WHAT: Public meeting on the draft proposed coal ash risk classification for W.H. Weatherspoon Power Station
WHEN: 6 p.m. March 10 (registration for speakers starts at 5:30 p.m.)
WHERE: Robeson Community College, A.D. Lewis Auditorium, 5160 Fayetteville Road, Lumberton, N.C. 28360
Members of the public are invited to a public meeting March 10 in Lumberton to provide feedback on the state’s proposed risk classification for the coal ash pond at Duke Energy’s W.H. Weatherspoon Power Station.
The meeting will be held at 6 p.m. at Robeson Community College’s A.D. Lewis Auditorium, 5160 Fayetteville Road, Lumberton.
As required by the coal ash law, the state environmental agency developed the risk classifications for all of Duke Energy’s coal ash impoundments by assessing structural integrity and the potential impacts on surface water and groundwater. The agency’s proposed risk classification for the ash pond at the Weatherspoon is intermediate, but the state will consider all written and verbal public feedback before making the risk classification final.
The final risk classifications will determine the timeline for closing each of the utility’s 33 coal ash ponds. Coal ash ponds designated as high-risk must be excavated and closed by December 2019; intermediate risk ponds must be excavated and closed by December 2024; and low-risk ponds must be closed by December 2029.
In keeping with the coal ash law, the state is hosting public meetings in each county where a coal ash facility is located and giving the public until April 18 to provide written comments. Written comments may be submitted to: Ed Mussler, N.C. Division of Waste Management, Solid Waste Section, N.C. Department of Environmental Quality, Attn: Ed Mussler, 1646 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-1646. Public comments may also be submitted by email to: weatherspooncomments@ncdenr.gov.
The draft proposed coal ash risk classifications and related documents are available online at: http://deq.nc.gov/news/hot-topics/coal-ash-nc/draft-classifications.