By D. Lars Dolder, Chatham News + Record Staff

In a hard-fought victory for local environmental activists, Charah Solutions Inc. — a Kentucky-based coal ash management company — dropped its appeal of a 2019 ruling to prevent coal ash dumping in Chatham and Lee counties.

After more than five years of legal proceedings, a judge ruled on Friday that the Department of Environmental Quality exceeded its authority in issuing permits for Charah and its subsidiary, Green Meadows, to dump coal ash — the powdery substance that remains after burning coal — at a location near Moncure and a second on Colon Road in Lee County.

The court battle was fueled by three local organizations: the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League, Chatham Citizens Against Coal Ash Dump and EnvironmentaLEE.

The coalition of activists first convened in 2015. Charah had been contracted by Duke Energy to deposit the latter’s coal ash in Brickhaven, an unincorporated community southeast of Moncure. As per the relationship, Charah assumed all responsibility for the coal ash management system and development of the fill project.

“Duke energy didn’t want to be sued,” said Judy Hogan, the president of Chatham Citizens Against Coal Ash Dump. “Duke Energy basically turned the legal responsibility over to Charah, and they turned it over to the thing they called Green Meadows.”

Hogan’s organization and its partner groups took issue with the plans for coal ash dumping given the site’s proximity to ground water. Both in Brickhaven and on Colon Road, coal ash would pollute water reserves and contaminate surrounding areas, the activists claimed. They suggested the coal ash should instead be deposited above ground on utility company land away from communities.

The three organizations also argued that Charah had acted duplicitously in the application process for its permits.

“It was wrong from the very beginning,” said Therese Vick, the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League’s coal ash campaign coordinator. “The permits erroneously issued by DEQ allowed Duke Energy’s coal ash to be used as ‘mine reclamation’ — even though most of the sites had never been mined.”

Representatives from Charah objected to the environmentalists’ claims, instead regarding the Brickhaven project as a win for the company.

“Charah Solutions believes that the Brickhaven project was a total success as it allowed Duke Energy to quickly move over 7 Million tons of ash from an unlined retention pond to a lined structural fill and reclaimed an open-pit mine into commercially usable property,” Rob Reynolds, Charah Solutions’ vice president of operations and byproduct sales, said in a written statement. “Recent regulatory changes in North Carolina recognize the benefits of more coal-ash beneficiation, an area that Charah Solutions actively supports.”

Continued Reynolds: “These regulatory changes allowed Charah Solutions to complete the Brickhaven project early which also presented an opportunity for industry, environmental groups and regulators to set aside difference and agree on a final framework for the Brickhaven site. Charah Solutions is pleased with the outcome and believes the settlement benefits all parties involved.”

Cathy Cralle-Jones, an attorney from the Bryan Brice firm in Raleigh who represented the groups in the final stretch of their legal campaign, felt the conclusion of legal proceedings with Charah was especially satisfying given the circumstances of this past year.

“2020 has been a tough year in so many ways, but this settlement is a true bright spot,” she said. “After more than five years of litigation to challenge the use of coal ash to ‘reclaim’ old mines in Chatham County and Lee County, we can finally rest knowing no coal ash will ever go to the Colon mine and that no more coal ash will ever go to Brickhaven. These citizens fought to protect their communities and did not give up.”

Still, the legal success is a qualified win for Chatham environmentalists. Charah’s original plan was to dump 12 tons of coal ash at the Brickhaven site. While ongoing deposits are now suspended, the company still succeeded in dumping seven tons of coal ash while the case dragged on in court.

“I am delighted that Brickhaven dump will be closed now,” Hogan said, but “there is pollution left behind in groundwater and no telling where else.”

As part of the three groups’ settlement with Charah, there must be enhanced groundwater monitoring at the dump sites for five years, including samples from additional wells with more frequent data retrieval.

Hogan and her partners will continue to monitor the locations and raise awareness about potential impact on local communities who are otherwise underrepresented.

“Down here, it’s a lot of people barely above poverty,” Hogan said. “So, nobody can afford to move. We just have to take it … So, there are still a lot of problems down there even though it’s over.”

While this legal battle has concluded, her organization and its partners are determined to continue their fight against water contamination and big industry pollution in Chatham.

“We are not walking away from the Moncure community,” Vick said.

 


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