Duke Energy promises to fix Dan River after coal ash leak

[alp227]

Source: Greensboro News & Record

EDEN — Duke Energy crews have plugged the leak that has allowed coal ash to spill into the Dan River for five days, a company official said Friday.

The fix is only a temporary solution. Crews still plan to excavate the coal ash storage pit and permanently close off the stormwater pipe that failed Sunday, sending an estimated 82,000 tons of toxic ash into the adjacent river.

Paul Newton, Duke’s North Carolina utility operations president, apologized to Danville, Va., officials for the spill and said the company would do whatever was necessary to fix the river.

“You have our complete, 100 percent commitment to do it right,” Newton said. “We are accountable and we will make it right.”

Read more: http://www.news-record.com/news/local_news/article_6b8627b2-9028-11e3-b088-001a4bcf6878.html

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Other sources:

Danville (VA) Register-Bee: Duke Energy: We apologize

Charlotte Observer: Duke Energy plant reports coal-ash spill (2/4)

AP: Duke Energy issues apology for NC coal ash spill

[silvershadow]

1. Sounds good. Will it really happen? Who really knows. nt

[Sunlei]

2. they will filter clean the entire river and the entire ocean it empties into?

or just scrape up the muck and mix in dish detergent in hopes that the water 'looks clean'

[Kelvin Mace]

3. It will never happen

They will fight it every step of the way in court.

[bkanderson76]

4. 100 Percent Commitment to Do it Right Will Never Be Right...storm the gates

[Brigid]

5. Yeah, riiiiight.

Sure you're going to make it right. Just like BP did.

[Submariner]

6. Damage is already done and has totaled the natural ecosystem

The coal ash has killed off all the fish, amphibians, and aquatic insects. That sludge scavenges the oxygen out of the water and clogs the gills of fish and aquatic insects (caddisfly, mayfly, water penny, etc). The only thing that can clean that river now is a monster rainstorm runoff event of spring flood proportions to flush it downstream where it will settle and f*ck up that ecosystem too.

This is part of the same crap that causes dead zones at river mouths.

These states with no environmental protection regulations are reaping what they have sowed. Screw them, but I feel bad for the river critters that wiped out by our collective incompetence.

[bluemarkers]

7. sure they will

stupid merge was to keep prices down...

how did that work out?

[armed_and_liberal]

8. The check is in your mouth...

and I won't cum in your mail... Duke as they always do will tie this up in court for the next decade.

[stg81]

9. they'll be pissing and moaning 3 days from now about all the "bogus"

reports of contamination requests for cleanup

[paleotn]

10. Seems we've been here before....

...but it doesn't seem to be as large as the fly ash slurry disaster in TN back in 2008. At least I've not heard Duke spout the same "coal ash isn't harmful" bullshit TVA initially used. It's not just the coal ash that's harmful. A significant amount of heavy metals are emitted from coal plant stacks, to the point that nearly every lake in the southeast has fish consumption warnings due to mercury contamination directly linked to utilities burning coal for electricity generation. Damn shame since it use to be we didn't have to worry about such things.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/27/us/27sludge.html

http://www.chattanoogan.com/2008/12/25/141420/Environmentalists-Concerned-On-Effects.aspx

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/30/us/30sludge.html?_r=1&em

[blkmusclmachine]

11. Too bad we don't have an EPA, or any authority to bring polluters under control.

[Doctor_J]

12. let's incarcerate the CEO and entire board of directors until it's done

That should help them maintain their focus

[Brigid]

13. Me likey.

Me likey very much.

[silvershadow]

14. No doubt their customers will pay for it. I can't imagine they will take a brazillian $ hit to the

balance sheet just out of corporate goodwill or a sense of corporate responsibility.

[Leontius]

16. Some of the cost may be passed down to Va customers but not all.

We still have energy regulations in Va so they can't just raise prices without permission from the state commission.

[riversedge]

15. umm...