40,000 North Carolinians demand coal ash cleanup for all communities
Environment North Carolina
40,000 North Carolinians demand coal ash cleanup for all communities
Raleigh, NC–On the day that the General Assembly’s coal ash cleanup bill finally becomes law, concerned community members as well as a number of environmental organizations sent a message to Gov. Pat McCrory that the new law falls woefully short of what’s needed to protect North Carolinians from the dangers of coal ash pollution.
The group delivered more than 40,000 comments to Gov. McCrory asking him to require Duke Energy to clean up every coal ash site in the state.
“We spent the summer talking to tens of thousands of North Carolinians about protecting our rivers, and two themes kept coming up all across the state,” said Dave Rogers, Field Director for Environment North Carolina. “The first is that people love North Carolina’s rivers. And the second is that they want to see all of our rivers and lakes protected from toxins like coal ash.”
Environment North Carolina was joined by community members from the areas near the Buck and Belews Creek power plants, both of which are not included among the four sites identified for cleanup.
“This law does nothing to help my community,” said Kim Brewer, a former resident of Dukeville near the Buck Steam Plant in Rowan County. “There’s hexavalent chromium in our wells, and my two daughters were born with serious birth defects. My neighbors have suffered from brain tumors, cancer and respiratory problems that we believe are connected to coal ash pollution. We deserve a full cleanup. I don’t want any other family to go through what we’ve been through.”
“Cancer isn’t contagious, yet I’ve seen too many neighbors and friends in my tight-knit community in Stokes County suffer and die from the exact same illnesses,” said Caroline Armijo, who grew up near the Belews Creek plant. “I don’t believe that’s a coincidence. If coal ash is making people sick, then our leaders need to do something about it – now. We have a right to lead healthy lives.”
Activists worry that the close relationship between Duke Energy and the Governor’s mansion has led to a law that remains silent on cleanup plans for 10 of the 14 coal sites across the state.
“From the time Duke Energy spilled 40,000 tons of toxic coal ash in to the Dan River until today, Governor McCrory has gone way too easy on his former employer,” said Amy Adams, North Carolina Campaign Coordinator for Appalachian Voices. “As a result, ten communities impacted by coal ash in North Carolina are stuck in limbo, without any assurance that they’ll get a full cleanup. Governor McCrory should use his authority to protect those communities by demanding cleanup now.”
While the new law does require Duke Energy to clean up four sites deemed to be high risk, the speakers today noted that groundwater contamination has been found at all 14 coal ash sites.
“The Neuse River is a drinking water source, as well as a popular fishing and recreation destination, but that’s all at risk due to coal ash pollution from the Lee Power Plant near Goldsboro,” said Matthew Starr, Upper Neuse Riverkeeper. “Arsenic and other hazardous pollutants are poisoning the ground and surface water at levels well above the standard. In just a three-year span Duke Energy was allowed to violate groundwater standards at least 279 times, which is completely unacceptable.”
Beyond leaving an open-ended timeline for the cleanup of the remaining 10 sites, Environment North Carolina demanded that any cleanup plan require moving the coal ash away from our waterways, and contained in dry, lined storage.
“As I learned from my mom when I was in kindergarten, simply covering up the mess you made with a blanket doesn’t constitute cleaning it up,” said Rogers.
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