What Does The NC Senate Want To Do About The State鈥檚 Toxic Coal Ash Ponds?

Politics

Tom Augspurger, USFWS, taking core sample as EPA's Alan Humphrey documents the ash bar during February 8th reconnaissance of Dan River coal ash spill. Photo by Sara Ward, USFWS..

The Latest News On The Coal Ash Spill in Eden, NC

Coal ash is the waste that remains when coal is burned. It is usually collected in a dump, known as a pond. North Carolina has more than 30 such sites in 14 different locations across the state. A pipe running under one of the ponds run by Duke Energy in Eden NC ruptured in February of 2014. The coal ash spilled, largely affecting the Dan River which flows into Virginia. The spill is the third largest of its kind in U.S. history.Many see potential complications because North Carolina's governor, Pat McCrory, worked for Duke Energy for 28 years.

What Does The NC Senate Want To Do About The State鈥檚 Toxic Coal Ash Ponds?

吉彩网网站 | By Jorge Valencia

Published May 15, 2014 at 5:00 AM EDT

The cleanup for the 2008 Tennessee coal ash disaster. Image taken March 2012.

The first piece of legislation leaders of the North Carolina Senate introduced in this summer鈥檚 legislative session looks at Duke Energy鈥檚 33 coal ash ponds across the state.

That means that on Wednesday, their first day in session this year, the senate鈥檚 Republican leadership sent a clear signal that it鈥檚 a priority for them to resolve the state鈥檚 issue of toxic coal ash dumps. What they didn't send was a clear picture of how they want to resolve it.

The ponds, which for decades Duke Energy has used to dispose of ash waste from coal-burning energy plants, became an issue in February, when roughly 39,000 tons of ash drained from a pond near the Virginia-North Carolina line into the Dan River.

In April, Gov. Pat McCrory, who worked for Duke Energy for 28 years before his first bid for governor in 2007, said he wanted to pass a law that required Duke to remove the coal ash within 90 days from four of its ponds -- Riverbend west of Charlotte, Sutton in Wilmington, Asheville and the Dan River plant that spilled ash.

Some Democratic lawmakers, who are in the minority in the state Senate and House of Representatives, and observers, including the Southern Environmental Law Center and NC WARN, criticized the governor鈥檚 proposal for three reasons: , the governor has historical ties with the company, and environmental advocates want Duke to remove all of the coal ash from all of its ponds and lock it in dry locations far from any waterways. (.)

The issue especially got the attention of the senate鈥檚 most influential leader, President Pro-Tem Phil Berger of Eden, because the Danville River spill was in the district he represents. On Wednesday, he and Senate Appropriations Chair Tom Apodaca, of Henderson, submitted McCrory鈥檚 proposal as their coal ash bill.

The bill, , sets aside $1.4 million for 19 staff positions at the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to oversee coal ash clean up. But how much further do the senators want to require from Duke? Neither senator specified on Wednesday. In an interview, Apodaca said: 鈥淭his is a good place to start.鈥