From Carolina Public Press
By Kirk Ross
The phase-out of wet coal ash basins at Duke Energy’s Asheville power station has kicked into high gear now that the company has submitted detailed plans and a new state oversight commission charged with reviewing proposals has begun work.
With the clock ticking on a Aug. 1, 2019, deadline for safer storage of coal ash, Duke Energy officials recently announced ash-removal and excavation plans for four sites identified as top priorities by the company and state regulators.
In Asheville, Duke plans to continue, and potentially expand, use of the ash for taxiway construction at Asheville Regional Airport. In the first phase of the plans for the Asheville plant, an estimated 900,000 tons of ash will be trucked to the airport over an 11-month period once the permits are in hand.
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