Residents of a small trailer park off Colon Road in Sanford North Carolina didn’t know that their community will soon become a dumping ground for millions of tons of potentially toxic coal ash because no one had to ask their permission prior to making it one.
According to North Carolina law, as long as the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) granted its permission to Duke Energy by early 2015, they are good to go. Most community leaders south of Raleigh, North Carolina found out about the Duke Energy plan on November 15, the same day Duke Energy turned in its proposed coal ash disposal plan to the DENR. This was at the behest of state lawmakers to close high-risk coal basins in Eden, Mount Holly, and Wilmington, NC and move the 17.5 million tons of coal ash elsewhere. That ?elsewhere? appears to be the small trailer park off Colon Road in Sanford because of its proximity to rail lines and its abundance of clay.
This whole odyssey began around the time the coal ash spill into the Dan River near Eden, North Carolina occurred earlier this year. Out of necessity, the Coal Ash Management Act was pushed through the North Carolina General Assembly (NCGA). This required Duke Energy to get structural fill and waste permits from the DENR. The DENR, in turn, gave Duke Energy broad powers to negotiate ash dumping and bypass financial compensation or local permission for dumping its waste in local communities. Instead, Duke Energy will pay fees to the DENR Division of Energy, Mineral and Land Resources, which handles enforcement and permitting for the state mining activities.
Duke Energy Senior VP of Ash Basin Strategy John Elnitsky says that the plan ?minimizes the impact to neighboring communities and complies with North Carolina’s new coal ash management policies.? Taking this a step further, the legislation specifically forbids counties or municipalities from drafting ordinances regulating coal disposal. Oh and by the way, state permitting will not require an environmental impact study for this project either. So there will be no way of knowing what the consequences of this legislation will be in the future. But don’t worry ?the coal ash landfills will be lined with synthetic materials to prevent leaking.
Fracking advocates like Lee County Commissioner Jim Womack, who happens to be chairman of the North Carolina state Mining and Energy Commission, says fracking is safe and people are giving it a bad rap. Commissioner Womack believes that fracking will be an economic boost for a county with 8% unemployment ?slightly higher than the state average. According to a 2012 report by the North Carolina DENR, fracking will, in Lee County, NC, directly employ as many as 39 people in the first year of well development, 169 in the second year, and 229 in the third year. This would in turn boost economic development and demand in other areas in the county such as restaurants and hotels.
Lee County Commissioner Charlie Parks says he doesn’t believe coal as is toxic but believes not paying financial compensation to the county is ?extremely unfair.? Sanford City Councilman Sam Gaskins, expressed a pessimistic view saying ?They don’t really care,? and ?They’re going to do what they please.?
Brasch at Daily Kos did a good synopsis about why everyone is so passionate about fracking and you can read more there.
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Source: The State’s Ash Tray
