Duke Energy said last week that it has begun submitting groundwater assessments to the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources (NCDENR) for each of the company's 14 coal plants statewide, in an effort to protect groundwater from coal-ash pollution.
The reports will be used by both the company and the state amid the current coal-ash crackdown. The first set of assessments includes the L.V. Sutton Energy Complex in Wilmington, the H.F. Lee Energy Complex in Goldsboro and the W.H. Weatherspoon Plant in Lumberton.
The company said assessments for its 11 remaining North Carolina facilities are expected to be submitted in September. Based on assessments that have been completed, the company said water quality has not been affected by ash-basin facilities near Cape Fear and the Lumber and Neuse rivers.
Over the course of the next 90 days, the company will be collecting additional samples and utilizing computer models to expand understanding of groundwater conditions and how they are predicted to change over time to determine which practices will be necessary to prevent any potential future threat to the water's usability.
The company serves approximately 7.3 million electricity customers in the Midwest and the southeastern U.S. across six states.
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