Coal ash bill improves clean-up plan
Published June 17, 2014
Editorial by Fayetteville Observer, June 16, 2014.
The coal-ash train in Raleigh is moving again, and in the right direction. A Senate bill, which had its first committee hearing on Monday, proposes a more aggressive requirement for Duke Energy to clean up or seal all of its 33 unlined coal-ash pits within 15 years.
The bill significantly exceeds the rigor in a cleanup plan proposed by Gov. Pat McCrory, which left most decisions about the timing of the cleanup to Duke, the governor's longtime former employer.
The legislation has strong backing from Senate leader Phil Berger of Eden, where a massive coal-ash spill last winter fouled 70 miles of the Dan River, and Rules Chairman Tom Apodaca, who has coal-ash ponds in his district, near Asheville.
The lawmakers have targeted four of the highest-risk Duke ash impoundments for closure and removal within five years. They would make Duke move promptly to clean its highest-risk ash ponds, and would have the state Department of Environment and Natural Resources assign risk factors - high, medium or low - to the rest. The ash would have to be removed from the medium-risk ponds by 2024. With low-risk ponds (if there are any), the utility would be allowed to drain and then cap them.
Environmental groups say the bill is still inadequate, even though it improves on the governor's plan. The first flaw they point out is the level of authority it invests in DENR, which has a well-documented cozy relationship with Duke.
The groups are also alarmed that the bill would allow the ash to be used as "structural fill" to level land for highways and other construction. The coal ash contains hazardous substances that include arsenic, selenium, lead and mercury.
Duke's response goes sharply in the other direction. The utility says the Senate legislation cuts its own ash-pond timetable in half and places "significant burdens" on the company.
We hope lawmakers remember throughout this debate that the coal-ash ponds have placed significant burdens on public health and safety, which is what this legislation should be about.
While the Senate plan is a substantially improved approach to the problem, it still needs tightening. It has too many loopholes and we're not at all convinced that any coal ash can ever be left in an unlined pit. But we hope lawmakers will remain on this improved course. We now know how dangerous the ash ponds can be. Removing that hazard is urgent and must be among our highest priorities.
http://www.fayobserver.com/opinion/article_22f809be-0020-5937-bb9c-ed4dbe3919d7.html
