Permanent Replacement of Water Supplies at Coal Ash Sites

On October 12, 2018, the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) announced that permanent replacement water supplies have been provided to all eligible households near Duke Energy coal ash facilities in North Carolina.  DEQ required Duke Energy to provide eligible households at fourteen coal ash locations with a connection to a public water supply or a new water filtration system by the deadline of October 15, 2018, set forth in the Coal Ash Management Act. 

“For the families who have been living on bottled water, this solution is critical and necessary. Every family deserves to have confidence in their drinking water and we must continue to protect this vital resource,” said Governor Roy Cooper.

The installation of replacement water supplies means that residents near coal ash sites who relied on bottled water for drinking, cooking, and bathing for over two years now have a permanent solution.  Duke provided replacement water supplies to all eligible households near its Allen, Asheville, Belews Creek, Buck, Cape Fear, Cliffside/Rogers, Dan River, H.F. Lee, Marshall, Mayo, Riverbend, Roxboro, Sutton and Weatherspoon facilities.

“Everyone deserves to have safe, clean drinking water,” said DEQ Secretary Michael Regan. “DEQ will continue its work to erase the impacts of coal ash across North Carolina.”

DEQ’s enforcement of the CAMA provisions requiring replacement water supplies for all affected North Carolinians has been a priority of the Cooper Administration since taking office.