Duke Energy has another environmental incident

August 20, 2014 | By Barbara Vergetis Lundin

Duke Energy is again in the spotlight after approximately 5,000 gallons of fuel oil at the W.C. Beckjord Station was spilled into the Ohio River about 20 miles southeast of Cincinnati. The oil spill comes just six months after a spill of more than 30,000 tons of coal ash and 27 million gallons of contaminated water at the Duke Energy Cape Fear plant into the Dan River in North Carolina.

W.C. Beckjord Station. Credit: Duke Energy

Utility officials say they are taking action.

"We notified state and local authorities of the incident and have been working with them throughout the overnight hours," said Chuck Whitlock, Duke Energy president of Midwest Commercial Generation and vice president of gas operations. "We have cleanup crews on site that are identifying the appropriate actions that will be needed to remediate."

The utility is working on-site with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Coast Guard, Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, Kentucky Department for Environmental Protection and local agencies in response to the spill, which occurred during a fuel oil transfer at the plant.

Duke Energy has mobilized three vessels on the river that have deployed approximately 2,000 feet of oil-containment booms to contain and help collect the oil.

The utility owns 100 percent of Beckjord Station units 1 through 5 (units 1 through 4 have been retired), and 37.5 percent of unit 6. Dayton Power & Light owns 50 percent of unit 6 and American Electric Power owns 12.5 percent. The station also has four combustion turbine generating units primarily used for generating electric during periods of high demand or emergency situations. Duke Energy Ohio anticipates it will retire all six coal-fired units by January 1, 2015.

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