Bill would order closure of North Carolina coal ash pits
RALEIGH (WTVD) -- State lawmakers are tackling a new proposal to deal with the coal ash clean-up in the Dan River northwest of the Triangle.
Some call it sweeping reform, but critics say the plan doesn't go "far enough," which leaves a potential loophole for Duke Energy.
The 15 page bill which lawmakers have been going through calls for the closure of Duke Energy's 33 coal ash ponds, but it doesn't necessarily require clean-up. At least not the kind environmentalists have been calling for.
"There will certainly be significant challenges to comply with this bill," said Duke Energy's Jeff Brooks.
Monday, lawmakers started debating a bill to force the massive energy company to close all of its coal ash lagoons in the state over the next 15 years.
"The timelines are very aggressive," said Brooks. "We proposed a 30 year timeline at some of these facilities."
That pushback from duke could help the bill's supporter sell the story that it's a tough piece of legislation.
"This is the most comprehensive and far reaching coal ash bill in the nation," said Sen. Phil Berger, (R) Rockingham County.
Environmentalists say it lets Duke Energy off easy by directing the state environmental agency DENR to decide how the ponds should be closed.
In some cases, that could mean leaving the ash where it is -- next to waterways -- and capping the lagoons, with the toxic ash trapped beneath.
"Closure is a spin word. For us, what we want is not capping in place," said environmentalist Frank Holleman, with the Southern Environmental Law Center. "We think what these communities deserve is clean-up."
Holleman says the bill would also allow Duke Energy to move up to 100,000 tons of coal ash, which is more than twice what spilled into the Dan River, into other, unlined pits around the state. It would also give DENR the authority to give Duke Energy a pass when it comes to contaminated water which is leaking out of the ponds right now.
"This bill allows DENR to, in effect, give DENR amnesty for that pollution," said Holleman.
Still, supporters say the bill will do what it's designed to.
"Protect our drinking water, ground water, and protect rivers and streams from contaminations of coal ash," said Berger.
The bill's sponsors say they're not fast-tracking this bill. It still has to go to two other committees.
It's unclear if there will be a chance for the public to weigh in.
