Published in Last Word
Duke Energy will spend $3.4 billion to clean up 32 coal ash storage ponds in North Carolina in order to comply with new state regulations approved in the wake of a 39,000 ton ash spill into the Dan River in February, 2014.
Duke Energy proposes to excavate and rebury coal ash at four sites and take less expensive remediation steps at 10 others, including reusing ash as construction fill or installing waterproof caps. The utility claims that if it must excavate and rebury all 32 sites, the total cost would be $10 billion.
The state Department of Environment and Natural Resources recently rejected Duke Energy's proposed groundwater assessments at the 14 sites because they didn't contain sufficient detail.
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