Monday, February 3, 2014

Breaking News: Pipe break causes ash release at Dan River Steam Station: Danville's Drinking Water

Comments:  We were not notified by Danville until this after, I found this a problem.   But they said they handle it but what is next?  Listed below is the reason it concerning!  This closed coal plant is located in Eden but it is in the Dan River Basin, drinking water for Danville!



Posted on: February 3, 2014

Danville Utilities successfully treats ash spill into Dan River


A break Sunday afternoon in a stormwater pipe beneath an ash basin at the retired Dan River Steam Station in Eden, N.C., has caused a release of ash basin water and ash into the Dan River. Danville Utilities has been able to successfully treat the water.

“We were notified Sunday of the spill into the river, and we were able to treat it,” said Barry Dunkley, division director of water and wastewater treatment for Danville Utilities. “All water leaving our treatment facility has met public health standards. We do not anticipate any problems going forward in treating the water we draw from the Dan River.”

City of Danville Emergency Management staff have been monitoring the situation and have been in consultation with Duke Energy, the Virginia Department of Emergency Management and the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality.
Media release from Duke Energyhttp://www.danville-va.gov/DocumentCenter/View/11032


http://www.danville-va.gov/civicalerts.aspx?AID=1508


Erin Culbert


24-Hour media line: 800.559.3853
Feb. 3, 2014
Pipe break causes ash release at Dan River Steam Station
 
 
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A break Sunday afternoon in a stormwater pipe beneath an ash basin at the retired Dan River Steam Station in Eden, N.C., has caused a release of ash basin water and ash into the Dan River.

The ash basin dam along the river has not been affected and remains secure. Some erosion has occurred on the interior side of the berm farthest from the river, and plant personnel and engineers are working today on a plan to stabilize that area.

Freestanding water drained from the primary ash basin into the stormwater pipe, and a team continues to work to eliminate the discharge from the pipe.

The basin was already at a lower level prior to this event since the coal plant retired in 2012 and has not produced ash for some time. The primary basin is about 27 surface acres.

Engineers are working to estimate the volume of water and ash that reached the river, and the company will provide that detail when it is confirmed.

Duke Energy has dispatched a water quality monitoring team that will gather data in the river. The N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources has been notified and is performing a site inspection. Local emergency managers were notified as a precaution, and downstream municipal water supplies remain unaffected.

The company already has been conducting studies for the most appropriate way to close the ash basins at Dan River and other retired plant sites. Duke Energy is committed to closing ash basins in a way that protects groundwater long-term and is prudent for customers and neighbors.

Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Duke Energy is a Fortune 250 company traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol DUK. More information about the company is available at: www.duke-energy.com.
http://www.danville-va.gov/DocumentCenter/View/11032




Dan River Steam Station, Duke Energy – Eden, NC

Entity Company – Location
 
Duke Energy - Dan River Steam Station

524 S Edgewood Rd

Eden, NC 27288

Rockingham County

Latitude: 36.489495 Longitude: -79.715427
 
Determination
 
Demonstrated on-site damage to groundwater
 
Probable Cause(s)
 
Leaching of coal combustion waste (CCW) contaminants into groundwater
 
Summary
 
Voluntary groundwater monitoring at Duke Energy’s Dan River Steam Station’s coal ash ponds has detected levels of chromium, iron, lead, manganese, silver, and sulfate that exceed state groundwater standards and federal Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs) and Secondary MCLs (SMCLs). Dan River Steam Station has two unlined coal ash ponds as well as an unlined dry ash landfill. Fifteen years of sporadic voluntary monitoring beginning in November 1993 indicates that there is on-site groundwater contamination that is likely migrating outside of the state-designated "compliance boundary" for Dan River’s CCW impoundments. EPA ranked both wet CCW ponds at Dan River Steam Station as "high hazard" surface impoundments, meaning that their failure will probably cause loss of life (USEPA, 2009). IN HARM’S WAY: Lack of Federal Coal Ash Regulations Endangers Americans and Their Environment Damage Case – Dan River Steam Station Page 97






Test of Proof
 
Groundwater monitoring found exceedances of groundwater standards, such as North Carolina standards, federal MCLs, and federal SMCLs (Duke Energy and NC DENR, 1993–2009). For example:
 
Chromium was reported at 0.0611 mg/L in April 2008, over the state groundwater standard of 0.05 mg/L.

Iron exceedances ranged from 0.32 mg/L to 69.73 mg/L between November 1993 and April 2008, the latter being over 232 times the SMCL and state groundwater standard of 0.3 mg/L.

Lead exceedances ranged from 0.01522 mg/L to 0.0392 mg/L between April 1998 and April 2008, the latter being over twice the MCL and state groundwater standard of 0.015 mg/L.

• All recorded manganese values exceeded SMCLs and state groundwater standards. Manganese concentrations ranged from 0.32 mg/L to 7.058 mg/L, the latter being over 141 times the SMCL and state groundwater standard of 0.05 mg/L.

Silver was reported at 0.0411 mg/L in April 2008, over twice the state groundwater standard of 0.0175 mg/L.

Sulfate exceedances ranged from 510 mg/L to 560 mg/L between November 1993 and April 1996, more than twice the SMCL and state groundwater standard of 250 mg/L (DENR).



