Subpoenas Issued in North Carolina Coal Ash Spill
The two stormwater pipes that caused the early February release of as much as 39,000 tons of coal ash into the Dan River in North Carolina have been plugged.
But while damage to the downstream environment is still being assessed, the event appears certain to have far-reaching effects for the utility that owns the site and the state agency that regulates it.
In the weeks since the leak was first discovered on Feb. 2 at a former Eden, N.C., coal-fired powerplant owned by Charlotte-based Duke Energy, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Raleigh has launched an investigation to determine whether the utility's relationship with the North Carolina Dept. of Environment and Natural Resources compromised enforcement of federal environmental protection standards.
Additionally, state environmental regulators say they plan to re-open Duke's existing wastewater discharge permit and will consider requiring the utility to move coal ash from the basins at the Dan River powerplants to a lined landfill.
Duke Energy owns 14 decades-old coal-ash facilities across North Carolina, with a total of 32 storage lagoons. Citing excessive groundwater contamination from two of the facilities, environmental groups filed multiple lawsuits in 2013.
Asserting its pollution enforcement authority, the department intervened in each case. While the agency agreed there were violations, a settlement with Duke Energy resulted in fines for the utility but no requirement to address past pollution or implement preventive measures.
The original settlement may have piqued federal prosecutors' attention, but the coal-ash spill spurred a flurry of subpoenas on Feb. 18 and 19, with nearly 20 current and former agency employees called to testify before a grand jury.
The department also is required to hand over documents and personnel records relating to inspections of coal-ash facilities and potential gifts from Duke Energy to agency employees.
Neither John Skvarla, state secretary of environment and natural resources, nor Gov. Pat McCrory (R), who worked for Duke Energy for 28 years before entering politics, have been subpoenaed.
In a recent interview with the Raleigh News & Observer, McCrory called for placing coal ash in lined facilities and relocating, wherever feasible, existing storage lagoons farther away from rivers.
"I know at the Dan River site there's a potential site already to, at least, move it away from the river, which could probably most logically be done in a short period of time, and we're looking at ways we can encourage the utility to do just that," McCrory told the paper.
Meanwhile, Duke Energy says it has permanently plugged the 36- and 48-in.-dia stormwater pipes at the Eden site with concrete and grout to prevent any further leakage.
Company spokesman Tom Williams says that, as the cleanup process continues, further protective measures will be guided by the regulatory agencies, particularly by the new U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rules—expected to be announced before year's end—on the handling of coal ash.
"We're looking at all options to address long-term issues not only at Eden but across our six-state system," Williams says. "It's a long process, but we're no different from other companies with coal-ash storage facilities."
Although gray ash coats portions of the river bottom more than 70 miles downstream, Duke Energy and the department insist the municipal water treatment systems are safeguarding drinking-water supplies.
Investigators with EPA and the department, as well as citizen environment groups such as the Dan River Basin Association, continue to conduct regular tests of the Dan River for nearly 30 types of metals and other contaminants.
On Feb. 21, the agency announced that levels of aluminum and iron still exceed state surface-water standards, although levels are declining. Readings for other materials have fallen within acceptable levels.
