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JESSICA DESVARIEUX: It's been recorded as the third-largest coal ash spill in U.S. history.
On February 2, a pipe beneath a coal ash storage pit ruptured, causing up to 82,000 tons of
coal ash and 27 million gallons of contaminated water to drain into North Carolina's Dan River.
A week later, the owner of the retired coal power plant, Duke Energy, says they stopped
the leak.
But there are still many unanswered questions, not least of which is: why did state regulators
and Duke Energy wait 24 hours before going public with the leak? Also, how does this
affect the wildlife and drinking water supply for communities in North Carolina and neighboring
Virginia? And just why did this happen in the first place?
With us to discuss these questions is Pete Harrison. Pete is the staff attorney for an
environmental organization, Waterkeeper Alliance. They've been deeply involved with the crisis
from the start. And it should also be noted that Waterkeeper Alliance initiated enforcement
actions for illegal coal ash water pollution at two Duke Energy coal plants in North Carolina
last year.
Thanks for joining us, Pete.
PETE HARRISON: Thanks for having me.
DESVARIEUX: So, Pete, can you just bring us up to speed about what's happening right now?
Is the drinking water even potable at this point?
HARRISON: All reports from the beginning of the spill from the water utilities downstream
are that the product coming out of their treatment plants and into people's faucets is safe.
However, I think with a week's worth now of extreme ambiguity, to say the least, from
the state government and the local municipal water utilities, a lot is left to question
about whether we're getting complete information. And I think what it has bred over the last
week is a general mistrust by the public of their regulators, who are charged with protecting
their health and safety.
DESVARIEUX: And besides the regulators, how do they feel about Duke Energy, which is actually
the largest electric company in the U.S.? Can you just talk about their environmental
record?
HARRISON: Sure. I mean, Duke is the largest utility in the United States. They still own
an enormous coal power plant fleet, and they have many, many ash lagoons just like the
one that failed in Danville this week. And as far as North Carolina goes, Duke has 14
coal-fired power plants.
And Waterkeeper Alliance and our partners in North Carolina have initiated enforcement
actions, because these plants are leaking. And in response to our threats to file Clean
Water Act suits against Duke in North Carolina, the State of North Carolina [incompr.] filed
its own enforcement actions, which ultimately encompass all 14 of Duke Energy's coal-fired
power plants in the state, alleging against every single one of them illegal discharges
coming out of the walls of these coal ash impoundments. And the Dan River facility,
where this disaster has happened, was included in that.
The allegation was that Duke was catching seepage coming out of the coal ash impoundment
and channeling it down to a pipe and dumping it into the river, which is a federal crime.
And it's astonishing that you have the State of North Carolina, under oath, accusing Duke
of endangering the health and welfare of people of the state of North Carolina.
DESVARIEUX: But then why did it take them so long to actually act?
HARRISON: It was only under the threat of a citizen enforcement suit. If the state government,
who Duke has a significant amount of influence over, sues the utility, it's a little better
than having citizens suing the utility and having to go through court and deal with that.
And as we've seen with some of the plants--and I think we can expect the same with the rest
of them--is that the state will, after filing a lawsuit, then quickly attempt to settle
the matter with the utility on very favorable terms for Duke.
DESVARIEUX: Okay. And Duke Energy has come out announcing that it will change the ash
storage systems used at its retired coal plants, such as the Dan River Station. They may bury
it elsewhere, though, in landfills, for example. Do you think that goes far enough? And if
not, why?
HARRISON: I think as an across-the-board solution that's what needs to happen. This stuff cannot
remain in impoundments like the one at Dan River. And there are 1,100 of these things
nationwide. And as I understand it, Duke has made no binding commitments to actually go
through with a conversion to dry storage in lime landfills. It may be that it ultimately
decides to do that with this particular facility. And so I know it has put the idea out there.
But as far as I know, they haven't made any binding commitment. And I think we would be
very pleased if they would do so.
