Although Duke committed to near-term actions, the response lacked the detail necessary to ensure Duke Energy abides by the commitments outlined in their letter,” said DENR Secretary John Skvarla. “Reopening these permits allows DENR to ensure that Duke Energy resolves this long-standing issue at these facilities.”
The N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources will reopen the existing National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System, or NPDES, wastewater discharge permits for the Riverbend Steam Station in Gaston County and the Sutton Steam Electric Plant near Wilmington, N.C. The Sutton facility was issued a notice of violation March 3 for failure to obtain an NPDES industrial stormwater permit.
Because the NPDES permit for the Asheville Plant in Buncombe County is currently in the process of being renewed, the agency can incorporate the additional conditions into the Asheville plant’s draft permit. Such a change would be followed by a 45-day public comment period.
DENR notified Duke Energy Friday afternoon by letter of the state agency’s intention to reopen the existing NPDES permits for the Riverbend and Sutton plants. Duke Energy’s NPDES permits for the facilities allow the utility to discharge coal ash basin water from storage ponds into nearby waterways. By law, the state agency is required to give Duke Energy 60 days to respond to the agency’s decision to reopen the permits.
“In addition to our recent action to reopen the NPDES permit for the Dan River plant, we are taking these additional actions to address deficiencies at the three facilities that DENR has identified as the most urgent,” said Tom Reeder, director of the N.C. Division of Water Resources.
Copies of the current NPDES permits for the facilities and letters DENR sent to Duke Energy Friday regarding the possible permit modifications are on a DENR web page devoted to the spill: http://portal.ncdenr.org/web/guest/dan-river-spill.
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