Home Care In Julian, NC

Today’s batch of burning questions, my smart-aleck answers and the real deal:

Question: Now that it’s been announced that Duke Energy’s Lake Julian has extremely high levels of radiation, what does this mean for the boating and recreational activities on and around the lake? Is it safe to use the county’s paddle boats? What about the Youth Rowing teams? What’s going to be done to clean up the lake and surrounding areas? Will the ducks be glowing in the dark?

My answer: You have to admit glowing ducks would be a perfect addition to the annual Christmas lights show.

Real answer: "Lake Julian’s water quality remains safe," said Duke Energy spokesman Bill Norton. "Routine sampling of permitted outfalls — the water we return to the French Broad — shows no elevated radium levels. This demonstrates the river and lake are well-protected in regard to potential impacts from our work."

Norton added that some people may be "confusing recent results from groundwater tests conducted on our property — that’s water within the soil right next to our coal ash basins — with surface water near our site."

"Those who love to recreate at Lake Julian and on the French Broad can continue those activities with confidence," Norton said. "North Carolina’s geology has granite and other rock formations that include uranium and radium."

RELATED: After radioactivity discovered near Lake Julian plant, Duke Energy calls findings 'premature'

RELATED: Answer Man: Are Lake Julian fish safe to eat?

RELATED: Answer Man: Are Lake Julian smokestack emissions really safe?

Norton also shared a North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality map that shows the south-central and southeastern parts of Buncombe County "have naturally occurring radon — the gas released by the normal decay of uranium and radium in the soil." You can find the map here: https://bit.ly/2JISLYA

I also touched base with Hartwell Carson, the French Broad Riverkeeper with the Asheville-based environmental organization MountainTrue.

"I feel a little uncomfortable because I think with most of what (Norton) said, he is correct, and it’s unnatural for me to agree with Duke Energy," Carson said with a laugh. "I think he’s right in that the groundwater is an issue, but the groundwater is unlikely to impact Lake Julian. It could could impact the river just because of where it sits."

Lake Julian sits above the French Broad River and across Interstate 26.

Carson said MountainTrue did test soil around Lake Julian years ago for heavy metals, "and we didn't find elevated levels."

"In theory they don’t discharge to the lake," Carson said. "The lake is just to be used for cooling water — they shoot in the hot water to let it cool off, then suck it back in and use it in the plant."

The bigger concern, Carson said, is whether radium is impacting drinking water wells.

"There are some wells on the other side of the river that have high levels of pollutants, one of those being radium," Carson said. "The state and Duke and the well owners are doing some additional study to see if that is from the coal ash ponds or some other source."

This is unlikely to affect Lake Julian, and Carson said the issue is "largely being addressed by what (Duke is) doing to clean up the ash ponds, which is great," Carson said.

In March, the information about radium emerged, part of results of a groundwater monitoring program mandated by a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rule. The report showed high levels of radioactivity in the groundwater near almost a dozen Duke Energy power plants, including Asheville's Lake Julian facility.

At the time, Duke called the findings "premature," as it continues excavating its existing coal ash basins.

The Waterkeeper Alliance said in March that the EPA information shows "startlingly high levels of radioactivity" at 11 of Duke's 18 power plants. The Alliance singled out the Lake Julian plant in Asheville, which reportedly measured "levels of radium in groundwater 38 times what EPA considers safe for drinking water."

The organization also said Duke is contaminating the groundwater with "arsenic, lead and a host of other toxic pollutants."

Norton said Duke is vigilant in monitoring pollutants.

"At our ash basins, we’re sampling and analyzing the data to understand how much of this radium is from Mother Nature and how much may be added by the basins," Norton said. "But either way, the amounts we’re talking about are extremely low. The trace amounts found in these tests are measured in parts per billion — the equivalent of one second every 32 years or one penny in $10 million."

He also noted that Duke posted this data on its website "as part of the transparency in the federal coal ash rule, which the EPA developed to determine which ash basins should close nationwide."

"Importantly, Duke Energy had already committed to closing all our ash basins, and that work is well underway at the Asheville Plant," he said. "While these additional groundwater data points are useful, we are not waiting for further analysis to act — we’re already closing ash basins in ways that protect the environment and communities."

