Claims of Dan River Clean-up by Duke Energy Proven False
By: Waterkeeper Alliance
Tens of Thousands of Tons of Coal Ash Still Plainly Evident in Dan River Sediment
Photos available here: https://flic.kr/s/aHsjZMx3P2
Raleigh, North Carolina — Waterkeeper Alliance, North Carolina Riverkeepers, and local residents reacted with shock and outrage to Duke Energy’s announcement yesterday that the company had “completed” clean-up work on the Dan River following the massive February 5th coal ash spill in Eden, North Carolina.
By their own admission, Duke Energy has removed only 2,500 of the 37,000 tons of toxic coal ash, accounting for only 6% of the ash that the $50 billion energy giant spilled into the Dan River in February. Deposits of coal ash – several inches thick in many places – remain at the bottom of the Dan River, presenting a lingering danger to the health of the environment and down river communities since the contaminants in the coal ash can dissolve into the water, exposing people and aquatic life to toxic heavy metals.
“This arrogant announcement from Duke Energy is the ultimate insult to the people North Carolina and Virginia whose river has been devastated by the company’s toxic ash spill,” said Waterkeeper Alliance attorney Pete Harrison who conducted testing on the Dan River yesterday after the announcement from Duke Energy. “Worse yet, Duke doesn’t even acknowledge the fact that there’s still a public health advisory declaring that the river is not safe to fish and swim in. Duke’s celebratory announcement that it ‘completed’ the clean-up threatens to mislead the public into think the danger has passed.”
The North Carolina General Assembly is currently debating legislation that would set forth clean-up and closure requirements for Duke’s Dan River coal ash ponds, as well as the company’s 13 other coal ash sites across North Carolina. Many critics are concerned that even the most stringent versions of the proposed legislation would only require immediate clean-up at four of Duke’s contaminated sites, and does not include a fixed schedule for the other 10 ash dumps.
“Since it announced the massive coal ash spill in February, Duke Energy has repeatedly promised the people of North Carolina that it is ‘taking responsibility’ for the damage it has done. Now we see what ‘taking responsibility’ looks like to Duke: poisoning a river and walking away, leaving the mess behind.”
CONTACT:
Peter Cleary, [email protected], (347) 322-9695
Peter Harrison, [email protected], (828) 582-0422
About WATERKEEPER® Alliance
Founded in 1999 by environmental attorney and activist Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and several veteran Waterkeeper Organizations, Waterkeeper Alliance is a global movement of on-the-water advocates who patrol and protect over 1.5 million square miles of rivers, streams and coastlines in North and South America, Europe, Australia, Asia and Africa. Learn more at: www.waterkeeper.org or follow @Waterkeeper on Twitter and Facebook.