Cleaning Up Coal Ash
For well over a century, power plants across the country have burned coal to generate electricity. And for just as long, leftover coal ash has been dumped in open, unlined pits near the power plant, usually located on a river or lake. Every year, U.S. power plants produce 130 million tons of coal ash, which is the second largest waste stream in the country after municipal garbage.
Coal ash concentrates the toxic heavy metals found in coal, including arsenic, mercury, lead and selenium. Stored in unlined, wet impoundments, coal ash has been leaking these toxics into our groundwater and surface waters for years. Sometimes these impoundments collapse — with disastrous results.
Yet government regulations for coal ash management are either non-existent or sparse, and there is little enforcement of the regulations that do exist. In North Carolina, this lack of oversight — and the complicity between state regulators, elected officials and Duke Energy — came to a boiling point in February 2014 when one of Duke’s coal ash impoundments spilled 39 million tons of ash into the Dan River.
Citizens living near North Carolina’s 33 coal ash impoundments — all of which have leaked — have fought for transparency from Duke and the state, and for cleanup of the pollution that threatens their property value, health and family. Their actions forced this issue into the headlines of news networks and to the forefront of environmental justice conversations in the United States.
Appalachian Voices stood with these communities as we worked for years to compel Duke Energy and the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality to excavate coal ash from all the North Carolina sites and dispose of it either in lined, dry landfills, away from waterways, or by recycling it for concrete or other uses, provided it’s done in a manner that protects public health and the environment.
On Jan. 2, 2020, North Carolina announced a historic settlement with one of the state’s most powerful corporations and polluters, Duke Energy. The settlement requires Duke to move nearly 80 million tons of toxic coal ash at six of its power plants to properly lined landfills onsite or recycle it.
Learn information about specific coal ash impoundments in the South, including health threats and safety ratings:
Additional Resources
Fact sheets, videos, links to academic research, and more
Sign Up to Act
Help us protect the health of our communities and waterways.
Latest News
Study Finds Red Wolves are a Distinct Species
The National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine found that red wolves are a distinct species, allowing the species to be listed under the federal Endangered Species Act.
Agency Says Hellbenders Not Endangered
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service decided not to list the Eastern Hellbender salamander as endangered, prompting protest from conservation groups.
Cleaner Air in North Carolina and Virginia
Although state officials in North Carolina and Virginia reported significant improvements in air quality in recent years, a nonprofit organization released a report in May stating that 96 percent of national parks are damaged by air pollution.
Tennessee Law Blocks Localities From Banning Plastic Bags
Gov. Bill Lee signed a law banning local governments from enacting regulations against certain plastic bags and utensils after Nashville and Memphis considered taxes on single-use plastic bags.
Disrupting the Status Quo and Putting People and Planet First
We are committed to disrupting a status quo designed to line the pockets of the government-protected utility monopolies who have been calling the shots. We are citizens demanding a system that puts people and the planet first.
North Carolina Orders Coal Ash Cleanup, Duke Appeals
North Carolina ordered Duke Energy to fully excavate the coal ash at its six remaining coal ash sites across the state, prompting an appeal from the monopoly utility.
