CCR Rule Compliance Data & Information

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Background

On April 17, 2015, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency published the Hazardous and Solid Waste Management System; Disposal of Coal Combustion Residuals from Electric Utilities final rule in the Federal Register. This rule regulates the disposal of coal combustion residuals (CCR) as a solid waste as part of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) in 40 CFR Parts 257 and 261.

This final rule applies to new and existing CCR landfills and CCR surface impoundments, and certain inactive CCR surface impoundments at coal-burning electric utility sites that are still producing electricity as of October 19, 2015. The CCR landfills and CCR surface impoundments in the rule are also referred to as "CCR units."

The rule requires that owners or operators of CCR units governed by the rule:
  • Record compliance with these requirements in the operating record
  • Notify the state regulators of the availability of certain reports and information
  • Maintain a public website with access to compliance information
These requirements help ensure transparency and offer the public access to information about our CCR units. We will continue working with regulators to manage CCR units for our facilities, including those for which the final rule does not apply.

What's an inundation map?


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Data & Information

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The following is an important update from George Hamrick, senior vice president of coal combustion products at Duke Energy, on Sept. 22, 2017:

Duke Energy has determined that it is appropriate to post additional information related to emergency action plans (EAPs) for coal ash facilities, specifically inundation maps and emergency responder contact information. These maps help depict the area that could be impacted in the unlikely event water and material were released from an ash basin.

The company is currently updating documents and will share them here in the coming weeks. In the meantime, any questions about the emergency action plans may be emailed to coalashquestions@duke-energy.com.

Public safety and safe operations are our highest priorities. Ash basins continue to operate safely and are highly regulated. Removing water and permanently closing basins, work that is already planned or underway, adds an additional margin of safety. Engineers conduct weekly inspections, and state regulators oversee that process and can conduct their own inspections. We continue to perform any necessary maintenance until basins are safely closed.

It’s also important to note that our company has a long history of collaboration with emergency response organizations around our facilities. We provide full versions of these plans to local emergency agencies and also meet annually with them to review our plans so they can be ready to respond if ever needed.

When the company updated the EAPs in 2014, prior to the federal CCR rule, we relied on the historical interpretation of state law designed to safeguard information about critical infrastructure. After revisiting the issue and reviewing how other utilities have managed the expectations of the CCR rule, we agree it is appropriate to post additional information and make it available to the public.

Ash basin inundation maps

Inundation maps help depict the areas that could be impacted in the unlikely event of a complete dam failure. It’s important to remember that these maps are planning tools that illustrate a worst-case scenario. The maps show where ash basin water could travel; however, there are many factors that could influence that, such as the type of event, local weather and/or topographical changes near the site.

Our company has a long history of collaboration with emergency response organizations around our facilities. Utilities like Duke Energy provide these plans and maps to local and state emergency agencies so they are prepared to respond, and we meet annually with the various agencies to review the materials.

Public safety and safe operations are our highest priorities. Ash basins continue to operate safely and are highly regulated. Removing water and permanently closing basins, work that is already planned or underway, adds an additional margin of safety. Duke Energy staff conducts weekly inspections, and state regulators oversee that process and can conduct their own inspections. 
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