BlueRidgeNow: Testing, excavation next with NC coal ash removal

From BlueRidgeNow:

Testing, excavation next with NC coal ash removal

By Gary D. Robertson

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A state regulator told lawmakers Wednesday that groundwater monitoring beneath Duke Energy’s toxic coal ash sites and testing of hundreds of nearby wells are key to safeguarding the public’s health and determining which ash pits must be cleaned up quickly.

Division of Water Resources Director Tom Reeder joined other state regulators and a Duke Energy executive appearing before a legislative commission to discuss what’s happened since the passage of a law in August directing that more than 30 ash dumps be capped or removed by 2029.

As soon as the end of this week, the Division of Water Resources will write owners of more than 330 wells, most within 1,000 feet of coal ash site boundaries, and tell them how they can have their wells tested for free. The tests are being paid for by Duke but performed by firms unrelated to the utility or picked by the local resident, Reeder told the legislature’s Environmental Review Commission.

Read the full story here.

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About Kat McReynolds
Kat studied entrepreneurship and music business at the University of Miami and earned her MBA at Appalachian State University. Follow me @katmAVL

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