The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Air Quality has issued an air permit for the coal ash beneficiation project at Duke Energy Progress’s H.F. Lee Steam Electric Plant in Goldsboro, North Carolina. In response to public comments, the Division of Air Quality staff revised the original draft permit to include additional testing and revised emission information.
DEQ staff thoroughly reviewed the comments received during the public hearing and comment period. Changes to the permit include the addition of stack testing requirements for the Staged Turbulent Air Reactor (STAR) exhaust and heat exchanger to verify emissions estimates and compliance. After concerns were raised about the testing methodology Duke Energy used for coal ash heavy metals analysis, samples were re-analyzed using a more appropriate test method resulting in revised emissions estimates. Those revised estimates were incorporated into the final permit.
The Coal Ash Management Act (CAMA), as amended, required Duke Energy to identify three impoundment sites suitable for beneficiation projects. H.F. Lee is the second beneficiation site.
The hearing officer’s report, final permit review, final permit and environmental justice impact statement are available on the department’s webpage: https://deq.nc.gov/news/hot-topics/coal-ash-nc/facilities-permits/lee.
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