WHAT: Public meeting on the draft proposed coal ash risk classifications for Buck Steam Station
WHEN: 6 p.m. March 22 (registration for speakers starts at 5:30 p.m.)
WHERE: Catawba College in the Center for the Environment Building, Room 300, 2300 West Innes St, Salisbury, NC 28144
People are invited to a public meeting March 22 in Salisbury to give feedback on the state’s proposed risk classifications for the coal ash ponds at Duke Energy’s Buck Steam Station.
The meeting will be at 6 p.m. March 22 at Catawba College in the Center for the Environment Building, Room 300, 2300 West Innes Street in Salisbury.
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 Buck Steam Station’s three impoundments are low-to-intermediate risk. The state will consider all written and verbal public feedback before making the risk classifications 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: N.C. Division of Water Resources, Groundwater Protection Section, N.C. Department of Environmental Quality, Attn: Debra Watts, 1636 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-1611. Public comments may also be submitted by email to: buckcomments@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.