Duke Energy plans to build lined landfills to bury coal ash at its closed Dan River Steam Station and the Sutton Plant near Wilmington. This comes as it works to excavate ash from its ponds by the 2019 deadline imposed by the state. Company spokesman Jeff Brooks says the landfills will be on existing plant property. But they will be several hundred yards farther from the water than the unlined ponds.
Brookes told the Triad Business Journal that the key differences for protecting the bodies of water are the full lining of the landfills and the greater distance from the water.
Frank Holleman, an attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center, has been wrangling with Duke Energy for years about coal ash. He called the plan “a major step forward.”
Duke Energy also plans extensive groundwater monitoring to make sure the landfills are operating as designed. The landfills should be operational over the next two years.
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