Wet Ash Handling

Wet Ash Handling and Ash Pond Dam Inspections

Wet ash handling describes the practice of transporting and storing coal ash in on-site ponds. Duke Energy currently manages 13 ash ponds in the Carolinas and 26 ash ponds in the Midwest.

Duke Energy’s ash ponds are regulated by the state where they are located. State agencies perform periodic inspections of our facilities in Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky; and will do so in North Carolina effective January, 2010. While the regulatory requirements governing ash pond integrity vary from state to state, there is generally a requirement that an independent third party inspection of each pond be performed periodically by a licensed professional engineer to ensure the structural integrity of the ponds. In states where a third party inspection is not required, Duke Energy is proactively having such inspections performed. In addition to the third party inspections, Duke Energy has an internal comprehensive, robust monitoring, maintenance and inspection program in place for all of its ash ponds to ensure their continued structural integrity. This program requires that each of Duke Energy’s ash ponds be inspected by a licensed professional engineer annually.

US Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) Inspections of Duke Energy Ash Ponds

As part of its response to the failure of TVA’s ash pond at its Kingston, TN facility, the EPA conducted its own inspection of a number of ash ponds at electric generating facilities across the country using contractor inspectors. The purpose of the EPA inspections was to assess the structural integrity of certain ponds. EPA contractors inspected ash ponds at sixteen of Duke Energy’s seventeen coal-fire generating facilities (status of these inspections). The ponds at these Duke Energy facilities were selected for inspection because they met the EPA criteria of having either a significant or high hazard potential rating. Following each inspection the contractor produced a final report which included EPA’s evaluation and recommended actions along with its opinion of the condition of the ponds using an EPA rating system (more about the selection process). Duke Energy was required to respond to EPA with a plan to address each EPA recommendation. Duke Energy takes the findings of the EPA inspections seriously and is taking steps to address each of the recommendations contained in the reports. Duke Energy remains committed to meeting all state and federal requirements and to managing its ash ponds in a safe and responsible manner, and is confident that each of our ash ponds has the structural integrity necessary to protect the public and the environment. The EPA contractor inspections and subsequent condition ratings support this conclusion having found none of the ash ponds to be unsafe.