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DENR identifies a third problem in Duke coal ash pond

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources has asked Duke Energy for assurances that a second pipe leak beneath a coal ash pond at its retired Dan River Steam Station near Eden will not result in additional discharges into the nearby river.

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RALEIGH, N.C. — The Department of Environment and Natural Resources has asked Duke Energy for assurances that a second pipe leak beneath a coal ash pond at its retired Dan River Steam Station near Eden will not result in additional discharges into the nearby river.

Duke Energy first discovered a spill from the pond  on Feb. 2. On Thursday, part of the system put in place to remediate the spill and divert wastewater away from the pond was found to be faulty.

On Friday, DENR issued a news release about a second pipe under the pond that is leaking. 

The state has given Duke 10 days to put together a plan to keep that second leak from matching the first.

“We’re concerned about the leaks we see in the 36-inch pipe and want to prevent a second pipe failure,” said Tracy Davis, director of the state Division of Energy, Mineral and Land Resources. 

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