Duke Energy under fire for more plant violations

Duke Energy has received further citations for the violation of water pollution laws. Some five power plants owned by the utility have been cited for violations, following on from the incident in February that saw coal ash and wastewater leak from a storage pond on a disused site into the Dan River in North Carolina, US.

North Carolina regulators have announced that Duke Energy has violated water pollution laws as more sites throughout the state. This announcement comes only three days after similar action was announced for the incident at the disused Eden power plant. 

Duke Energy came under fire in February when a broken stormwater pipe running under an unlined storage pond allowed around 39,000 tonnes of coal ash and wastewater to spill into the Dan River. The leak caused environmental and health fears.

The new citations from the department of Environmental and Natural Resources, charge the utility for not obtaining permits for storm water, which are required under federal law. This could mean that Duke Energy may face fines of around $25,000 (£14,998) per day for each of the six power plants that are covered under the action. 

According to documents presented in recent court proceedings, the department of Environment and Natural Resources has been seeking to make Duke Energy comply with federal laws at its plants for a number of years. Although the most recent incident happened only a few weeks ago, it appears that the issues with the utilities go back much longer. 

All of Duke Energy's 14 power plants throughout North Carolina have been reviewed since the coal ash spill, which led to the discovery that six do not have storm water permits. These permits are needed in order to protect public waterways from the possibly toxic runoff at industrial sites. The sites include Lee Steam Electric plant, Belews Creek Steam Station, Roxboro Steam Electric Power Plant, Cliffside Steam station, Sutton Steam Electric Plant.