This video will send “coal chills” up and down your spine. The first part is great but don’t miss sections 4:00 through 9:00.
Thank you “We Love Mountain Island Lake”!
Community Meeting
Panel discussion on water quality in Mountain Island Lake
Rusty Rozzelle, Charlotte Mecklenburg Water Quality Manager
Sam Perkins, Director of Technical Programs, Catawba Riverkeeper
Thursday, October 18th
7:30pm
Cook’s Memorial Presbyterian Church
Fellowship Hall
3413 Mt. Holly-Huntersville Road
Charlotte, NC 28216
Unfortunately, this is not just a Mountain Island Lake/Riverbend Coal Fired Incinerator issue! This is a huge NC issue!
Number of Coal Ash Ponds: 37 ponds at 14 plants.
Pond Ratings: 29 ponds in NC have been rated “high hazard”, and 2 have been rated “intermediate hazard.” A high hazard rating means that pond failure will probably cause a loss of human life in addition to economic loss, environmental damage and damage to infrastructure An intermediate hazard rating indicates that a failure at the pond can cause economic loss, environmental damage, or damage to infrastructure.
Age of Ponds: No NC coal ash pond has a composite liner, and only 4 have any liner at all. Only 6 of the 37 ponds have leachate collection systems to capture chemicals before they reach groundwater. 17 ponds are over 40 years old, and 10 are over 30 years old.
Documented Damage at Coal Ash Disposal Sites: There are 13 documented cases of water contamination.
Deficiencies in North Carolina Coal Ash Regulations: Ash ponds constructed before 1994 (at least 21 of North Carolina’s 37 ash ponds) are not required to have caps, liners, or conduct groundwater monitoring. Until 2009, ash pond dams were also exempted from any dam safety inspection under the North Carolina Dam Safety Act of 1967 until the TVA coal ash disaster in Kingston, TN prompted the NC legislature to revise the statue in 2009 with Senate Bill 1004.25 Monitoring at coal ash landfills is discretionary, not mandatory, and landfills are not required to conduct on site groundwater monitoring after closure.
Learn more about the issues at Mountain Island Lake (click below)
