CHARLOTTE, N.C., Jan. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- In a major
achievement that puts the coal ash debate to rest in North Carolina, state regulators, community groups
and Duke Energy have agreed to a plan to permanently close the
company's remaining nine coal ash basins in the state, primarily by
excavation with ash moved to lined landfills.
The agreement announced today by Duke Energy, North Carolina's Department of Environmental
Quality (NCDEQ) and groups represented by the Southern
Environmental Law Center (SELC) details a reasonable and prudent
plan for basin closure that continues to protect people,
communities and the environment with a keen focus on investing for
the future and our shared clean energy vision. This plan is
consistent with the approach Duke Energy is taking to close ash
basins in South Carolina and
benefits customers and communities in both states.
"This agreement significantly reduces the cost to close our coal
ash basins in the Carolinas for our customers, while delivering the
same environmental benefits as full excavation," said Stephen De May, North
Carolina president, Duke Energy. "We are fully focused on
these important activities and building a clean energy future for
the Carolinas."
Under the agreement, seven of the basins will be excavated, with
ash moved to lined landfills, including two at the Allen Steam
Station (Belmont, N.C.), one at
Belews Creek Steam Station (Belews Creek,
N.C.), one at Mayo Plant (Roxboro,
N.C.), one basin at the Roxboro Plant (Semora, N.C.) and two at the Cliffside/Rogers Energy Complex (Mooresboro, N.C.).
At the Marshall Steam Station (Terrell, N.C.) and the Roxboro Plant, uncapped
basin ash will be excavated and moved to lined landfills. At both
locations, sections of the basins were filled with ash in the past.
To make use of that space, state permitted facilities, including
existing lined landfills, were built on top of those portions of
the ash basins. Because the ash underneath is already covered, that
material will not be disturbed and will be monitored and safely
closed under other state regulations.
Under the plan, almost 80 million tons of ash will be excavated
from the remaining sites. The company is already removing ash from
basins at other facilities, bringing the total amount of material
to be excavated in North Carolina
to approximately 124 million tons.
The agreement calls for expedited state permit approvals which
would keep projects on a rapid timeline with excavation at the six
sites completed in 10 to 15 years.
Managing cost
This plan will reduce the total estimated cost to close the nine
basins by about $1.5 billion, as
compared to the April 1, 2019 NCDEQ
order requiring full excavation. As a result, the estimated total
undiscounted cost to permanently close all ash basins in the
Carolinas is now approximately $8
billion to $9 billion, of
which approximately $2.4 billion has
been spent through 2019. Most of the remaining expenditures are
expected to occur over the next 15-20 years.
Protecting groundwater
The agreement also ensures that impacted groundwater is addressed
and includes provisions to streamline the process for this
important work. Drinking and recreational water supplies are safe
now, and Corrective Action Plans will address groundwater at each
site to ensure those supplies remain protected.
At Roxboro and Marshall, for example, Duke Energy will
install specialized wells and other technology at specific
locations to ensure that groundwater conditions improve and comply
with standards by 2029, assuming plans are expeditiously approved
by the state.
Promoting recycling
As previously announced, Duke Energy is closing all of its coal ash
basins, including 31 in North
Carolina. Basin excavation is completed or nearly completed
at 10 basins at the Asheville Plant, Dan
River Plant (Eden, N.C.),
Riverbend Steam Station (Mt. Holly,
N.C.), Sutton Plant
(Wilmington, N.C.), Weatherspoon
Plant (Lumberton, N.C.) and one
basin at the Rogers Energy Complex. That material is being recycled
or disposed of in lined landfills.
Material from 12 basins at Buck Steam Station (Salisbury, N.C.), HF Lee Plant (Goldsboro, N.C.) and Cape Fear Plant
(Moncure, N.C.) will be
reprocessed and recycled into useful construction material.
Recognizing that recycling is the only way to avoid permanent
disposal of ash, the parties agree to explore opportunities to
maximize recycling at those sites by extending closure deadlines to
2035.
Resolves litigation
The agreement completely resolves
the pending disputes over ash basin closure plans being debated by
the parties in various courts, including cases before the North
Carolina Office of Administrative Hearings, North Carolina Superior
Court and United States District
Court for the Middle District of North
Carolina. The parties will make the necessary court filings
to dismiss each case.
Duke Energy
Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), a Fortune 150 company headquartered in
Charlotte, N.C., is one of the
largest energy holding companies in the U.S. It employs 30,000
people and has an electric generating capacity of 51,000 megawatts
through its regulated utilities, and 3,000 megawatts through its
nonregulated Duke Energy Renewables unit.
Duke Energy is transforming its customers' experience,
modernizing the energy grid, generating cleaner energy and
expanding natural gas infrastructure to create a smarter energy
future for the people and communities it serves. The Electric
Utilities and Infrastructure unit's regulated utilities serve
approximately 7.7 million retail electric customers in six states –
North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio
and Kentucky. The Gas Utilities
and Infrastructure unit distributes natural gas to more than 1.6
million customers in five states – North
Carolina, South Carolina,
Tennessee, Ohio and Kentucky. The Duke Energy Renewables unit
operates wind and solar generation facilities across the U.S., as
well as energy storage and microgrid projects.
Duke Energy was named to Fortune's 2019 "World's Most Admired
Companies" list, and Forbes' 2019 "America's Best Employers" list.
More information about the company is available at duke-energy.com.
The Duke Energy News Center contains news releases, fact
sheets, photos, videos and other materials. Duke Energy's
illumination features stories about people, innovations,
community topics and environmental issues. Follow Duke Energy on
Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook.
24-Hour Media Line: 800.559.3853
View original content to download
multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/duke-energy-north-carolina-regulators-and-environmentalists-reach-agreement-to-permanently-close-all-remaining-ash-basins-in-north-carolina-300980439.html
SOURCE Duke Energy