COLUMBIA, S.C. — The Catawba Riverkeeper Foundation and Duke Energy have reached a settlement regarding the clean up and evacuation of six coal ash sites in North Carolina.
For almost eight years, the Catawba Riverkeeper Foundation has been fighting the energy company to make sure it cleans up the unlined coal ash ponds along the Catawba RIver and three of the major lakes along the river -- Mountain Island Lake and Lake Norman near Charlotte, and Lake Wylie along the North Carolina, South Carolina border.
The Duke Energy 14-site coal-ash cleanup is the largest coal ash cleanup in US history. When the work is complete, crews will excavate about 126 million tons of coal ash and other contaminated materials – enough to fill more than 30-thousand Olympic-sized (50-meter) swimming pools.
The Allen Steam Station on Lake Wylie includes two coal ash ponds totaling more than 300 acres and 16.6 million tons of coal ash. According to the settlement, both ponds will be fully excavated, which means the coal ash and impacted soil will be dug out and removed, then secured in a lined storage site.
The Marshall Steam Station on Lake Norman includes a coal ash pond and landfill totaling 400 acres and 17.4 million tons of coal ash. Duke agreed to fully excavate the site. The Marshall site also contains fill that isn’t regulated by the state’s Coal Ash Management Act; the settlement confirms that Duke Energy is still responsible for monitoring and correcting groundwater contamination in those areas.
In addition, Duke will be liable for toxins that exceed safe levels at or beyond its property boundary or at the edge of a water body like Lake Norman or Lake Wylie.