LOCAL IMPACT

DUKE ENERGY DUMPS COAL ASH

Coal Ash is the waste produced by factories when burning coal. The dumping sites for this waste are disproportionately located near low income communities in North Carolina, and sometimes runoff from these sites ends up in local water sources. In 2018, Duke Energy paid a $156,000 fine as penalty for polluting the waters near its power plants in North Carolina. Environmental groups, including Mountain True in Asheville, called for action against Duke Energy. After the massive leak into the Dan River in 2014, North Carolina groups grew concerned with Duke Energy’s lack of communication regarding their hazardous materials. Coal ash can be harmful when inhaled and can contribute to groundwater pollution if the proper precautions are not taken to insure its containment.  

MOUNTAIN ENERGY POLLUTES FRENCH BROAD RIVER

In February of 2018, a storage tank from Mountain Energy leaked a reported 1,000 to 4,000 gallons of fuel into the French Broad River near Asheville. The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services, among others, recommended that the public avoid contact with the river from the River Arts District to the town of Marshall until it was cleaned and declared safe.