Metal Pipe That Collapsed Only One, Said Duke, Then Admits To Eight More At Other Waste Sites

RALEIGH — Duke Energy has found eight more corrugated metal pipes at power plants that store coal ash, after telling state regulators that the pipe that collapsed at its Dan River facility in early February was the only one made of the weaker material.

Wednesday’s public disclosure came as the utility’s growing coal-ash problem in North Carolina was also becoming Gov. Pat McCrory’s problem. More than 100 people protested outside the Executive Mansion in Raleigh, demanding McCrory take stronger action to force the utility to clean up and prevent future disasters. And a national environmental organization has made a major purchase of TV ads laying the Dan River coal ash spill squarely at the governor’s doorstep.

EDIT

Previously, Duke officials had said the 48-inch concrete and corrugated metal pipe that collapsed beneath the Dan River facility’s coal ash pond was the only one. A second pipe, made out of concrete sections, also ran under the Dan River plant’s pond and a video camera inspection last month revealed it was leaking into the river. The company still says that those two pipes are the only ones that run under coal ash ponds.

The newly disclosed corrugated metal pipes had over the years been approved as part of the plants’ operations. The pipes form an L-shaped system that divert coal ash pond overflows into other basins or into nearby rivers. Some amount of wastewater is allowed to be discharged at safe levels, and is regulated by federal permits that the state implements.

http://www.thetimesnews.com/news/region-state/duke-finds-more-corrugated-pipes-as-public-sentiment-rises-1.287209