Environmental officials: Dan River has recovered from coal ash spill
MILTON, N.C. (WTVD) -- State officials are giving a rosy assessment of the state of the Dan River almost one year to the day after 39,000 tons of coal ash spilled into the river from the former Duke Energy coal plant in Eden.
Department of Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Don Van Der Vaart and other top environmental officials joined inspectors Friday morning in Milton, which is about 40 miles from the site of the spill to make the point that, in large part, the river has returned to pre-spill conditions.
"By all scientific metrics that we can measure," said Assistant DENR Secretary Tom Reeder. "The river has recovered very well since the coal ash spill. People get sick and they recover. A big river like the Dan River can take a hit and nature can take its course and it can recover, and that's exactly what we're seeing."
Reeder said testing on water, sediment, and the ecology shows the river has largely returned to pre-spill levels.
"What we found was the biological species and diversity was the same upstream and downstream of the spill and both rated out at an excellent level which is the highest you can get," said Reeder. "So by all metrics we can measure, it looks like the river has recovered very well. We really dodged a bullet with this whole spill.
Upper Neuse Riverkeeper Matthew Star disagrees.
"If you walked out there and you sunk down past your ankle, like you would do in any river environment, or maybe up to your calf, you'd be standing in coal ash," said Star. "So I would take great pause giving the same kind of confidence to North Carolinians not knowing all the facts."
Star and other environmentalists have been testing sediment on the Dan River since the spill happened and point out, more than 36,000 tons of coal ash is still coating the river floor. Their concern is bio-accumulation.
"Bio-accumulation is a fancy way of saying the contamination moves up the food chain," said Star.
Reeder admits that testing might not show significant bio-accumulation of coal ash toxins in fish for another 12 to 18 months.
"Overtime that could change," said Reeder. "That's the only thing the jury is still out on though. Every other metric we can measure - water quality, ecology - it's recovered. So, hopefully, the bio-accumulation won't pan out either."
In the meantime, Reeder said the fish is safe to eat.
"The scientific metrics that we can actually go out and measure have all indicated such a strong recovery that I personally have no qualms about what's going on there," said Reeder.
Would Reeder himself eat the fish?
"Oh sure," he said, "I wouldn't even think about it. I'd eat it in a heartbeat."
Again, Star disagrees.
"As the father of three, I wouldn't go there and feed my kids fish that came out of that river because I don't have any facts that show me what the impact has been," said Star.
As for the water testing done today?
"It's surface water 40 miles downstream," said Star. "It has no effect on the greater scale of the contamination that's happened on the Dan River. It was a dog and pony show."
MORE INFORMATION
NC State University study on Dan River
