SSUE 2 I WEDNESDAY, JAN. 28, 201 5 I THEBLUEBANNER.NET
Duke Energy said it
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Photo by Ruthie Keith - Staff Photographer
Duke Energy set te trade wet ash for dry
EMMA ALEXANDER
nalexand@unca.edu -
Staff Writer
After receiving com
plaints and protests from
Asheville residents, busi
nesses and organizations,
Duke Energy created a plan
in November to end their
coal ash pollution, accord
ing to information from
Duke Energy’s website.
The plant’s property
stores coal combustion
products, totaling approx
imately 3.1 million tons in
Asheville, and the compa
ny continuously evaluates
those storage methods,
according to Duke Energy.
Two engineered basins,
constructed in 1964 and
1982, store ash and serve
as a treatment system for
wastewater containing coal
ash, according to informa
tion from Duke Energy.
“Duke will have to re
move all of the, ash in their
two constructed ponds,” ,
said Kevin Moorhead,
professor of environ
mental science at UNC
Asheville. “The 1982
pond is more than half
way empty because the
ash is being trucked to the
airport as fill for airport
extension. As soon as the
1982 pond is empty, they
plan on lining that pond
to receive future ash.”
The 1964 pond will
be emptied as soon as
they finish with the 1982
pond. Switching to dry
ash processing will great-,
ly reduce the volume of
ash,-and the potential for
groundwater contami
nation, Moorhead said.
“In my opinion, it seems
like a suitable approach to
remove the wet ash from
the site,” Moorhead said.
According to Duke
Energy, they commit to
permanently and safely
closing ash basins at the
coal plants. The compa
ny accelerated its work in
response to North Caro
lina’s Coal Ash Manage
ment Act, which requires
closing basins at four
plants - Asheville, Dan
River. Sutton and River-
bend - by August 2019,
with all other plants clos
ing their basins no lat
er than December 2029.
Duke Energy submit
ted coal ash excavation
plans to state regulators
in November for the first
four plants,' including
Asheville. The excavation
plans detail a multiphase
approach for removing
coal ash from the site vvith
an emphasis on the first
12 to 18 months of activ
ities, according to infor
mation from Duke Energy.
“It is important that any
company causing envi
ronmental degradation
is held responsible for
cleaning up their negative
impacts,” said Jessica Da
vis, a senior environmen
tal studies student. “It is
sad that it is only because
of fines and regulations
that big companies like
Duke are compelled to
protect our environment.”
In October 2013, the
Asheville City Council
voted unanimously for
a resolution calling on
Duke Energy to transi
tion from fossil fuels and
onto clean energy, accord
ing to information from
Asheville Beyond Coal.
“Duke Energy’s Ashe-
ville-area coal plant is
the largest source of cli
mate-disrupting carbon
pollution in Western North
Carolina,” said Melis
sa Williams, commu
nications manager for
Western North Carolina
Alliance. “Years of data
confirm that toxic pollu
tion is leaking from its
SEE ASH ON PAGE 5
State to dip into Pisgah and Nantahala Nat’l Forests
EMILY OSTERTAG
eosterta@unca.edu -
Staff Writer
Proposed logging in the
national forests of Nantaha
la and Pisgah met commu
nity disapproval through
public commentary, accord
ing to conservation officials.
“We have to have lum
ber to build things, it’s
a natural resource—it’s
a renewable natural re
source—and that’s the issue
of these natural resources
in our national parks. They
are for natural resources,
but they’re also for recre
ation,” said Nancy Hodg
es, watershed resources
manager for River Link.
According to the U.S.
Forest Service, every 15-
20 years, plans for the
management of national
forests across the country
go through revision, and
as national forests con
tribute to the USDA’s sus
tainable harvest of timber,
these plans include the
management of logging.
Hodges said although log
ging is a controversial prac
tice especially to most of the
community here in Ashe
ville, along with conser
vation, the need for timber
contributed to the creation
of nation forests in the U.S.
“So, I get caught in be
tween this: Wood needs to
be supplied. If you can sup
ply it through sustainably
harvested mechanisms, then
that’s better than if you go
out and clear cut. You can
clear cut on private property;
you can’t in the national for
ests anymore,” Hodges said.
Through detailed timber
management areas, a 2014
assessment of the Nantahala
and Pisgah National Forest’s
plan deemed about 700,000
acres suitable for the sus
tainable supply of timber.
These two national forests
together total approximately
1,044,393 acres in size, ac
cording to the assessment.
“It’s disappointing, but
to me it depends on where
they’re doing it and what
impacts to the different user
groups that that’s going to
affect, as well as looking
at what’s the environmen
tal impact,” Hodges said,
“We’ve already seen that
with the loss of the hem
locks our water tempera
tures have increased, and
so our local trout are really
sensitive. If the water is 68-
70 degrees, that’s too warm.
That’s at the top of their
range. So, they’re stressed
at that point. We’ve started
to see declines in some of
those fish species. That’s a
direct result of sunlight, and
not having tree coverage.”
Sarah Fraser, the stew
ardship director for Car
olina Mountain Land
Conservancy, said in her
experience working with
foresters and loggers, they
delineate stream manage
ment zones to avoid logging
near steep embankments.
“My guess is that they’ve
started with a large number
knowing that they’re going
to go into a public comment
period, get feedback from
the public and pare that,
SEE FORESTS ON PAGE 5
Photo by Emily Ostertag - Staff Photographer
Pisgah Nat’l Forest at Big Ivy in Barnardsville. A sight
deemed suitable for logging.