DESVARIEUX: So, Pete, let's take a step back. And I want to talk about how this was even
discovered, this spill, this leak, 'cause there was actually a Duke Energy security
guard that saw that there was a low--low levels of water in the pond. But they also noted
that it took them 24 hours to announce the spill. They came out saying that--some people
are arguing that this really put locals at risk. Why did it take them so long? And others
say, you know, they actually have 48 hours to go public if you look at the law. What
do you see as--can we really fault them, essentially, for the delay?
HARRISON: I think we absolutely can fault them. And they actually--they notified state
regulatory officials within a few hours of allegedly discovering the spill, which was
Sunday evening. And then I think that implies the state in the same problem, because the
state also waited for nearly 24 hours. It was, I think, twenty-two and a half hours
before issuing a press release, basically simultaneously with Duke's press release,
as well as Danville Utilities' press release. All three of those entities waited until Monday
evening, and then, within an hour, all made the announcement.
DESVARIEUX: Okay. So for you they certainly should have come out a lot sooner, a lot earlier.
HARRISON: I think the obvious danger in that situation that the state and the utility must
have been aware of was that coal ash is a highly toxic substance. In fact, it's responsible
for--coal-fired power plants are responsible for more toxic water pollution in the United
States than the next nine most polluting industries combined. So it's a significant problem. It's
one that regulators are very familiar with. And the dangers with a situation like this
are very obvious.
DESVARIEUX: And the danger seemed to be coming more and more into the news as well. We have
that recent chemical spill that happened in West Virginia, which was also actually coal-related.
And it seems like these toxic spills contaminating waterways is becoming this constant. For you,
do you see this right now--what are your thoughts on this issue? What needs to actually change
to prevent these sort of disasters from happening?
HARRISON: Right now there are regulations that have been proposed at the federal level
by the EPA to regulate both water discharges from these coal ash impoundments as well as
their solid waste storage form. Both of those have been hung up in a vicious political snag
in the Environmental Protection Agency, as well as the White House's regulatory review
agencies, the Office of Management and Budget, in OIRA. And those regulations need to become
final and they need to be strong enough to ensure that this material is contained responsibly
and safely, and that all of those Americans who are at risk right now from those 1,100
coal ash disposal impoundments are safe, because they are all just accidents waiting to happen
like Danville, like Kingston, Tennessee.
In the absence of those strong federal regulations, the regulation of the material is left to
the states themselves, and I think the Dan River example perfectly illustrates why that's
an unacceptable approach, that state governments are especially susceptible to what's known
as agency capture phenomenon, where they're subject to the influence of powerful industries
like the utility industry, like the coal industry, like big ag. And what you see is exactly what
we're getting at Dan River, with the North Carolina government that is beholden to Duke
Energy. And, in fact, the governor of this state is a former Duke Energy employee. Duke
Energy has been the largest campaign contributor to both political parties in the state. And
I think the results are quite predictable from that recipe.
DESVARIEUX: Okay. So we have to essentially--regulation, but more on a federal level. Is that what
you're saying? 'Cause regulators right now are basically shielding these companies, oftentimes.
HARRISON: Right, and that is primarily happening at the state level, although the sheer fact
that there are no federal regulations is actually illegal. The EPA was required to get these
rules on the books 30 years ago, and it never happened. And I think that was probably a
result of the same agency capture phenomenon at the federal level.
Now I think the wheels are in motion and we're very close to having effective regulations.
The rules have been drafted, and now it's a matter of EPA selecting the best alternative
that's been proposed and finalizing it.
Until that happens, the EPA's authority to even issue those regulations is subject to
being stripped away by bill after bill after bill that's being introduced in the House
of Representatives that are specifically designed to remove EPA's authority to regulate coal
ash and to leave it to the states forever.
DESVARIEUX: Alright. Pete Harrison, staff attorney for Waterkeeper Alliance, thank you
so much for joining us.
HARRISON: Thank you for having me.
DESVARIEUX: And thank you for joining us on The Real News Network.