NC to mandate monitoring of water at ash ponds

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — North Carolina environmental officials are ordering Duke Energy to start checking groundwater around ash ponds at its coal-fired power plants for potentially toxic metals.

The Charlotte Observer reported Wednesday that Duke has found contaminated groundwater near its ash ponds and regulators want to know if the problem has spread to neighboring sites.

The North Carolina Division of Water Quality will for the first time make Duke Energy test groundwater at its three Charlotte-area coal plants to see if it toxins are reaching local lakes.

Coal ash is left after coal is burned to generate electricity. The failure of a dam buried a Tennessee community in ash sludge in 2008, and state and federal enforcers are tightening their oversight.

Information from: The Charlotte Observer

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