All North Carolina coal ash ponds are leaking toxic pollution to groundwater

An in-depth review of monitoring data from coal ash ponds located next to 13 coal-burning power plants in North Carolina has revealed that all of them are contaminating groundwater with toxic metals and other pollutants -- in some cases at levels exceeding 380 times state groundwater standards.



The contaminants reported include arsenic, cadmium, chromium and lead -- metals known to cause cancer, neurological problems and other serious illnesses.

The analysis was conducted by Appalachian Voices' Upper Watauga Riverkeeper team based on data submitted to state regulators by Duke Energy and Progress Energy, the state's two largest investor-owned electric utilities. The companies conducted the tests as part of a self-monitoring agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

"The results of this data are very alarming, and we now know that some of these ponds have been leaking into the groundwater for years," said Upper Watauga Riverkeeper Donna Lisenby. "We intend to call for further oversight and clean up of coal ash pond waste to prevent additional heavy metals and other toxins from being released into our groundwater and rivers."

The findings come on the heels of revelations that an SCE&G coal ash pond in South Carolina is leaking arsenic to the nearby Wateree River.

A 2007 EPA Risk Assessment found that people who live near coal ash ponds and drink from wells have as much as a 1 in 50 chance of getting cancer from drinking water contaminated by arsenic, one of the most common and dangerous pollutants in coal ash. Living near such facilities also increases the risk of damage to the liver, kidneys, lungs and other organs.

Three of the waste ponds in the North Carolina analysis border the Catawba River basin, a watershed that provides drinking water to nearly a million residents in the Charlotte region. The state's other river basins impacted by coal ash ponds are the Broad, Cape Fear, French Broad, Lumber, Neuse, Roanoke and Yadkin.

The study documented 681 instances where state groundwater standards were exceeded at the 13 coal ash pond locations. Progress Energy had 428 of those violations, but Appalachian Voices says that's because the company provided more data than Duke Energy.

Because the testing was voluntary, the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources is trying to confirm the results before they determine whether corrective action can be required under current state law, Appalachian Voices reports. State law does not currently require the power companies to clean up the toxic contamination until it extends far beyond the boundary of the coal ash pond.