Lisa Sorg ·
22 Dec 2009, 1:48 PM ·
Comment
Duke Energy will spend $85 million to significantly reduce harmful air pollution at an Indiana power plant and pay a $1.75 million civil penalty, under a settlement to resolve violations of federal clean air laws, the Justice Department and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced today in a press release. The settlement also requires Duke to spend $6.25 million on environmental mitigation projects.
Last May, an Indianapolis jury found that Duke violated the Clean Air Act by failing to obtain required permits and pollution controls before making modifications to Units 1 and 3 at its New Albany, Ind., plant. Duke’s failure to implement these pollution controls resulted in significant increases in sulfur dioxide.
The settlement requires Duke to either repower Units 1 and 3 with natural gas or shut them down to remove all sulfur dioxide pollution. Duke also must install new pollution controls for sulfur dioxide at the other two units at the plant, Units 2 and 4.
The environmental projects and expenditures include $250,000 for the U.S. Forest Service to address acid rain in downwind national forests, $5 million for one or more additional projects such as conversion to hydrogeneration or hybrid vehicle fleets, and $1 million for other initiatives to be allocated among the states that joined the federal government in the settlement: New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.
Read the EPA’s entire statement here: epa-dukeenergy
North Carolina, environment, national civil penalty, Clean Air Act, Duke Energy, Environmental Protection Agency, New Albany Indiana
Lisa Sorg ·
29 Jun 2009, 4:49 PM ·
1 Comment
North Carolina is home to ore than a quarter of the nation’s coal combustion residue (CCR) impoundments that carry a “high hazard potential rating,” meaning that if the impoundment failed, it would probably cause loss of human life. This is according to an Environmental Protection Agency report released today, which designated 12 North Carolina coal residue impoundments with the rating. Ten are operated by Duke Energy; two are operated by Progress Energy. The EPA identified 44 such impoundments nationwide.
According to the EPA, the rating is not an indication of the structural integrity of the unit or the possibility that a failure will occur in the future; it allows dam safety and other officials to determine where significant damage or loss of life may occur if there is a structural failure.
There are three CCR impoundments in Spencer, which is near Salisbury. The following towns have two: Arden, south of Asheville; Eden, north of Greensboro near the Virginia-N.C. line; and Mt. Holly, just northwest of Charlotte. Belmont, which is south of Mt. Holly, Walnut Cove, north of Kernersville, and Terrell, which is near Lake Norman north of Charlotte, have one each.
Here’s more from the EPA announcement:
The EPA made its determination using the criteria developed by the National Dam Safety Program for the National Inventory of Dams. Hazard potential ratings are generally assigned by the State Dam Safety officials.
These impoundments contain fly ash, bottom ash, coal slag and flue gas desulfurization residue. CCRs contain a broad range of metals, for example, arsenic, selenium, cadmium, lead, and mercury, but the concentrations of these are generally low. However, if not properly managed, (for example, in lined units), CCRs may cause a risk to human health and the environment and, in fact, EPA has documented cases of environmental damage.
EPA’s assessment of the 26 facilities that have units with high hazard potential ratings continues to be an Agency priority. EPA has conducted on-site assessments, which are undergoing Agency review, at 11 of these facilities. The remaining 15 of these facilities have had state inspections within the past 12 months and EPA will be reviewing the reports from those inspections. EPA plans to make public the results of our assessments as soon as they are completed.
North Carolina, environment Arden, Belmont, coal residue impoundments, Duke Energy, Eden, Environmental Protection Agency, high hazard potential, Mt. Holly, North Carolina, Progress Energy, Terrell, Walnut Cove