Carson noted that Duke is closing ash basins because it was legally forced to.

This is the opinion of John Boyle. Contact him at 232-5847 or [email protected]

BUNCOMBE COUNTY, N.C. (WLOS) — It’s been one year since Duke Energy’s coal plant at Lake Julian was retired, ushering in a new era with natural gas.

The absence of the smokestacks in the South Asheville skyline is a symbol of what’s been going on: Big changes as the company has moved away from its more than five-decades-long relationship with coal.

“It was about a year ago when customers across this region were receiving the benefits of the new power plant with a cleaner environment, lower fuel costs and host of other benefits,” said Jason Walls, district manager for Duke Energy.

By the end of last January, Duke had switched to its new Asheville combined cycle station. It fully replaced the 344 megawatt Asheville coal plant, which the company is still in the process of demolishing.

The new plant is a 560 megawatt plant powered by natural gas.

A report the EPA uses estimated more than 29,000 people live within a 3-mile radius of the plant, so what does this change mean for the community? News 13 spoke with two mountain environmental experts.

“I’ve spent a decade telling people how bad Duke was but we are moving in the right direction, so I’m a little uncomfortable not telling everyone how bad they are," said Hartwell Carson, MountainTrue's French Broad riverkeeper. "But it’s a good thing for the French Broad River."

One of the major concerns with the coal plant was groundwater contamination from coal ash, a toxic waste product of the former plant.

Up until last year Duke Energy had been storing the coal ash in unlined pits. It was a battle Carson had fought for years.

“Force them to reckon with their waste, which was a toxic stew of heavy metals that they had been dumping in unlined holes in the ground from the banks of the French Broad River,” said Carson.

Since last summer, Duke Energy has been building a lined, on-site landfill. It has also stopped trucking its coal ash to the Asheville Regional Airport and another waste site in Georgia.

DUKE ENERGY PULLS PLUG ON ASHEVILLE COAL PLANT, LOOKS TOWARD ENVIRONMENTAL FUTURE

Duke Energy is having to pay for its coal ash cleanup; a recent settlement is making the company pay for one-quarter of the cleanup costs between 2015 and 2030, plus another $100 million environmental fine.

“This is a state-of-the-art protection landfill that’s being designed to store ash forever,” Walls said. “It’s a really nice thing to kind of put coal ash in the rear view and look forward to the future.”

Lake Julian has also changed. It used to serve as the coal plant’s cooling site.

Now that it’s no longer needed, the water is returning to more mountain-like temperatures.

“Lake Julian at some point was over 100 degrees," said Carson. "We had done some monitoring years ago, and Lake Julian was an extremely unnatural waterway for North Carolina. That’s a positive thing to return it to what it’s supposed to be.”

However, according to some, it’s not all positive.

Kelly Sheehan Martin is the director of the Sierra Club’s Beyond Dirty Fuel Campaign. She tracks how power plants operate across the country.

“I think that Duke Energy, by switching from one big polluting coal plant to another big fossil fuel plant, really missed a huge opportunity here,” said Sheehan Martin.

According to Duke Energy, the new natural gas plant cuts carbon dioxide emissions by 60%, sulfur dioxide by 99%, nitrogen oxides by 40% and completely eliminates mercury.

Those critical of natural gas point to the way it's obtained -- through a controversial process known as fracking, which means drilling into rock to release the gas.

SCRUBBER STACK AT LAKE JULIAN BEING DISMANTLED

Sheehan Martin said that natural gas is not a resource with an endless supply, like solar or wind energy.

She said she wishes the company would have made a hard switch from coal to a renewable energy source.

“So you’re saying that they could have kept the coal plant running for a little bit longer?” News 13’s Caitlyn Penter asked.

“Maybe a year or two if that’s what they needed,” Sheehan Martin said. “Now we have a situation where we are locked into reliance on fossil fuels for decades to come.”

Leaders from Duke Energy said they remain committed to the goal of net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

“It’s aggressive, but it’s attainable if we work together as a community to make that happen,” Walls said.

