WHAT: Public meeting on the draft proposed coal ash risk classifications for Roxboro and Mayo Steam Electric Plants
WHEN: 6 p.m. March 16 (registration for speakers starts at 5:30 p.m.)
WHERE: Person County Government Building, 304 South Morgan St., Roxboro, N.C.
People are invited to a public meeting March 16 in Roxboro to give feedback on the state’s proposed risk classifications for the coal ash ponds at Duke Energy’s Roxboro and Mayo Steam Electric Plants.
The meeting will be at 6 p.m. March 16 at the Person County Government Building, 304 South Morgan St. in Roxboro.
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 classifications for the coal ash ponds at the Roxboro Steam Electric Plant’s three impoundments are intermediate risk, low-intermediate risk and low risk. The state’s proposed risk classification for the one impoundment at the Mayo Steam Electric Plant is low risk. 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: roxborocomments@ncdenr.gov and mayocomments@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.