Tag: Coal ash
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Billions for Coal Ash Cleanup — for What Benefit?
by James A. Bacon The cost of cleaning up coal ash at Dominion Energy’s old coal-fired power plants will run between $2.4 billion and $5.7 billion, the company said at a presentation to the State Water Control Board yesterday. Disposal costs could add $5 to the monthly bill of typical households over the next 15…
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You May Pay A North Carolinian’s Coal Ash Costs
The cost to Dominion Energy Virginia customers for recycling coal ash or moving it into more secure landfills is growing, because the proposed bill now recognizes that Dominion’s North Carolina electricity customers cannot be forced to pay by the Virginia General Assembly or the State Corporation Commission. This phrase has been added to the current…
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The Coal Ash Deal: More Proof that Virginia Is Becoming New Jersey
A deal cooked up between Governor Ralph Northam and legislative leaders, with the support of environmental groups and the acquiescence of Dominion Energy, will require Dominion to excavate coal ash ponds at four of its power plants, recycle at least 6.8 million cubic yards, and move the rest to modern landfills. The requirement, according to…
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A Third Way for Coal Ash Disposal
By Dominion Energy’s most recent estimate, it will cost between $2.77 billion and $3.36 billion to recycle the utility’s 30 million tons of coal ash or bury it in synthetically lined landfills — as much as $2 billion more than burying it in place. Environmental groups say the risk is justified to offset the risk that…
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Rage, Ruin, And You Pay The Bill In Full
I hear hurricanes a blowin’ And I know the end is coming soon I fear rivers overflowing I hear the voice for rage and ruin Bad Moon Rising, Credence Clearwater Revival The acronym we all must learn for the 2019 General Assembly session is “CCR,” but it doesn’t stand for Credence Clearwater Revival. Coal combustion…
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Coal Ash: How Much Risk Mitigation Does $5.7 Billion Buy?
Governor Ralph Northam has indicated his support for digging up 27 million cubic yards of coal ash, recycling some of it, and disposing of the rest in lined landfills far from Virginia’s rivers and streams. The cost has been estimated at $5.7 billion, adding an average $3.30 per month to the average household’s electric bill…
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Yes, “Blatant Fear Mongering” Is a Fair Description
A new report by the Southern Environmental Law Center finds that pollution from Dominion Energy’s Chesterfield Power Station may be leading to an increased health risk for some of the 200,000 visitors to the nearby Dutch Gap Conservation Area. States a press release announcing the release of the study: There are elevated noncancer hazards and…
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Yeah, Recycling, Landfilling Coal Ash Will Cost Billions
Under the gun to clean up its coal ash ponds, Dominion Energy hired a consulting firm to develop estimates of what various alternatives would cost. The alternatives preferred by environmentalists and activists — recycling the combustion residue and burying the rest in lined landfills far from rivers and streams — would cost billions of dollars,…
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Coal Ash Lessons from Hurricane Florence
Last month pounding rains from Hurricane Florence eroded a Duke Energy landfill, releasing some 2,000 cubic yards of soil and coal ash. Although Duke declared that the majority of displaced ash was collected in a ditch and haul road surrounding the landfill, North Carolina news media reported the “possible release” of material into the L.V.…
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Bacon Bits: In with the New, Out with the Old
In with the new… Data Center Alley too hot to handle. The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) has sold 424 acres west of Dulles International Airport to data-center developer Digital Realty Trust for an eye-popping $236.5 million — $558,000 per acre. MWAA will place $207 million in a segregated account used to reduce costs that…
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Eat My (Coal) Dust!
In a possible early-warning sign of what may be in store for Virginia electricity consumers, North Carolina regulators have decided that Duke Energy could charge their Tarheel rate payers the first $778 million chunk of an estimated $5 billion in coal-ash cleanup costs. The sum does not include $100 million in two mismanagement penalties for…
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Tarheel Coal Ash Data Could Inform Virginia Debate
Last week I argued that Virginians need more information about the disposal costs and health risks associated with coal ash ponds before the General Assembly rushes ahead with a law requiring Virginia’s electric utilities to recycle and/or landfill their coal ash. Some of that data could come from the experience of Duke Energy in North…
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Virginia Wallowing in Ignorance about Coal Ash
Sen. Amanda Chase, R-Chesterfield, has co-sponsored legislation that would require Dominion Energy to remove more than 25 million tons of coal ash from its Chesterfield, Bremo, Possum Point and Chesapeake power stations, reports the Chesterfield Observer. Senate Bill 1398, introduced by Sen. Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax, applies to any owner or operator of a “coal combustion residuals unit.”…
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Weighing the Coal Ash Options
Meeting EPA deadlines constrains Dominion’s options for disposing of coal ash at four of its power stations. Under Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rules published in 2014, Dominion Virginia Energy must find a way to safely dispose of nearly 30 million tons of coal ash within 15 years. After intense controversy over how best to proceed,…
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Anyone Remember the Coal Ash De-watering Controversy?
Environmental controversies are flying so fast and furious in Virginia these days that it’s hard to keep track of them all. As for last year’s disputations, they are quickly forgotten. Remember, for instance, the wrangling over Dominion Energy’s plans for de-watering coal ash ponds at its Bremo and Possum Point power stations? After intense negotiations,…