The excavation and recycling plan
Duke Energy announced last week for the three coal ash
ponds at Buck Station in Rowan County
is a victory for residents and environmentalists, as well as
a good solution for Duke.
The plan allays fears that the utility would simply cap 6
million tons of ash in place. Instead, the material will be
dug out of the ground and recycled into an ingredient of
concrete. Once excavation is complete, this should remove
the threat of coal ash contaminating local groundwater and
the Yadkin River.
The Yadkin Riverkeeper and Waterkeeper Alliance
credit their federal lawsuit against Duke with bringing
about the Buck plan. Duke claims the plan was a business
decision that happened to make the lawsuit moot, but clearly
the utility was feeling pressure from all sides - the state,
environmentalists, residents and investors. The tipping
point is less important than the effectiveness of the plan.
If this works at Buck, could Duke use the same setup at
other coal ash sites? Duke discourages that leap of logic.
Spokesperson
Erin Culbert
said Friday that the Buck site met important technical
criteria for the recycling unit that other sites may not
match, such as interstate access, proximity to the Charlotte
ash market, small volume compared to other sites and quality
of ash. "We were enthusiastic that Buck was a good fit for
such an opportunity," Culbert said.
Residents of the
Dukeville
area around Buck are relieved though weary. Their lives
forever changed after the state sent out do-not-drink
letters about their well water in the spring of 2015. The
people of
Dukeville have been relying on bottled water ever
since. Frustration with
Duke Energy, Gov.
Pat McCrory
and state health and environmental officials grew almost
daily. When the county finally runs water lines to the
neighborhood, residents will have clean water - and monthly
water bills to go with it.
Dukeville
residents' relief is also tempered by the knowledge that
people living near Duke's other old coal-burning plants
still don't know how the company will deal with coal ash
ponds in their communities. Duke says setting up recycling
operations at all the plants is not practical. Deadlines are
too tight, according to Culbert. Also, the material would
flood the ash market.
One station at a time - that appears to be the way Duke
is working out solutions to its costly coal ash challenges.
The plan for Buck looks promising. The residents of
Dukeville
and their allies did not exactly slay a Goliath, but they
proved to be determined advocates that the nation's largest
power company could not ignore.
http://www.energycentral.com/news/good-plan-buck-coal-ash