DUKE ENERGY EXPECTS NO SAFETY IMPACTS FROM COAL PLANT SHUTDOWN

Once the coal ash has been fully moved to the new landfill, the old site where it was stored will be covered in solar panels.

In the last year, the company has also started using battery storage sites to store some of its energy produced by the natural gas plant.

“We see a future where renewables will certainly increase. You know natural gas will provide a lower carbon reliable generation,” Walls said.

For those who fought for the end of the coal plant, they said the fight for a cleaner community is still not over.

As the end of the coal plant was a step forward, they said they’re prepared to keep holding Duke Energy accountable.

“They didn’t want to close the coal plant, they didn’t want to clean up their coal ash, but they were held accountable by the citizens of North Carolina and the government of North Carolina to do that," Carson said. "I think they’ll do that if we hold their feet to the fire."

By Natalie Anderson [email protected]

SALISBURY — Federal, state and local money will fund about 17 city transportation projects, with about a half-dozen slated for construction this year or the 2022-23 fiscal year.

The city’s total match for projects expected during the current fiscal year and the 2022-23 fiscal year, which begins July 1 and ends June 30, is roughly $843,000. Approximately $15.87 million in federal and state grant funding, along with funds from the city’s sidewalk pay in lieu of program, will make up the difference.

The city is a member of the Cabarrus-Rowan Metropolitan Planning Organization, which plans for regional transportation needs including highway, transit, air, bicycle and pedestrian facilities. City Engineer Wendy Brindle said the city’s participation in the MPO is the primary reason it’s been able to secure a majority of its transportation funding for projects.

Those of the highest priority include ones listed on the city’s Transportation Improvement Program, which is determined by the North Carolina Department of Transportation’s Strategic Prioritization Office. Brindle said projects submitted to the state’s Transportation Improvement Program every two years undergo a scoring process. The city’s TIP is a 10-year plan, and Brindle said the state’s TIP renewal process has been halted until the summer of 2024. That means new projects can be submitted then, but they likely won’t receive funding until 2026.

The only project currently slated for construction this year is the widening of Julian Road from Jake Alexander Boulevard to Summit Park Drive, which will begin this month. State and federal funding for the project is $14 million, with the city providing a match of $91,287. The city will also be adding sidewalks during the construction phase, and utility relocation is in progress.

Brindle said a railroad closure on Henderson Grove Church Road project will use $2.95 million in federal funding, with no match required from the city. Construction for the project is to be determined, but it will be coordinated with the Julian Road widening project.

In April, NCDOT is expected to begin installing turn lanes on Heilig Road at Faith Road, with no funds required from the city. Because of safety funds from the NCDOT’s Strategic Prioritization Office, the installation of a U-turn on Jake Alexander Boulevard near Morlan Park Road will come at no cost to the city. Construction time for that project has not yet been determined. Brindle said drivers have used the leftover median in that area to make U-turns, and the project will force them into the proper lanes and avoid frequent rear-end collisions.

A number of other projects will receive various sources of funding, including Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement grants, Transportation Alternatives Program grants and Surface Transportation Block Grant Program Directly Attributable grants. During the 2022-23 fiscal year, construction will begin on the installation of sidewalks on Old Concord Road from Ryan Street to Jake Alexander Boulevard, with the help of $331,000 in CMAQ funding and a $82,800 local match. Brindle said acquiring the right-of-way for that project is underway.

Another project in 2022-23 is the Brenner Avenue sidewalk from Statesville Boulevard to Horah Street, which will also install turn lanes at Brenner and South Link Avenue. That project will use $608,000 in CMAQ funding, along with a local match of $152,000. Right-of-way acquisition is also in progress for this project.

About $343,000 in Surface Transportation Block Grant Program Directly Attributable funds will aid citywide traffic signal system network upgrades, with the city providing $85,750. That project is ready to bid, Brindle said, with construction expected in April.

The city is handling four projects in-house, including the installation of stamped crosswalks along Innes and Long streets, which Brindle said will help the visibility of pedestrians. That project costs $300,000, in-house design has been completed and bid documents are being prepared. Construction is slated for March.

