Duke Energy Calls Dan River Cleanup Job Done–With Most Of Coal Ash Still In River

Duke Energy claims the work of removing coal ash from the Dan River is mostly done--even though most of the ash is still in the river.
Duke Energy claims the work of removing coal ash from the Dan River is mostly done–even though most of the ash is still in the river.

 

When is cleaning up only 3,000 tons out of nearly 40,000 tons of a toxic spill enough to say the job is finished? Apparently Duke Energy thinks that’s the case. Last week, it announced that at present, there are no more deposits remaining from February’s massive spill of coal ash into the Dan River. Apparently environmental regulators from both North Carolina and the federal government are buying that claim–but environmentalists aren’t.

Duke says that its contractors have finished dredging a 2,500-ton deposit of ash and sediment behind a dam in Danville, Virginia–the largest downstream populated area that was directly affected by the spill. Earlier, Duke removed a total of 500 tons from four smaller deposits. That leaves as much as 36,000 tons spread out along 70 miles of river bottom.

Given these numbers, local river advocates collectively rolled their eyes when Duke declared that “there currently are no additional deposits” left in the river. Much of the ash is now covered with sediment, and the upper layer is where fish lay their eggs and aquatic insects grow. Brian Williams of the Dan River Basin Association thinks that ash is going to be a major headache for some time to come. He said that when water surges in from an upstream dam, the river takes on a reddish color due to the sediment being stirred up. When that happens, he says, “it stirs up coal ash.” He doesn’t think that the ash is going to go to the bottom of the river and not do serious harm to the environment. Pete Harrison, an attorney with the Waterkeeper Alliance, said that there are still several layers of ash deposits under the sediment. For all intents and purposes, Harrison thinks Duke is “walking away from the job” of cleaning up the river.

However, Dianne Reid, the water science chief at the North Carolina Division of Water Resources, says that trying to get rid of all the ash could do more harm than good. According to Reid, disturbing the river bottom risks stirring up large amounts of mercury and PCBs that could potentially work their way up the food chain. Kenneth Rhame, who is overseeing the cleanup effort for the federal Environmental Protection Agency, claims that if there are any heavy metals in the sediment, they “seem to be diluting out” further downstream. The most recent samples from the Dan show only high levels of aluminum and iron, which are believed to occur naturally. He also said that there are a number of factors that govern ash removal decisions, such as the depth of the ash, contamination of sediment, and potential harm to endangered species.

If Duke’s cleanup effort does come up short, it has agreed to pay the EPA a fine of $8,000 per day. Duke will also have to pay $500,000 if the EPA has to take over the cleanup. It should be noted that Duke would have to eat all of those costs; the company has already said that it will not pass the cleanup costs onto its customers. With over 90 percent of the spill left behind so far, chances are that Duke will have to write at least one, if not both, of those checks at some point.

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Darrell Lucus.jpg Darrell Lucus is a radical-lefty Jesus-lover who has been blogging for change for a decade. Follow him on Twitter @DarrellLucus or connect with him on Facebook.

Darrell is a 30-something graduate of the University of North Carolina who considers himself a journalist of the old school. An attempt to turn him into a member of the religious right in college only succeeded in turning him into the religious right's worst nightmare--a charismatic Christian who is an unapologetic liberal. His desire to stand up for those who have been scared into silence only increased when he survived an abusive three-year marriage. You may know him on Daily Kos as Christian Dem in NC. Follow him on Twitter @DarrellLucus or connect with him on Facebook. Click here to buy Darrell a Mello Yello.