News

After spill, Apodaca seeks report on coal ash ponds

By Bill Moss, Published: February 10, 2014

After a coal ash spill into the Dan River posed a threat to drinking water supplies, state Sen. Tom Apodaca asked a joint environmental committee to look into all coal ash ponds in the state.

Apodaca, chair of the Senate Rules Committee, sent a letter on Friday asking the co-chairs of the Joint Legislative Environmental Review Commission to direct the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to provide an update of the spill and a status report on all coal ash ponds in North Carolina. The commission is scheduled to meet Wednesday, Feb. 12.

"The Dan River coal ash spill highlights the need for vigilant inspection and monitoring of coal ash ponds on the French Broad River and across North Carolina while a permanent solution to the problem is developed," Apodaca said in a news release. "That is why I have asked Reps. Mike Hager and Ruth Samuelson and Sen. Brent Jackson to have DENR update the legislature on the status of all coal ash ponds in North Carolina."