Posts Tagged ‘Coal Ash’
Long-Awaited Coal Ash Bill Leaves Communities at Risk
This September, North Carolina’s first bill regulating the disposal of coal ash became law. Legislators praised the law as the strongest in the nation, but environmental groups and citizens living next to coal ash ponds say it is not strong enough.
Read MoreOne Artist’s Experience with Coal Ash
Caroline Armijo began an environmental justice art project after seeing many friends and family die from cancer in her North Carolina community, near one of the state’s largest coal ash impoundments. In this excerpt from her website, she describes the circumstances that shaped her paper sculpture creation, titled “Gray Matter.”
Read MoreThe Truth About Coal Ash
Coal ash — the byproduct of burning coal for electricity — is currently less regulated than regular household garbage. Filled with heavy metals, coal ash is proven to contaminate groundwater and pollute communities with dust.
Read MoreAbout gray matter: One artist’s experience with the health impacts of coal ash
Residents of the Belews Creek community of Stokes County, N.C., have been speaking out about the serious health threat from the nearby massive coal ash pit, which is the largest in the state. Artist Caroline Armijo, who has seen too many of her friends and neighbors die from cancer, is one of them.
After last-minute compromise, N.C. legislature passes coal ash bill
However dysfunctional, the North Carolina General Assembly always seems to come together in the end — often in literally the final hours of the legislative session. After a last-minute compromise, the North Carolina legislature passed the coal ash bill on Wednesday, but fell short of promises to protect communities in the wake of the Dan River spill.
North Carolina Coal Ash Bill Pending
By Brian Sewell On July 14, the N.C. Senate voted unanimously to reject the state House’s revised version of the Coal Ash Management Plan, which weakened the cleanup requirements in the Senate’s original bill. Now, a committee with members of both chambers must craft a compromise bill. Sen. Tom Apodaca, who sponsored the Senate bill,…
Read MoreWhat do Duke Energy and a messy teenager have in common?
Duke Energy has spent six months cleaning up its Dan River coal spill, the third worst in U.S. history, and got a whopping six percent removed. And now it says the job is done. North Carolinians should not accept this — no less than most parents accept their teenagers’ excuses to clean up their rooms.
Hey Duke Energy – Buy a Bigger Dump Truck!
Duke Energy and its army of lobbyists apparently have convinced N.C. lawmakers that it’s just too expensive to clean up all of its leaking coal ash dumps. The company’s argument is based on an assumption that it would take 30 years to remove the ash from JUST ONE SITE. “What??” I hear you ask incredulously. So let’s take a deeper look at that …
Environmental community calls for major changes to North Carolina House’s coal ash bill
Environmental community calls for major changes to North Carolina House’s coal ash bill
Read MoreAs the state falters, local governments support coal ash cleanup
North Carolinians who live near coal ash ponds and have seen local waterways polluted are bravely speaking up about their experiences. And as state government continues to fail to hold Duke accountable for its coal ash pollution, communities are taking a stand against coal ash pollution.