Chapel Hill hopes to build affordable housing on top of toxic coal ash. Will they be able to safely?

A large mound of toxic coal ash sits right across from the Chapel Hill Police Department, looming over residents who walk the greenway along Bolin Creek.

Posted 8:55 p.m. Mar 29, 2022 — Updated 2:07 p.m. Apr 21, 2022

Maggie Brown

, WRAL multiplatform producer; Joe Fisher, WRAL reporter

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — A large mound of toxic coal ash sits on the same land as the Chapel Hill Police Department, looming over residents who walk along the Bolin Creek Greenway.

But the hill filled with black dust and overgrown brush is more than just an eyesore. Coal ash, a product of power plants, is made up of metals like arsenic, lead and mercury — all of which have been proven to cause serious health issues.

Long-term exposure to the ash can lead to an increased risk of chronic respiratory issues, behavioral issues and cancers, research shows.

The pollution has been on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard for 50 years or longer, according to town officials. Much of the 10-acre piece of land was used as a trash pit where residents and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill dumped waste.

Even though the town acquired the land in the 80s, officials only recently discovered how much radioactive material was in their possession. The land is filled with more than 60,000 cubic yards of coal ash — enough to fill roughly 18 Olympic swimming pools — according to a 2017 estimate by a town contractor.

Exposed coal ash near the Chapel Hill Police Department. Photo taken March 24, 2022.

Should people live on top of coal ash?

As the price of land increases, the slice of prime property in the town's possession has become increasingly more valuable.

“We are in desperate need of housing in our community," said Chapel Hill Mayor Pam Hemminger. "It’s a great location for residential if that’s the path we vote to take.”

This month, the town council approved a memorandum of understanding and will soon begin the process of developing on top of the land filled with toxic waste. The document outlines the town's preference for adding low-income and mixed-income housing and building a new municipal office on the property.

Adam Searing, the lone council member opposed to the development, is concerned about the possible impact that the coal ash will have on future residents, particularly children.

Adam Searing, councilman in Chapel Hill stands outside of the large mound of coal ash near his home in Chapel Hill.

Research published by the Environmental Protection Agency shows that children are affected by the toxins even when exposed to low levels of them in the air.

"We don’t want to go ahead and build housing, especially family housing, on something we know is not good for the environment and not good for people who live near it," Searing said. "It’s just makes no sense whatsoever.”

Hemminger said state law prevents the town from building single-family homes or townhouses on the property due to the possibility of digging and exposure to the coal ash, which is why the town is only considering apartment buildings.

Removing all the coal ash could cost up to $16 million and send ash flying into the air, according to the town. Instead, Chapel Hill plans to cap the coal ash with three to four feet of clean soil and build a retaining wall to prevent the ash from further falling into a nearby creek that's connected to the town's water supply.

The mound of ash on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard sits behind the site of the town's police department.

"It could spill into the creek. It could blow in the air as they are scooping it up," Hemminger said. "So, capping it seemed to be the most environmentally responsible thing to do.”

Dr. Avner Vengosh, professor of environmental quality at Duke University, has been studying coal ash for the past 10 years. He said while construction on the land is not ideal, there are safe ways to contain the ash. Consultants hired by the town said if developers take measures to keep the ash underground, it will be safe to live there.

If the ash is well-contained and the town frequently monitors the area for possible erosion and water pollution, Vengosh said it is possible to prevent the community from becoming more exposed to the heavy metals.

Duke Energy settles with dozens of homeowners over Dan River coal ash spill

But Searing, along with many Chapel Hill residents in the area, are skeptical the town's containment plan will work.

"The priority here should be getting rid of the toxic coal ash, and then if we need to cover the cost, I am all for selling and developing the property," he said. "Then anything can be built on it. But we don’t put kids in danger by building on it now.”

Nick Torrey, senior lawyer with the Southern Environmental Law Center in Chapel Hill, echoed Searing's skepticism. Erosion and flooding could resurface the ash in a couple of years, he said.

"The long-term concern is that covering this ash with a layer of dirt, as the town is planning to do, will not remove these risks if families with children are living on the site," he said.

The town's development plan is still in its early stages. There will be several public hearings and additional assessments before the plan is finalized.

The price of using coal as an energy source

According to the North Carolina Department of Waste Management, coal ash is not considered hazardous waste, although many have argued it should be. State officials said that the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill began dumping waste from its power plant in the 70s when there was little research about its harmful effects.

"For decades, we were enjoying cheap energy from coal and we were like, ‘coal is great and we can move our economy.’ And now we pay the price for cheap coal," Vengosh said.

Across the United States, the EPA estimates more than six million people are exposed to coal ash, and the actual number may be even higher.

University officials declined to comment on this story.

Suggest A Correction