The full extent of the groundwater contamination is unknown. Groundwater testing was only conducted within the boundaries of the CCW impoundment structure because the impoundment extends all the way to the Dan River, making downgradient groundwater monitoring difficult. No off-site monitoring has been conducted.

High levels of iron, lead, and manganese in wells presumed to be "background" indicate possible contamination from the on-site dry coal ash storage facilities and warrant further investigation. Groundwater monitoring has only targeted the wet CCW storage site, ignoring the dry CCW landfill.
 
Constituents Involved
 
Chromium, iron, lead, manganese, silver, and sulfate
 
At Risk Populations
 
The Dan River Steam Station is located in a fairly densely populated area. Private well data is supposed to be archived at the county level; however, Rockingham had only an incomplete list of registered wells from the 1970s, without the geospatial data necessary to map wells in relation to the Dan River Steam Station. Although not an exhaustive list, the private well data available showed that there are over a dozen private suburban residences within two miles of the CCW impoundments at Dan River. In addition, public well data available through the North Carolina Department of Natural Resources, shows five public drinking water wells within a five-mile radius of Dan River that serve over 60 citizens.

Incident and Date Damage Occurred / Identified
 
Exceedances of groundwater standards were first documented in November 1993
 
Regulatory Action
 
The North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is aware of existing groundwater contamination at levels that exceed state groundwater standards at the Dan River Plant. However, DENR has not required a corrective action plan to restore contaminated groundwater at the Dan River Plant and has no plans to take action to eliminate the source of contamination until it reaches the "compliance boundary." DENR plans to require groundwater monitoring outside of the compliance boundary upon permit renewal for all coal ash ponds (Henderson, 2010), but this may be difficult in the case of the Dan River Steam Station because its coal ash impoundments abut the Dan River.

Despite evidence of groundwater contamination, DENR has not required Duke Energy to take any remedial action. Under North Carolina law, a company is only required to take cleanup action if contamination is spreading outside of a designated "compliance boundary." As long as Duke Energy continues to monitor only inside the compliance boundary at the Dan River Plant, they will not produce data sufficient to trigger cleanup.
 
Wastes Present
 
Fly ash, bottom ash, boiler slag, and flue gas emission residuals from the Dan River Steam Station (Duke Energy, 2009) IN HARM’S WAY: Lack of Federal Coal Ash Regulations Endangers Americans and Their Environment Damage Case – Dan River Steam Station Page 99



Type(s) of Waste Management Unit
 
Two unlined wet coal ash impoundments and one unlined dry coal ash landfill
 
Active or Inactive Waste Management Unit
 
Two active wet coal ash impoundments and one inactive, capped dry landfill
 
Hydrogeologic Conditions
 
The CCW impoundments abut the Dan River, indicating that shallow off-site groundwater contamination may be diluted. Further hydrogeologic information was unavailable.
 
Additional Narrative
 
The Dan River Steam Station began operation in 1949. The CCW storage imopundment was originally built in 1956, seven years after the plant began operating. The embankment walls were raised in 1967. In 1977, the embankment walls were raised again, and an interior dike was built to divide the impoundment into the two that exist today. It should be noted that the western dike walls of the primary and secondary ash ponds were constructed on top of existing coal ash deposits. The two impoundments together cover 39 acres, with a total storage capacity of 664 acre feet. The impoundments have been periodically dredged and the dredged ash spoils are stored in an unlined dry ash landfill just north of the ponds. The last dredging occurred in 2007. Another dredging is unlikely because the plant is expected to be decommissioned soon.
 
Source(s)
 
Duke Energy & NC DENR. 1993-2008. Dan River Steam Station: Coal Ash Pond Voluntary Monitoring Data.
 
Duke Energy. 2009. Letter from Richard Kinch, Duke Energy to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) , Re: CERCLA 104(e) Request for Information (Mar. 25, 2009), available at http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/nonhaz/industrial/special/fossil/surveys/duke-dan-river.pdf.

Henderson, Bruce. 2010. "State to require monitoring of ash Ponds," Charlotte Observer (Feb. 2, 2010).



NCDENR. 2006. Classifications and Water Quality Standards Applicable to The Groundwaters of North Carolina, 15A N.C. Admin. Code subchpt. 2L §§ .0100, .0200, .0300 (amended Dec. 7, 2006).

NCREDC. North Carolina Rural Economic Development Center (NCREDC), NC Center for Geographic Information & Analysis, Raleigh, NC, 20000320, onemap_prod.SDEADMIN.wwells.

Powers. 2009. R. Powers. Dan River Ash Basin NPDES Permit NC0003468 Waste Review and Compliance Boundary: Duke Energy – Dan River Steam Station, Rockingham County, North Carolina (Apr. 27 2009).

Rizzo. 2009. Paul C. Rizzo Associates, Inc., "Final Report: CCW Impoundments Inspection Report: Dan River Steam Station Rockingham County, North Carolina". (Sept. 2009).
 
USEPA. 2009. Fact Sheet: Coal Combustion Residues (CCR) – Surface Impoundments with High Hazard Potential Ratings. EPA530-F-09-006 (updated Aug. 2009). available at: http://www.epa.gov/osw/nonhaz/industrial/special/fossil/ccrs-fs/index.htm