(919) 707-8625
North Carolina's DENR (Loosely called NC of Department of Environmental and Natural Resources) is as toxic as the coal ash itself.
A coal ash spill (click here) in North Carolina that contaminated the Dan River — the drinking water source for more than 50,000 people in Southside Virginia — hasn’t posed a health threat so far, but it raises concerns about the safety of old ash-storage sites, observers say.
There are 12 coal ash-storage sites in Virginia, including two near the James River at Dutch Gap, officials said.
Up to 82,000 tons of
mud-like coal ash, believed to contain toxic metals such as arsenic,
spilled when a stormwater pipe broke Sunday under a pond that held the
waste at Eden, N.C., just upriver from Danville....
This is pure cronyism and uncontested negligence. The DEQ never even assessed the potential for danger before setting a fine. They pandered to Duke Energy because the Budget Director of North Carolina.
Wet Ash Handling and Ash Pond Dam Inspections (click here)
Wet ash handling describes the practice of transporting and storing coal ash in on-site ponds. Duke Energy currently manages 23 active ash ponds in the Carolinas and 26 ash ponds in the Midwest.
Duke Energy’s ash ponds are regulated by the state where they are located. State agencies perform periodic inspections of our facilities in Ohio, Indiana, North Carolina, South Carolina and Kentucky.
The regulatory requirements governing ash pond integrity vary from state to state. However, most states require periodic, independent third-party inspections by a licensed professional engineer to ensure the structural integrity of each pond. Even in states where a third-party inspection is not required, Duke Energy is proactively having such inspections performed.
In addition to the third-party inspections, Duke Energy has an internal comprehensive, robust monitoring, maintenance and inspection program in place for all of its ash ponds to ensure their continued structural integrity. This program requires that each of Duke Energy’s ash ponds be inspected by a licensed professional engineer annually.
"Please, Mr. Pope, I really need my job." It is called corruption. Either that or the NC DEQ is completely incompetent.
The mission statement of the NC DENR is corrupt.
...Fundamental Philosophy: (click here) In its essence, DENR is a service organization. Whether managing parks and zoos or issuing permits, agency personnel, operating within the confines of the regulations, must always be a resource of invaluable public assistance, rather than a bureaucratic obstacle of resistance.
Translated means: We will kiss the butt of anyone we are told to do so.
Fundamental Economics: Acknowledging that a traditional cost/benefit analysis is not always fully applicable to matters of the environment and public recreation, the agency will be continually cognizant that an economic cost/benefit analysis is an integral component of DENR's public service endeavor.
Translation: "Do we still have a budget for our department? The hell with water quality, my wife will kill me if I am unemployed."
Fundamental Science: That all decisions are made with a respect and understanding that environmental science is quite complex, comprised of many components, and most importantly, contains diversity of opinion. In this regard, all public programs and scientific conclusions must be reflective of input from a variety of legitimate, diverse and thoughtful perspectives.
There isn't that much diversity of opinion between scientists. I think most would concur that arsenic contamination allowed to build up near a river that supplies drinking water is extremely poor science. There is this odd phenomena called LEACHING. There is even this scientific oddity called overland flow. It occurs when it rains, albeit, with the Climate Crisis the rain is mostly sparse at times, but, the principles still apply.
These are profound violations of The Clean Water Act and the Clean Drinking Water Act which requires FEDERAL fines and possibly prosecution for negligence and SUBSTANDARD facilities.
This is pure cronyism and uncontested negligence. The DEQ never even assessed the potential for danger before setting a fine. They pandered to Duke Energy because the Budget Director of North Carolina.
Wet Ash Handling and Ash Pond Dam Inspections (click here)
Wet ash handling describes the practice of transporting and storing coal ash in on-site ponds. Duke Energy currently manages 23 active ash ponds in the Carolinas and 26 ash ponds in the Midwest.
Duke Energy’s ash ponds are regulated by the state where they are located. State agencies perform periodic inspections of our facilities in Ohio, Indiana, North Carolina, South Carolina and Kentucky.
The regulatory requirements governing ash pond integrity vary from state to state. However, most states require periodic, independent third-party inspections by a licensed professional engineer to ensure the structural integrity of each pond. Even in states where a third-party inspection is not required, Duke Energy is proactively having such inspections performed.
In addition to the third-party inspections, Duke Energy has an internal comprehensive, robust monitoring, maintenance and inspection program in place for all of its ash ponds to ensure their continued structural integrity. This program requires that each of Duke Energy’s ash ponds be inspected by a licensed professional engineer annually.
