Advocacy
Coal Ash
Coal Ash Pollution
Of all the sources of power
commonly used today, none is dirtier-from cradle to grave-than coal. Coal burned to generate power is a leading source of air pollution and a significant contributor to global warming. Coal ash, the by-product left over after the combustion of coal is the long-term legacy of settling for cheap rather than smart energy.
Coal ash is the waste that remains when coal is burned. It is usually collected in a dump, known as a pond. North Carolina has more than 30 such sites in 14 different locations across the state.
Even after coal burning power plants upgrade to cleaner fuels, as the Lower Cape Fear’s LV Sutton Plant began in 2014, coal ash storage ponds will continue to leak into our groundwater, polluting our aquifers and threatening our health and our environment.
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On February 2nd of 2014 a coal ash pond stormwater drain broke at the Duke Energy Plant along the Dan River in NC. As a result coal ash was able to leak into the Dan River. This incident is the 3rd worst coal ash spill in the nation.
It is going to take a lot of hard work to get these devastated areas recovered. Will you help us clean up coal ash ponds in the Cape Fear River and throughout NC? Please consider supporting our work with a $5 monthly donation.
- Legal updates from our partners at Southern Environmental Law Center: https://www.southernenvironment.org/cases-and-projects/coal-waste
- NC Department of Environmental Quality’s Map of existing Coal Ash facilities in the state, information on Gov. Cooper Executive Order, Environmental Justice issues around Coal ash and more: https://deq.nc.gov/news/key-issues/coal-ash-nc/coal-ash-archive/moving-forward-coal-ash
- New Study on Sutton Lake Contamination Prompts Need for Action: https://www.starnewsonline.com/news/20190604/officials-say-sutton-lake-contamination-report-prompts-need-for-action
- Five Years After Dan River Coal Ash Spill: http://pulse.ncpolicywatch.org/2019/07/22/five-years-after-dan-river-coal-ash-spill-duke-energy-settlement-would-add-land-to-mayo-state-park/
- State Orders Duke to Dig up All Remaining Coal Ash Ponds https://www.wral.com/state-orders-duke-energy-to-dig-up-all-remaining-coal-ash-ponds-in-nc/18298135/
- Near Duke’s flooded coal ash basin, a gray film floats in the Cape Fear River: https://www.newsobserver.com/news/business/article218870635.html
- Cape Fear Riverkeeper Reports Ongoing Failure at Sutton: https://waterkeeper.org/cape-fear-riverkeeper-reports-ongoing-failure-at-sutton/
Cape Fear River Watch | 617 Surry Street | Wilmington, NC 28401 | Phone: 910.762.5606
