RALEIGH – The N.C. Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) will hold hearings for public comment in February on the plans to excavate coal ash at six Duke Energy facilities. This follows the Dec. 31, 2019 settlement agreement in which Duke Energy agreed to excavate nearly 80 million tons of coal ash at the Allen, Belews Creek, Cliffside, Marshall, Mayo and Roxboro sites to be placed in lined, onsite landfills.
Duke has submitted closure plans for the excavations by the December 31, 2019 deadline, as required by the Coal Ash Management Act (CAMA) of 2016 and in accordance with the agreement. Closure plans, public notices and details on how to submit public comments are online at: https://deq.nc.gov/news/key-issues/coal-ash-excavation.
Each public session will start with a meeting to provide information and answer questions immediately followed by a public hearing to record public comments. The meetings will be held at 6 p.m. on the following dates:
Feb. 10: Mayo Power Station Closure Plans
Location/Address: North End Elementary School located at 378 Mill Creek Road, Roxboro, N.C. 27574
Public comments may be sent to: mayocomments@ncdenr.gov.
Feb. 18: Belews Creek Steam Station Closure Plans
Location/Address: Walnut Cove Elementary School (Gym) located at 1211 Walnut Cove School Road, Walnut Cove, N.C. 27052
Public comments may be sent to: belewscreekcomments@ncdenr.gov.
Feb. 19: Roxboro Power Station Closure Plans
Location/Address: North Elementary School (Cafeteria) located at 260 Henderson Road, Roxboro, N.C. 27573
Public comments may be sent to: roxborocomments@ncdenr.gov.
Feb. 25: Cliffside Steam Station / Rogers Energy Complex Closure Plans
Location/Address: Chase High School (Cafeteria) located at 1603 Chase High Rd, Forest City, N.C. 28043
Public comments may be sent to: cliffsidecomments@ncdenr.gov.
Feb. 26: Marshall Steam Station Closure Plans
NEW Location/Address: Maiden High School (Auditorium) located at 600 W. Main Street, Maiden, N.C. 28650
Public comments may be sent to: marshallcomments@ncdenr.gov.
Feb. 27: Allen Steam Station Closure Plans
Location/Address: Stuart Cramer High School (Gym) located at 101 Lakewood Road, Belmont, N.C. 28012
Public comments may be sent to: allencomments@ncdenr.gov.
In accordance with CAMA and in addition to these six sites, Duke Energy submitted closure plans for four coal ash sites that will be excavating coal ash and reusing it for beneficial purposes. Public sessions to discuss closure plans for the H.F. Lee, Cape Fear, Weatherspoon and Buck sites will be held at 6 p.m. on the following dates:
Feb. 11: H.F. Lee Power Plant Closure Plans
Location/Address: Wayne Community College (Hall C) located at 3000 Wayne Memorial Drive, Goldsboro, N.C. 27534
Public comments may be sent to: leecomments@ncdenr.gov.
Feb. 12: Cape Fear Power Plant Closure Plans
Location/Address: Chatham County Agriculture and Conference Center (Auditorium) located at 1192 US-64 BUS, Pittsboro, N.C. 27312
Public comments may be sent to: capefearcomments@ncdenr.gov.
Feb. 13: Weatherspoon Power Plant Closure Plans
Location/Address: South Robeson Intermediate School (Gym) located at 3268 S Robeson Rd, Rowland, N.C. 28383
Public comments may be sent to: weatherspooncomments@ncdenr.gov.
Feb. 24: Buck Power Plant Closure Plans
Location/Address: North Rowan High School (Auditorium) located at 300 N. Whitehead Ave., Spencer, N.C. 28159
Public comments may be sent to: rowancomments@ncdenr.gov.
Under CAMA, DEQ’s final action on the closure plans is due within 120 days of receipt of the complete closure plans. Within 60 days of approval, implementation of the plans must begin.
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