Environmental groups want dam hazard ratings raised at Sutton Lake

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Environmental groups have asked state regulators to raise the dam hazard ratings for the coal ash dams at Duke Energy’s L.V. Sutton Plant in New Hanover County.

The Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) sent the letter to the NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) last week on behalf of Cape Fear River Watch, the Sierra Club and Waterkeeper Alliance.

In the letter, SELC asks for the hazard rating be raised from low to high for the dams at Sutton Lake off US 421 north of Wilmington. SELC cites an internal DENR communication it says includes reasons for the low hazard ratings that are “mistaken.” Among those reasons are a conclusion that coal ash does not contain “toxins at a level dangerous to humans or animals.” SELC points out that is contrary to the state’s own statements and actions in the wake of the Dan River coal ash spill earlier this year.

SELC also says DENR has received evidence for years of selenium contamination in Sutton Lake that has led to deformities and death among fish in the lake, and that toxins have leached into groundwater near the Sutton Plant. It also argues the power company was authorized to create the lake as a cooling pond and not a wastewater treatment facility.

A DENR spokesman has not yet returned a request for comment.