Two landowners get 'Do not drink water' notices

May 5 - McClatchy-Tribune Content Agency, LLC - Nicholas Elmes The Stokes News, Walnut Cove, N.C.

 

Despite previous reports from the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services that no letters were sent out warning residents living near the Belews Creek coal ash impoundment not to drink or cook with their water, a Department of Natural Resources (DENR) representative said Friday that two Walnut Cove area residents did receive warning letters.

Department of Health and Human Services Press Assistant Alexandra Lefebvre said in a Tuesday email that one health risk evaluation (HRE) was conducted in the area which did not show exceedances that would result in a recommendation to stop drinking the water.

"Apparently when you asked if there were any don't drink your water HREs in the Belews Creek area they just looked down the list for mailing addresses for Belews Creek," said DENR Communications Director Drew Elliot. "They were not including two Walnut Cove addresses where there were do not drink HREs."

Elliot said those notices were sent because the well tests showed exceedences for iron and vanadium.

"Well owner BC2 has two wells on the property. Wells A and B exceeded the groundwater standard for iron. Well A exceeded the IMAC for vanadium," Elliot said. "Well owner BC4 has two wells on the property. Well A and B exceeded the IMAC for vanadium. Well B exceeded the groundwater standard for iron."

He apologized for any confusion noting that the state's primary concern over the past couple of weeks had been to contact residents who may be affected by the tests.

"Our number one priority was getting the individual results to individual owners," said Elliot. "Getting informaiton to the media was a secondary concern."

Under the Coal Ash Management Act of 2014, the DENR required Duke Energy to contract with private laboratories to collect samples at water supply wells within 1,000 feet of each facility's boundary.

Elliot said many constituents that were tested may be naturally occurring or unrelated to coal ash ponds. DENR scientists are investigating the source of the constituents, including determining the naturally occurring levels in the area groundwater for each site.

If state officials determine, through these site assessments, that groundwater standards in a well have been exceeded and that a coal ash pond is the source, the law requires that Duke Energy provide the residence with an alternative water supply.

Elliot said determinations over the cause of the contaminants could take several months.

"There are two parallel tracks in that process," said Elliot. "One is extending the radius and sampling more wells. The other parallel track is sampling background wells int he area that are a good distance from the coal ash ponds but pulling from the same ground water source so you can isolate what is naturally occurring versus what might be affected by the coal ash pond.

"The entire process might not wrap up for months but that doe s not mean we wont have some answers in the meantime," he added. "The law says the once we make the determination the utility has to provide water for drinking and cooking within 24 hours, but we have to make the regulatory decision first."

He noted that the full data for the test that have been done so far should be released next week.

A Duke Energy spokesman said none of the water tests conducted in the state in recent months indicate that Duke is responsible for water contamination.

"Many well owners across the state have water with some substances at levels higher than the state's groundwater standards," said Erin Culbert. "Elements such as iron, manganese and vanadium are common in North Carolina wells and typically are caused by the rocks and soil in the area. Based on the state's test results we've reviewed thus far, we have no indication that Duke Energy plant operations have influenced neighbors' well water. Boron and sulfates at certain levels are key indicators of groundwater potentially impacted by coal ash, because they migrate more quickly than other trace elements. Neighbor wells results near our facilities thus far did not contain these substances at elevated levels."

Culbert said groundwater is complex and the company is conducting comprehensive studies at all coal fired plants in the state.

"We understand the importance of protecting neighbors' groundwater, and this has driven the company's monitoring program, previous studies and work toward closing ash basins," she said. "We are following up directly with the residents (letters and phone calls) who have received results from DENR offering to arrange a meeting to further discuss their results and historic groundwater monitoring at the plant. Our goal is to make sure neighbors have the information they need to better understand test results and to provide support if they wish to pursue any next steps. This includes an offer to provide alternate water temporarily to give them peace of mind until the additional groundwater studies are complete in a few months."

Culbert said Duke is currently conducting engineering studies for the closure of the Belews Creek coal ash impoundment.

"We should have some more information regarding that toward the end of the year," she said. "We will have to submit all of those plans to the state."

Nicholas Elmes may be reached at 336-591-8191 or on Twitter @NicholasElmes.

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