Duke Energy fined record $25.1M for Sutton Plant contamination

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — State regulators have fined Duke Energy a record $25.1 million for groundwater contamination from coal ash at the Sutton Plant in New Hanover County.

“Today’s enforcement action continues the aggressive approach this administration has taken on coal ash,” NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Donald van der Vaart said in a statement. “In addition to holding the utility accountable for past contamination we have found across the state, we are also moving expeditiously to remove the threat to our waterways and groundwater from coal ash ponds statewide.”

DENR determined that Duke Energy allowed a host of coal ash contaminants to leach into the groundwater at the Sutton Plant off US 421 north of Wilmington for several years, in at least a few cases.

Duke has 30 days to respond to the fine and can appeal. The company could face more fines for violations at other facilities it owns across the state.

“We are working quickly to close ash basins, including those at Sutton, which will help address impacts to groundwater. We hope DENR will move soon to provide the necessary approvals so we can begin moving ash at Sutton and other sites,” Duke Energy said in a statement. “We have no indication of any off-site groundwater impacts that would pose a health concern for neighbors that have not already been addressed.”

Duke also faces federal criminal charges for coal ash pollution at some of its other facilities. The company said earlier this year it plans to settle the case by paying more than $100 million in fines and restitution. Duke has said those costs would come from shareholders and not passed on to its customers.

To determine the civil penalty, state officials used data from water samples of monitoring wells at the facility’s compliance boundaries and multiplied the number of days each individual contaminant leached into groundwater.

In the case of the thallium, for instance, state officials determined that Duke allowed the pollutant to leach into groundwater at the Sutton facility for 1,668 days. State officials multiplied 1,668 by a civil penalty allowed by law of $5,000 per day. The result was a fine of $8,340,000 for thallium alone. Pollutants that are considered a greater public health risk, including thallium, selenium, arsenic and boron, carried heavier penalties than other pollutants, state officials said. The state’s investigative costs totaled $8,883.61.

In all DENR fined the utility today $25,116,883.61.

The state constitution gives the money from the fine to a statewide fund for public education.