It doesn't look as bad if you don't look at it
A total of 117 water well test results were mailed to the neighbors of Duke Energy's coal ash ponds, and 87 of those test results say that the
well water is contaminated.
In nearly all cases, DENR said, the well water would still meet federal standards for municipal water supplies. But health warnings included with many of the results advised that the water not be used for drinking or cooking.
The result: More uncertainty about whether the contaminants came from coal ash or occurred naturally. And confusion, environmental advocates say, about how to interpret the test results.
Advising someone not to drink or cook with water means
something about that water, doesn't it? If you want to refresh yourself on Duke Energy's environmental achievements, look no further than the
Dan River spill. However, Duke is quick to point out that just because the water is contaminated doesn't mean that they have
anything to do with it.
Duke said it believes the contaminants are naturally occurring.
“Based on the test results we’re reviewed thus far, we have no indication that Duke Energy plant operations have influenced neighbors’ well water,” the company said in a statement.
Duke said none of the private wells held elevated levels of two ash elements, boron and sulfates, that migrate through groundwater more quickly than other elements. They serve as indicators of ash contamination.
Yes, but:
Environmental advocates say that doesn’t explain the vanadium that, according to The Associated Press, was reported in private wells around Duke’s Buck power plant near Salisbury. [...]
“Despite public records showing large amount of vanadium disposed of by Duke Energy, DENR and Duke didn’t test for it in groundwater until we pushed them to do so,” said the Southern Environmental Law Center, which represents advocacy groups that have sued Duke over ash.
A big problem here is that North Carolina's Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is
half a disaster as well.
Over the last year, environmental groups have tried three times to use the federal Clean Water Act to force Duke Energy to clear out leaky coal ash dumps like the one that ruptured last week, spewing enough toxic sludge into a North Carolina river to fill 73 Olympic-sized pools.
Each time, they say, their efforts have been stymied — by the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
DENR assistant secretary
Tom Reeder is not doing much to assuage the accusations that have been levied against the agency over the years either.
The department said iron, manganese and pH were the elements that most often broke the standards. All are found naturally in soil and groundwater, but are also found in coal ash. [...]
Reeder said tests are underway to learn what metals occur naturally in the soil and groundwater around the power plants. That, combined with analysis of the extent of tainted groundwater, will determine what contaminants came from ash.
“We’ll have a good idea in a couple of months and a more definite answer by fall,” he said.
So, should people drink the water or not? Here's some more of Duke Energy's track record to mull over while you
make your decision.