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Copy/Paste of Dan River Coal Ash Spill for editing

In February 2014, an Eden, North Carolina facility owned by Duke Energy spilled 39,000 tons of coal ash into the Dan River. The company later pled guilty to criminal negligence in their handling of coal ash at Eden and elsewhere and paid substantial fines. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has since been responsible for overseeing cleanup of the waste. EPA and Duke Energy signed an administrative order for the site cleanup.

Reasons for spill

The cause of the ash spill was described by EPA as a limited structural flaw. A storm pipe nearby the deposits of a coal ash slurry containment area broke and allowed for the leakage. Coal ash slurry is produced during the process of burning coal. It is the left over impurities that stick around after burning coal for electricity. Coal companies have found that the cheapest way to store this waste is to mix it with water and store it in a pond. These ponds have been found to have leaks that can dispose hazardous material into surface water among other things. This material was released into the Dan River because of the collapse of a 48 inch drain pipe. The pipe was made of concrete and corrugated metal and reason for the fracture cannot be identified. What resulted was 39 thousand tons of coal ash and 27 million gallons of ash pond water were deposited into the Dan River.

Outcomes

Largely as a result of the attention brought to Duke Energy's handling of coal ash ponds by the 2014 disaster, the North Carolina state legislature ordered Duke Energy to close its 32 ash ponds in the state by 2029. On May 2nd 2014, Duke Energy and the EPA agreed to a 3 million dollar cleanup agreement. Part of the agreement is having Duke Energy identify areas of necessary cleanup on the Dan River that is estimated to cost around 1 million dollars. The other 2 million dollars is allocated to the EPA to address future response methods needed in order to clean up the Dan River. Spokesperson with Duke Energy has announced that they plan on getting out of the coal ash business all together. Associates have said that well before the Dan River incident they had allocated 130 million dollars to transitioning plants to handle fly-ash dry and manage it in lined landfills. Duke Energy said that they have also created an advisory group of researchers to help with cleaner coal combustion in their facilities.

In February 2016 EPA proposed a $6.8 million settlement, which Duke Energy immediately appealed. In September the corporation accepted a settlement just shy of the original amount at $5,983,750 to be paid for fines, restitution, cleanup assessment, removal, and community action initiatives. Regarding the initial settlement cost listed above, EPA sends periodic bills to Duke Energy accounting for direct and indirect costs incurred by EPA, its contractors, and the Department of Justice.