MOORESBORO, N.C. — Recent severe weather and heavy rainfall at the Rogers Energy Complex in Cleveland County caused stormwater from the site’s coal pile to overflow and reach the Broad River. The stormwater overflow was discovered during a routine inspection of the plant property on Tuesday.
The inspection determined that stormwater had come into contact with the site’s coal pile, an area where unburned coal is stored for the operating plant. The stormwater that reached the river did not contact coal ash.
The stormwater runoff has since stopped, and steps have been taken to prevent the issue from occurring again according to Duke Energy officials. Duke officials say they have seen no impacts to the Broad River. The N.C. Department of Environmental Quality has been notified.
The company has initially estimated between 15,000 to 50,000 gallons of stormwater reached the river.
