North Carolina county targeted for coal ash disposal

Anson County identified in Duke Energy excavation plan

The Raleigh, N.C.-based Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League (BREDL) issued a press release last week describing Duke Energy’s possible use of a landfill in Anson County for coal ash disposal.

The information, from Duke Energy’s Riverbend and Sutton power plant coal ash excavation plan, states: “In the event the structural fill options are not available in Lee or Chatham count[ies], the Anson County Landfill, a permitted solid waste landfill, has been identified as the alternate location.”

The press release noted that coal ash would likely be transported from the power plants to the landfill by rail. Lee and Chatham counties are in central North Carolina just southwest of Raleigh. Anson County is approximately 75-100 miles farther southwest on the South Carolina border.

Duke Energy-the largest power company in the U.S.— has come under intense scrutiny particularly following the Dan River coal ash “spill” a year ago released an estimated 30,000-40,000 tons of ash into the river on the North Carolina-Virginia border.

Cary Rodgers, a BREDL organizer and a resident of Anson County said, “This is another major environmental disaster that is hanging over our beautiful Anson County community. The county commissioner’s approval to expand Waste Connection’s mega-dump capacity over a year and a half ago is proving to be a very bad mistake. That expansion puts Anson County on the radar screen to be Duke’s next coal ash dumping ground.”