Duke Energy Agrees to Remove Water from Charlotte-area Coal Ash Ponds

BELMONT, NC – Neighbors living near Duke Energy coal ash ponds are welcoming an agreement intended to speed up coal ash clean-up.

Duke says it will remove water from coal ash ponds to prevent seeping.

“This is a positive thing, that’s the way I take it,” says Belmont coal ash neighbor Amy Brown.

The agreement between Duke Energy and state regulators was announced Tuesday.

It sets a schedule for Duke to remove water from unlined coal ash pits.

The goal is to stop possibly toxic chemicals from seeping into the ground.

“It will help all of us moving forward to know that this water isn’t going to be in those pits continuing to leak,” Brown says.

The work will start next year at Allen Steam Station in Belmont, Marshall Steam Station in Catawba County, and Rogers Energy Complex in Cleveland and Rutherford Counties.

Duke Energy will be fined if it doesn’t meet deadlines in 2020 and 2021.

Catawba Riverkeeper Sam Perkins would like to see Duke do more.

“It needs some work and it needs a lot more detail before it’s going to substantially address the issue,” Perkins says.

He and neighbors like Brown want Duke Energy to remove the coal ash instead of capping it in place.

“Recycle it into concrete. Use if for the growth, the booming growth and development happening in this region and ensure the future safety of our drinking water,” Perkins says.

A Duke Energy spokesperson tells WCCB Charlotte, “This agreement represents a critical step in our ongoing work to safely and permanently close ash basins in ways that protect people and the environment.”

By law, Duke Energy must close all coal ash basins in North Carolina by 2029.

The company maintains chemicals found in neighbor’s well water is naturally occurring and is not caused by coal ash.