Chapel Hill proposes building a government services complex on the coal ash pile with minimal protective measures. We find the present agreement does not protect public health and the environment for the following reasons. The NC Dept of the Environment is taking comments on the plan until cob Tuesday, July 30 (not Wednesday, July 31, as originally stated).  Send your comments on the plan to bruce.nicholson@deq.nc.gov
When you send your comments on the draft plan to Brad Nicholson, NC DEQ, and copy the Chapel Hill mayorandcouncil@townofchapelhill.org . 

1. Coal ash is unstable, as a recent sinkhole confirms.

The draft agreement doesn’t require removing any coal ash. Instead, it would just cover the coal ash with a layer of dirt. However, the Southern Environmental Law Center and Friends of Bolin Creek have provided the town with numerous examples over the years illustrating that coal ash is unstable and prone to sinkholes and collapses. This has been happening in Mooresville, NC, and at other sites around the country. And now, it has happened at the coal ash site in Chapel Hill: a large sinkhole opened in a drainage ditch on the property. This illustrates that leaving unstable coal ash in place — let alone allowing people and buildings on the site — is too dangerous for Chapel Hill. [See photo from the interim measures report–it’s PDF page 63 here: https://www.townofchapelhill.org/home/showpublisheddocument/56028/638539591516030000]

It appears that the town and its consultant did not investigate why the sinkhole opened and whether other areas on the property are prone to similar failures. Instead, they just filled it in with rocks and covered it with dirt. This is not a responsible, safe approach, and it indicates that the town’s current agreement and plan to cover the coal ash with dirt will not ensure the public and natural environment are safe.

In addition, the retaining wall proposed in the agreement runs along the Bolin Creek floodplain and comes up to the base of the steep slope of coal ash. This presents another long-term stability risk, especially as climate change leads to more frequent and severe flooding. Leaving the ash in place contained by a proposed retaining wall next to a stream prone to flooding poses an unacceptable risk to water quality and public health.

DEQ should mandate that Chapel Hill remove the coal ash from this eroding steep slope. Witness how a recent hurricane swept away coal ash.

2. The coal ash poses unacceptable health risks.

The proposed agreement is based on outdated information. We submitted updated risk information from the EPA, which shows far greater risks from arsenic and radiation in coal ash than was previously understood. A leading Duke University scientist (Dr. Avner Vengosh) has found high levels of radium in the coal ash in Chapel Hill, and the EPA found that radiation from coal ash seeps through dirt covers.

Even though the agreement does not take all these risks into account, the most recent risk calculations found unacceptable health risks for people recreating on-site. That’s all the more reason not to leave the ash in place for greenspaces and potentially a playground. DEQ should require the town to update its studies and remove the coal ash and contaminated soil that present health risks.

3. The agreement’s reliance on land use restrictions is insufficient — DEQ should require a cleanup.

The agreement would leave all the coal ash in place and allow a playground and green spaces where children and pets can play in the dirt.

The draft agreement takes the approach that “land use controls”—deed restrictions that don’t allow the soil to be dug up or groundwater use—will address any problems. But kids and pets don’t read those documents, and we’ve collected many examples of dirt covers that have eroded or otherwise been disturbed, in addition to structural failures and spills.

To illustrate the problem, DEQ says their expert confirms the town has done a good job of keeping people off the contaminated areas of the property. However, the photo of the child’s bike next to the sinkhole confirms this is false, and the DEQ assessment is not credible. The approach in the agreement doesn’t keep people, animals, and the environment safe: dirt covers around the country have regularly eroded and gotten disturbed, exposing coal ash.

4. Steps that would improve public safety in the draft Agreement:

• DEQ should require the town to remove all areas of coal ash and contaminated soil above the most protective health standards.
• DEQ should require the town to remove the eroding steep slope of coal ash above the Bolin Creek trail. This area has had continued erosion and stormwater problems.
• Require continuous monitoring of groundwater wells, soil, and stream health of Bolin Creek, which flows into Jordan Lake, a regional source of drinking water.

The proposed agreement is unacceptable because it does not protect the public and the environment from the severe risks of coal ash pollution. Problematic areas of coal ash should be removed, not covered with dirt, because children, animals, and the public should not be exposed to these risks.

Site Map

Post by Julie McClintock summarizes comments from NIck Torrey, SELC
See Press Release. https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:US:b57796c7-26ed-45ce-acab-18548c96f855