Press Releases

The N.C. Department of Environmental Quality has not found visual evidence of impacts to surface water after heavy rains caused the release of coal ash and wastewater from an impoundment at a Duke Energy facility in Cleveland County.

The N.C. Department of Environmental Quality is investigating a discharge of stormwater at a Duke Energy coal ash facility in Cleveland County. Staff did not immediately observe any sediment or evidence that coal ash was released.

State environmental officials renewed coal ash landfill permits at Duke Energy’s Roxboro and Marshall steam stations Tuesday. One permit will enable Duke Energy to expand the current capacity at the Roxboro Steam Electric Plant’s lined landfill by changing the landfill’s side slopes. The permit will provide storage for about 2 million additional cubic yards of material. The five-year operating permit will not expand the footprint of the 91-acre landfill in Person County.

State environmental officials in the department’s water resources division announced today work has begun on a project that will stabilize the streambank beside the Town of Hookerton’s wastewater treatment plant in Greene County.

RALEIGH - The N.C. Department of Environmental Quality announced today that it has received from Duke Energy all of the permanent alternative water supply plans as required by state law. State environmental officials must evaluate the comprehensive information and make a final decision to approve or disapprove the water supply plans by Jan. 15, 2017. State law requires Duke Energy to pay for either the installation of a new water line or a home filtration system.

Temporary offices in Elizabeth City are now open for staff in the state’s coastal and marine fisheries agencies. The former Elizabeth City location closed in early November for facility repairs. Staff in the state’s Division of Coastal Management in Elizabeth City have moved to a temporary location at 401 South Griffin Street, Suite 300, Elizabeth City. Division of Coastal Management staff may be reached by calling 252-264-3901. Members of the public seeking a Coastal Area Management Act (CAMA) permit may now go to the 401 South Griffin Street location.

  WHAT: Public hearing on water quality permit for Duke Energy’s H.F. Lee Plant WHEN: 6 p.m. Dec. 15 (speaker registration starts at 5 p.m.) WHERE: Wayne County Center, 208 W. Chestnut St., Goldsboro, N.C.

Officials with the state environmental department have extended a public comment period to obtain additional feedback on the draft wastewater permit for Duke Energy’s Allen Steam Station.

A state environmental program that has created thousands of jobs and pumped $14 billion dollars into North Carolina’s economy will celebrate a milestone in Raleigh next week. The state’s Brownfields Program recently entered into its 400th agreement with a prospective developer. The agreements create special conditions for developers to cleanup or mitigate contamination so a site can be safely redeveloped and put back into productive use.

WHAT: Public hearing on water quality permits for Duke Energy’s Weatherspoon Plant WHEN: 6 p.m. Dec. 8 (speaker registration starts at 5 p.m.) WHERE: Robeson Community College, A.D. Lewis Auditorium, 5160 Fayetteville Rd., Lumberton, N.C.