Duke Energy Corp. (DUK) is still battling to halt a leak from a coal-ash pond into the Dan River in North Carolina, in the latest incident to draw attention to how power-plant waste is regulated.
No arsenic or other heavy metals, common in coal ash and considered toxic, were found in the first samples of treated river water taken at Danville, Virginia, Arnold Hendrix, a spokesman for the city, said yesterday in a telephone interview. Danville is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) downriver from the spill site. The Dan provides Danville’s water supply.
The latest spill comes as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency prepares to issue regulations for coal ash after a record 1 billion gallons of ash sludge poured into Tennessee’s Emory River from a Tennessee Valley Authority disposal pond in 2008. Duke estimated its Dan River Plant pond has leaked as many as 27 million gallons of water and 82,000 tons of ash since Feb. 2.
Duke’s priority is to stop the leak, Meghan Musgrave, a spokeswoman for the largest U.S. utility owner in Charlotte, said yesterday in a telephone interview. The rate of spillage declined Feb. 4 after the pond emptied and has fluctuated since then because of rain and repairs, Musgrave said. Duke estimates that the pond contained 992,000 tons of ash and that about 10 percent has spilled, she said.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-02-05/duke-energy-battles-to-halt-leak-as-coal-ash-regulations-awaited.htmlDuke took 24 hours to report this after its discovery.
I guess eco-terrorism doesn't matter. As long as it's big business poisoning our water. That's acceptable and somewhat expected.