"Please, Mr. Pope, I really need my job." It is called corruption. Either that or the NC DEQ is completely incompetent.
The mission statement of the NC DENR is corrupt.
...Fundamental Philosophy: (click here) In its essence, DENR is a service organization. Whether managing parks and zoos or issuing permits, agency personnel, operating within the confines of the regulations, must always be a resource of invaluable public assistance, rather than a bureaucratic obstacle of resistance.
Translated means: We will kiss the butt of anyone we are told to do so.
Fundamental Economics: Acknowledging that a traditional cost/benefit analysis is not always fully applicable to matters of the environment and public recreation, the agency will be continually cognizant that an economic cost/benefit analysis is an integral component of DENR's public service endeavor.
Translation: "Do we still have a budget for our department? The hell with water quality, my wife will kill me if I am unemployed."
Fundamental Science: That all decisions are made with a respect and understanding that environmental science is quite complex, comprised of many components, and most importantly, contains diversity of opinion. In this regard, all public programs and scientific conclusions must be reflective of input from a variety of legitimate, diverse and thoughtful perspectives.
There isn't that much diversity of opinion between scientists. I think most would concur that arsenic contamination allowed to build up near a river that supplies drinking water is extremely poor science. There is this odd phenomena called LEACHING. There is even this scientific oddity called overland flow. It occurs when it rains, albeit, with the Climate Crisis the rain is mostly sparse at times, but, the principles still apply.
These are profound violations of The Clean Water Act and the Clean Drinking Water Act which requires FEDERAL fines and possibly prosecution for negligence and SUBSTANDARD facilities.
Raleigh, NC
February 11, 2014
North Carolina's environmental agency (click here) sought late Monday to delay its
own settlement with Duke Energy a week after a busted pipe at one of the
company's coal ash dumps spewed enough toxic sludge into the Dan River
to fill 73 Olympic-sized pools.
Lawyers for the state Department of Environment and Natural Resources
asked a judge to disregard their proposed settlement with the nation's
largest electricity provider. Under the deal, Duke would have paid fines
of $99,111 over groundwater pollution leaking from two coal dumps like
the one that ruptured Feb. 2.
THEY BROKE THE LAW. Just that simple. Federal officials need to get involved. This is corruption. There is no understanding anything, except, Pope and McCrory are corrupt to the core.
They willingly put their necks in the noose and then dared NC employees to kick the chair from under their feet.
Raleigh, NC
February 8, 2014
By Michael Biesecker and Mitch Weiss
Associated Press
THEY BROKE THE LAW. Just that simple. Federal officials need to get involved. This is corruption. There is no understanding anything, except, Pope and McCrory are corrupt to the core.
They willingly put their necks in the noose and then dared NC employees to kick the chair from under their feet.
Raleigh, NC
February 8, 2014
By Michael Biesecker and Mitch Weiss
Associated Press
Over the last year, (click here) environmental groups have tried three times to use
the federal Clean Water Act to force Duke Energy to clear out leaky coal
ash dumps like the one that ruptured last week, spewing enough toxic
sludge into a North Carolina river to fill 73 Olympic-sized pools.
Each time, they say, their efforts have been stymied — by the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
The state agency has blocked the citizen lawsuits by intervening at the
last minute to assert its own authority under the federal act to take
enforcement action. After negotiating with Duke, the state proposed
settlements where the nation's largest electricity provider pays modest
fines but is under no requirement to actually clean up its coal ash
ponds.
Clean water advocates have long complained that state regulators are too
cozy with the polluters they regulate. But they say that coordination
and cooperation has become even more overt since the January 2013
inauguration of Gov. Pat McCrory, a pro-business Republican who worked
at Duke Energy for 28 years....
NC DENR acted by authority of the State to cause hardship to citizens while neglecting their responsibilities and catering to a Governor more interested in by passing federal law than adhering to it.
I demand an investigation to the 'rule setting' by the NC state government to favor weaker consumer standards over that of human health. These changes in the rules in NC under the McCrory/Pope administration violates human rights and federal standards.
Their actions are not innocent, but, willful and intentional.
This case automatically brings federal authority to bear because it is INTERSTATE threat to human health.
Duke Energy: The power of Green in North Carolina. (click here) The green they refer to isn't Green Energy; it is Greenbacks.
Never have the words, "Duke Power" meant so much.
Their actions are not innocent, but, willful and intentional.
This case automatically brings federal authority to bear because it is INTERSTATE threat to human health.
Duke Energy: The power of Green in North Carolina. (click here) The green they refer to isn't Green Energy; it is Greenbacks.
Never have the words, "Duke Power" meant so much.
