New NC Coal Ash Plan - Begin Pouring It Into Rivers & Streams; EPA Hits The Brakes
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency interceded recently to put the brakes on a state-approved plan that allowed Duke Energy to flush water from its numerous coal ash ponds into nearby streams and lakes. The federal agency said the state Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ approval did not fully consider pollution such a wholesale “decanting” of the ponds could cause.
EPA administrator Mark Nuhfer said the state’s approval seemed to assume all the water discharged from coal ash ponds into neighboring waterways would be as clean as the uppermost layer that normally flows out after most pollutants are removed. “It is possible, however, that higher concentrations of pollutants may be present at deeper levels in the pond which will be discharged in the decanted wastewater,” Nuhfer wrote in a Sept. 16 letter to the state agency.
In addition, the water might be discharged in much greater amounts than approved as safe by the environmental permits state officials were trying to modify, said Nuhfer, who is based in Atlanta and who manages the EPA office that oversees permits allowing industries and local governments to discharge treated wastewater.
The EPA sent the letter in reaction to a DENR decision Aug. 28 authorizing Duke to remove water from ash ponds at 14 sites across the state. The state agency enforces the permits under EPA supervision and it sent the EPA a copy of its authorization to the utility. DENR retracted its authorization after Nuhfer objected.
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http://www.news-record.com/news/epa-halts-n-c-coal-ash-plan/article_690ccab4-4b6b-11e4-b1a6-001a4bcf6878.html
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