Coal ash delivery begins in MoncureMONCURE -- Oct 29 - McClatchy-Tribune Content Agency, LLC - Zach Potter The Sanford Herald, N.C.
Duke Energy began delivering the first truckloads of coal ash to the storage site in Moncure Wednesday, according to a company spokesman, who added that the number of daily deliveries is expected to increase in the coming weeks. "With work just beginning, only a handful of trucks are delivering to the [Brickhaven mine site] each day," Duke Energy Spokesman Jeff Brooks said in an email Wednesday afternoon. "That number is expected to increase to around 20 trucks once deliveries from [the Sutton Plant in Wilmington] begin, with the potential for up to 40 trucks to visit the site each day once operations reach full capacity. ... " The initial deliveries come from the Riverbend Steam Station in Mount Holly. "Our goal is to minimize impacts to mine neighbors throughout this process," Brooks said. "Our contractor, Charah, has a carefully engineered transportation plan in place that focuses on trucks arriving during the middle hours of the day to avoid school bus and work commuter times." According to Brooks, all trucks are lined and covered during transportation from the plants to Brickhaven and are inspected and washed prior to leaving the Brickhaven site. In addition, he said trucks are tracked using GPS to ensure they conform to all safety requirements and scheduled routes. "Extensive groundwater monitoring around the site will ensure the structural fill performs as designed," Brooks said, listing further safety precautions, "and that the environment remains protected now and in the future." But many environmentalists are dubious that the storage sites won't contaminate the surrounding areas. Sanford-based EnvironmentaLEE, a chapter of the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League, has been working against the storage of coal ash in Lee and Chatham counties since the company announced its plans in 2014. "The fact that they're so proud of their violation of the people of Chatham County, them forcing their way into that county and abusing those folks, that's just terrible to be proud about that," said Therese Vick, a community organizer with BREDL who has worked closely with EnvironmentaLEE. " ... We have only begun to fight." According to Duke Energy, delivery of coal ash to the Sanford storage site off Colon Road will not begin until 2017. http://www.energycentral.com/functional/news/news_detail.cfm?did=37802200 |