Two steps forward, one step back on coal ash in N.C.

North Carolina communities impacted by coal ash celebrated two positive strides forward recently, only to be disappointed by another fast move on the part of the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality and Duke Energy that keeps too many citizens in limbo in terms of resolving polluted drinking water.

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NCDENR needs to step up

Since the Dan River coal ash catastrophe of February 2014, there’s been more foot-dragging than problem-solving by Duke Energy and DENR to solve the state’s coal ash crisis. But citizens like Amy Brown are keeping the pressure on, and Appalachian Voices is right there with them.

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DENR is a “BOOR”

The N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources is acting like–to use its own term–a “bureaucratic object of resistance.” The agency’s creative interpretation of its mission statement is just one reflection of the McCrory administration’s broader hostility to the notion that public servants have a responsibility to protect the natural resources and therefore the public health and welfare of the Tar Heel state.

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VIDEO: “Contaminated, But Smart!”- Duke Energy’s New Coal Ash Assessment

On Monday evening, Duke Energy released the executive statement from its study assessing groundwater contamination at two of its largest coal ash sites in North Carolina. Unsurprisingly, Duke Energy’s findings suggest it is not responsible for the contamination found in the drinking water wells of over 200 households within 1,000 feet of the company’s coal ash dumps.

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In the Neighborhood: Living with Coal Ash

By Sandra Diaz Tracey Edwards, a lifelong resident of Stokes County, resides within three miles of the coal-fired Belews Creek Steam Station, and is concerned about the coal ash the plant generates. As a child growing up in the mostly African-American neighborhood of Walnut Tree, Edwards played outside and ate from neighborhood apple and cherry…

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Community Rallies Around Need for Energy Efficiency in the High Country

Over 1,000 residents support greater energy efficiency investments to grow economy, lower energy costs CONTACT: Rory McIlmoil, Energy Policy Director, rory@appvoices.org Sarah Kellogg, North Carolina Field Organizer, sarah@appvoices.org (828) 262-1500 Blue Ridge Electric fact sheet (PDF) Photos by Amy Adams, Appalachian Voices Boone, N.C. — More than thirty local residents, service organizations and local government…

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