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Here are some of the other stories catching our attention.

State Cites Duke For Leaks At 12 Coal Ash Sites

David Boraks
/
WFAE
Marshall Steam Station on Lake Norman is among the 12 Duke coal ash storage locations where the state issued violation notices.

North Carolina environmental regulators have issued violation notices against Duke Energy for unauthorized wastewater leaks at 12 coal ash basins around the state. The sites include Allen Steam Station in Belmont, Marshall Steam Station on Lake Norman, and Buck Steam Station in Salisbury.

Others are:  Asheville, Belews Creek, Cape Fear River, Cliffside, Dan River, Lee, Mayo, Roxboro and Weatherspoon.

The notices give Duke 30 days to address the leaks and to provide more information to the Department of Environmental Quality.

Duke said in a statement it’s already doing what the state has asked to clean up coal ash basins. “There is nothing new here. Even the state environmental regulator acknowledges that seeps occur at every earthen impoundment, and those at ash basins are not impacting water quality,” Duke said.

“We are doing everything the state has asked to address seeps, including cataloguing, testing and monitoring them. Nearly two years ago, the company included seeps in permit applications to the state and has been working through the process ever since,” the statement said.

The state Department of Environmental Quality said it’s continuing to review data about the sites and could issue more violation notices if water quality standards aren’t being met.  Duke also could face fines for violating wastewater permits, the DEQ said.

The state is in the midst of public hearings on coal ash sites at Duke’s 14 North Carolina plants. The hearings seek input on the DEQ’s draft classifications for the sites, which will determine whether they must be removed or can be drained and covered.  Some environmentalists are pushing for ash at all the sites to be removed.

RELATED LINKS

See the DEQ announcement - http://deq.nc.gov/press-release/mccrory-administration-issues-coal-ash-violations-against-duke-energy

See the full Duke Energy statement - http://news.duke-energy.com/releases/duke-energy-continues-to-make-strong-progress-closing-ash-basins-while-reviewing-the-state-s-latest-action

David Boraks previously covered climate change and the environment for WFAE. See more at www.wfae.org/climate-news. He also has covered housing and homelessness, energy and the environment, transportation and business.