The N.C. Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is seeking public comment on draft special orders by consent for Duke Energy’s Cape Fear Plant in Moncure and Weatherspoon Plant in Lumberton.
The public comment period will be open until January 9, 2020 for both orders. The draft special orders by consent and related documents are available on DEQ’s website.
The special orders by consent address issues related to seeps that emanate from the facilities’ coal ash basins which potentially flow to adjacent surface waters. The orders require Duke Energy to accelerate the initiation of activities associated with closure of the ash basins through beneficiation at the facility which will help to eliminate seeps that originate in those basins.
During the time the orders are in place, interim action levels will be established in small bodies of water receiving flow from the seeps. Seeps not eliminated as a result of site closure activities shall be addressed through further corrective action and remediation measures. Both orders will expire on Aug. 31, 2023.
Printed copies of the Cape Fear documents may be reviewed at the department’s Raleigh Regional Office. To make an appointment to review the documents, please call 919-791-4200. Printed copies of the Weatherspoon documents may be reviewed at the department’s Fayetteville Regional Office. To make an appointment to review the documents, please call 910-433-3300.
Written comments on the draft special order by consent may be sent to the attention of Mr. Bob Sledge, NCDWR, 1617 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, N.C. 27699-1617. Comments may also be submitted by email to: publiccomments@ncdenr.gov. Please include the term “Cape Fear SOC” or “Weatherspoon SOC” in the email’s subject line. The deadline for submitting comments is January 9, 2020.
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