Jul 16 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Bruce Henderson The Charlotte Observer, N.C.


Charlotte will be one of five sites for hearings late this summer on disposal of coal ash from power plants.

Last month the Environmental Protection Agency proposed new rules on coal ash, of which utilities generate millions of tons a year. Ash contains potentially toxic metals that can contaminate groundwater and lakes.

A massive spill from a Tennessee Valley Authority ash pond in 2008 riveted public and regulators' attention to the issue.

 The EPA proposed two options: One would place coal ash under federal rules that regulate hazardous waste, a move Charlotte's Duke Energy opposes. The other option would regulate it under rules for nonhazardous waste such as garbage.

U.S. Rep. David Price, D-N.C., and 50 N.C. legislators asked the EPA to hold a hearing in North Carolina. They cited the 12 N.C. ash pond dams the EPA has listed as "high hazard" for potential damage if they failed.

Both Duke and Raleigh-based Progress Energy also have found groundwater contamination within their power plant boundaries.

The Charlotte hearing will be Sept. 14 at the Holiday Inn Charlotte (Airport), 2707 Little Rock Road. Sessions will begin at 10 a.m., 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. People who want to speak at the hearing should preregister by Sept. 9 at www.epa.gov/epawaste /nonhaz/industrial/special/ fossil/ccr-rule/ccr-form.htm . Written statements will be accepted at the hearing.

Other hearings will be in Arlington, Va.; Denver; Dallas and Chicago.

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