Following coal ash spill, federal probe into ties between North Carolina government and Duke Energy expands Standing outside the Duke Energy Center in Charlotte, North Carolina Tuesday, roughly one hundred protesters chanted, "Shame!"—scolding the company responsible for last month's coal ash spill into the Dan River.
Comments: I agree 110 percent: " "We are here to say no more. No more coal ash in unlined ponds. No more leaks that seep into our drinking waters. No more stalling. No more excuses. No more hiding behind political allies. "
NC: Where the Politics are as Murky as Coal-Polluted Water -
The utility has fallen under increased scrutiny since a federal investigation was initiated into the ties between the administration of North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory (R) and the utility company where he worked for 28 years.
Earlier this month, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Raleigh issued subpoenas to Duke Energy and the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), demanding all documents related to the Dan River spill. The probe was expanded last week, when subpoenas were issued to 18 state water-quality officials calling for all communications with Duke going back to 2009 as well as any payments and gifts from the company.
Further, NCDENR received another subpoena for "ash-related records for all 14 of Duke’s active and retired coal-fired plants in the state," the Charlotte Observer reports. Reporting on the probe, MSNBC's Rachel Maddow noted last week that investigators “appear to be looking to see if anyone got paid off by Duke Energy when they were working for Pat McCrory’s administration to supposedly regulate Duke Energy.”
"These close ties between industry and government, we see that a lot throughout Appalachia," Eric Chance, water quality specialist for the environmental watchdog Appalachian Voices, told Common Dreams. In coal producing states, he continued, "environmental regulatory agencies are pretty much there to do the bidding of the industries they are supposed to regulate."
Chance added that he was glad the ties between government and industry were "getting some attention" with the North Carolina investigation. Amid this backdrop of corruption allegations, Gov. McCrory and John Skvarla, Secretary of DENR, sent a strongly worded letter to Duke CEO Lynn Good Tuesday calling for all coal ash ponds to be moved away from the state's water resources. In response to the letter, Amy Adams, North Carolina campaign coordinator for Appalachian Voices, told Common Dreams, "we look forward to McCrory following through on the letter and removing this toxic coal ash from our waterways." She added for emphasis, "we look forward to this action taking place."
Adams was one of the organizers behind Tuesday's demonstration, during which protesters delivered a petition of 9,000 signatures demanding that Duke assume responsibility for the spill by removing the coal ash from the Dan River and to not pass on the costs to utility customers. "We are here to say no more. No more coal ash in unlined ponds. No more leaks that seep into our drinking waters. No more stalling. No more excuses. No more hiding behind political allies.
We are here to draw the line, Duke," Adams told the crowd. It is now estimated that 35 million gallons of coal ash and contaminated wastewater—enough to fill 53 Olympic-sized swimming pools—spilled into the Dan River from the Duke storage pond, after a team of Wake Forest University researchers flew a drone over the contaminated waterway Tuesday. -
See more at: http://thecontributor.com/environment/nc-where-politics-are-murky-coal-polluted-water#sthash.mca7ls2O.dpuf
Drone shows new view of energy coal ash spill
Date:
February 25, 2014
Source:
Wake Forest University
Summary:
Aerial images captured by a drone aircraft provide a new look at the extent of contaminants leaked into a North Carolina river from a Duke Energy coal ash dump as concerns about water pollution grow and a federal criminal investigation continues.
erial images captured by a drone aircraft provide a new look at the extent of contaminants leaked into a North Carolina river from a Duke Energy coal ash dump as concerns about water pollution grow and a federal criminal investigation continues.
A drone aircraft operated by researchers at Wake Forest University's Center for Energy, Environment and Sustainability collected data that shows how many million gallons of arsenic-contaminated water and ash spilled into the Dan River in Eden, N.C., after the initial pipe burst.
Wake Forest biology professor Miles Silman and a team of researchers, who are not affiliated with Duke Energy, used images taken from the drone to create a 3D model of the ash pond spill site. A video of their high-resolution model clearly depicts where ash washed out from the pond basin and where the water line was when the pond emptied. To see the video visit the following link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ecsAaQei2M
Using their model and existing aerial images of the pond taken before the spill, the researchers estimated that 16-20 million gallons of ash and water spilled out of the pond on Feb. 2, with up to 15 million gallons being released in subsequent days.
"We think we have a precise estimate of the ash and water slurry that flowed out of the pond based on our methodology. The uncertainty comes from the amount of water that continued to drain from the ash, which is a question for hydrologists," Silman said. "Our work provides an independent estimate of the spill."
The researchers have released all of their observations and data to Duke Energy, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the North Carolina Department of Environmental Resources, the Southern Environmental Law Center, The North Carolina River Keepers, and the Dan River Basin Association.
"We want to be completely transparent in this," Silman said. "Our goal is to help stakeholders deal with the spill and its consequences, and show the technology as a cheap and cost-effective way to monitor the environment."
To create their model, Silman and biology graduate student Max Messinger attached a camera to their unmanned aircraft and flew a grid-like pattern over the ash pond taking pictures at regular intervals.
"The software uses multiple camera viewpoints to build the 3D model, in much the same way that your brain infers 3D structure using your two eyes," Messinger said. "Once the 3D model is constructed you can then navigate through it as if you were there."
In the future, Messinger said drones could be used to monitor similar incidents.
"We are currently working on methodology to put this approach into play elsewhere," he said. "It could be an effective means to monitor the extent of environmental contamination in the case of similar incidents."
Wake Forest biology professor Miles Silman and a team of researchers, who are not affiliated with Duke Energy, used images taken from the drone to create a 3D model of the ash pond spill site. A video of their high-resolution model clearly depicts where ash washed out from the pond basin and where the water line was when the pond emptied. To see the video visit the following link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ecsAaQei2M
Using their model and existing aerial images of the pond taken before the spill, the researchers estimated that 16-20 million gallons of ash and water spilled out of the pond on Feb. 2, with up to 15 million gallons being released in subsequent days.
"We think we have a precise estimate of the ash and water slurry that flowed out of the pond based on our methodology. The uncertainty comes from the amount of water that continued to drain from the ash, which is a question for hydrologists," Silman said. "Our work provides an independent estimate of the spill."
The researchers have released all of their observations and data to Duke Energy, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the North Carolina Department of Environmental Resources, the Southern Environmental Law Center, The North Carolina River Keepers, and the Dan River Basin Association.
"We want to be completely transparent in this," Silman said. "Our goal is to help stakeholders deal with the spill and its consequences, and show the technology as a cheap and cost-effective way to monitor the environment."
To create their model, Silman and biology graduate student Max Messinger attached a camera to their unmanned aircraft and flew a grid-like pattern over the ash pond taking pictures at regular intervals.
"The software uses multiple camera viewpoints to build the 3D model, in much the same way that your brain infers 3D structure using your two eyes," Messinger said. "Once the 3D model is constructed you can then navigate through it as if you were there."
In the future, Messinger said drones could be used to monitor similar incidents.
"We are currently working on methodology to put this approach into play elsewhere," he said. "It could be an effective means to monitor the extent of environmental contamination in the case of similar incidents."
Story Source:
The above story is based on materials provided by Wake Forest University. The original article was written by Will Ferguson. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
The above story is based on materials provided by Wake Forest University. The original article was written by Will Ferguson. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
