Duke Energy has reached an agreement with the EPA about the cleanup of its massive coal ash spill on the Dan River. The agreement formalizes the cleanup activities already underway after February’s spill of an estimated 39,000 tons of ash and includes ongoing monitoring and post-cleanup assessment. It also provides penalties of up to $8,000 per day if the company doesn’t follow the conditions. Duke agreed to pay the EPA’s costs for responding to the spill, estimated at $1 million so far. The agreement is filed under the federal Superfund hazardous sites law.
Duke is also facing a stockholder suit over its potential liability for spills at its other coal ash depositories. The complaint by shareholders Edward Tansey and the Police Retirement System of St. Louis alleges management exposed the company to billions in liability over its coal ash storage methods.
The suit was filed in the Court of Chancery in Delaware, where Duke is incorporated. It claims that Duke officials were aware of the risk of coal ash contamination from its stock piles and settling ponds. It seeks to force the company to eliminate ash contamination, as well as unspecified damages and changes in how Duke handles the waste.
Meanwhile, a North Carolina House bill filed last week aims to force Duke to clean up its most dangerous coals ash ponds within the next five years. House Bill 1226, introduced by Democratic lawmakers, includes a long list of coal ash regulations, including a moratorium on accepting more coal ash starting this summer.
Most notable about the bill is a provision denying the company the ability to recover remediation costs from customers. In addition to stopping new coal ash deliveries, the bill calls for all coal ash storage ponds to be closed by 2029 and the most dangerous coal ash ponds cleaned up by 2019.
More: The Charlotte Observer; News & Observer; News & Record
AEP May Sell Midwest Generation Portfolio
American Electric Power Company is reportedly pondering the sale of its Midwestern power plants, becoming the second large generation owner, after Duke, to exit the Midwest regional generating business.
CEO Nick Atkins told Bloomberg that because of the paucity of long-term power purchasers, which bring certainty to merchant plants, the company could decide to concentrate almost exclusively on its regulated businesses, with their guaranteed rates of return.
Duke is seeking to sell 13 plants that produce 6,600 MW. AEP owns more than 10,000 MW of generation, valued at about $3 billion. The company said a final decision on whether to sell should come by the end of the year.
More: Columbus Business First
Oyster Creek Chlorine Leak Ruled Minor
Exelon’s aging Oyster Creek nuclear power station last Wednesday reported a leak of chlorine used to control algae near the plant’s water intakes, but the plant remained at full power, authorities said. The “unusual event” was declared at 10:30 a.m. and ended an hour later, according to Nuclear Regulatory Commission spokesman Neil Sheehan. No one was hurt. Oyster Creek is scheduled to be retired in 2019.
More: NJ.Com
Susquehanna 1 Refueling Done
But Turbine Work Needed
PPL’s Susquehanna Unit 1 will remain offline indefinitely while the company investigates the cause of turbine issues the unit experienced a year ago. The refueling and scheduled maintenance outage work on the 1,260-MW Unit 1 was done last week, but the plant on the Susquehanna River will stay cold while engineers inspect the low-pressure steam turbine. The company did not say when it would return to service.
Unit 1’s turbines have been inspected five times since 2011. Unit 2’s turbines have been inspected at least six times, most recently in March. Unit 2 remains operating at full power, according to the NRC.
More:Reuters