Reposted by author from AC Pharos, an Economic Injustice Newsletter.
My family currently lives on ancestral land in Eden, NC. It was a number of acres owned by my great great grandfather, Lewis Harrison. It was obtained from his mother, Mariah. Upon me and my family returning from the Thanksgiving holiday, we had received a permit for building a coal ash dump not too far from my backyard in a place by along Dan River called Sharpe Farm.
Since the coal ash spill in February 2014, Duke Energy has pledged to remove the coal ash but intends to create another dump in Eden, NC. Sharpe Farm was purchased by Duke Power long before they received the permit to build, some 3-4 years prior.
A year ago we had been passing paper petitions to stop the dump, as this is an older community. Things went quiet for a year but clearly our former Governor McCrory, also a former Duke Power employee, pushed the permit before he finally conceded from office in a recent "bloodless coup". He has a detailed history of catering to Duke Power,
which was many of the reasons why he was voted out of the office [8].
Despite the danger, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has also failed to act. After months aggravated delay,
the EPA gave coal ash waste the same classification as household trash [7]. This has lead to further misinformation that continues to endanger the public. This calls for a review by the OSG. This is a matter of public health. We must educate and protect our communities.
- http://wunc.org/post/coal-ash-carolina-three-important-questions
- http://www.publicintegrity.org/2014/12/19/16549/coal-ash-no-worse-everyday-trash-epa-rules
- http://www.publicintegrity.org/2015/03/11/16868/duke-energy-fined-251-million-groundwater-damage-coal-ash
- http://www.southernstudies.org/2014/05/is-a-duke-energy-power-plant-making-nearby-residen.html
- http://earthjustice.org/sites/default/files/nc-coal-ash-factsheet-1112.pdf
- http://www.followthemoney.org/show-me?d-eid=856&s=NC#[{3|gro=,c-r-ot
- http://www.publicintegrity.org/2014/12/19/16549/coal-ash-no-worse-everyday-trash-epa-rules
- http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/article1097