Brindle said signal timing upgrades are needed on major corridors, including Jake Alexander Boulevard, Innes and Main streets, and they are slated for March. The city’s required match has not yet been determined, but Brindle said the city had been waiting for the NCDOT’s visit for downtown re-striping and will begin the project in March.

The Public Works Department planned to handle the installation of sidewalks on Ryan Street from Celebration Drive to Old Concord Road, but Brindle said staffing challenges have required the department to bid the project. The city will provide $110,000, with $46,000 received from the sidewalk pay in lieu of program, which allows developers to pay the city to install sidewalks rather than constructing them. That project is scheduled to begin in March.

Similarly, the city plans to install a sidewalk at Lash Drive in April using $64,000 in supplemental funding, with a city match of $21,000, which includes $11,000 from the sidewalk pay in lieu of program. The in-house design of that project is about 90% complete, Brindle said.

Brindle said a multi-modal center at Salisbury Depot is a potential project, along with the extension of Bendix Drive to Old Concord Road. She added that the city continues to look for grants to fund more greenway and sidewalk projects and works alongside NCDOT for various needed safety projects.

During the City Council’s annual planning retreat last week, Brindle said staff in the spring plan to present a draft of the new traffic calming policy.

Contact reporter Natalie Anderson at 704-797-4246.

After 56 years of burning coal at its Lake Julian power plant, Duke Energy has officially shut down the coal operation.

"At 4 p.m. on Jan. 29, 2020, Duke Energy achieved a significant milestone and officially shut down the 344-megawatt Asheville coal plant in Arden, North Carolina," Duke Energy spokeswoman Heather Danenhower said. "The coal plant reliably served customers since 1964. Some demolition work has already started and is expected to be completed in 2023."

The Lake Julian plant consumed huge amounts of coal. In 2018, a Duke spokesperson said its units 1 and 2 consumed approximately 4,032 tons of coal per day when operating at full capacity.

4,000 rail cars a year of coal

In May 2019, Danenhower noted, "The Asheville coal-fired units will burn approximately 400,000 tons of coal this year. That’s about 4,000 rail cars."

The plan to switch over to natural gas has been in the works for years, and Duke completed the 560-megawatt combined-cycle natural gas plant in late 2019. The $893 million natural gas plant was built on Duke's nearly 700-acre campus near Lake Julian.

"Duke Energy customers in both North Carolina and South Carolina are now receiving 460 megawatts of cleaner-burning, highly efficient energy from the new Asheville Combined Cycle Station," Danenhower said. "We will add 100 more megawatts to the new natural gas power plant — for a total of 560 megawatts — when we bring the remaining steam turbine generator online in the first quarter of 2020."

Julie Mayfield, co-director of the Asheville environmental advocacy nonprofit MountainTrue, said the closure of the coal facility is cause for celebration, but natural gas, while a much cleaner fuel, also comes with some burdens.

"The closure of this plant is the long-awaited result of tremendous community advocacy in Asheville and Buncombe County," Mayfield said. "This was the outcome we sought as part of the Asheville Beyond Coal Campaign that launched back in 2012."

The closure of the coal plant and opening of the gas-fired facility also "represents an immediate improvement in terms of local environmental impact.

"We will no longer have coal ash being produced there, and carbon emissions will be cut virtually in half," Mayfield said. "Other air pollutants will be reduced significantly, and the water in Lake Julian can return to normal mountain temperatures, rather than being the warmest lake in the entire state."

Duke has removed much of the coal ash from the Lake Julian site, trucking it to Asheville Regional Airport for a fill project and to a storage facility in Georgia. But the utility also has petitioned the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality for a permit to build an industrial landfill on the plant site in Skyland to store some coal ash.

Natural gas has environmental issues, too

Natural gas requires no post-use storage, and it burns considerably cleaner than coal. But it's not without environmental impacts.

"The transition to natural gas does not address the larger concern around global carbon pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from fracking, and we recognize those are significant issues that do need to be addressed," said Mayfield, who also is a member of Asheville City Council and a candidate for the state legislature in the 49th Senate District. "We certainly support the efforts locally, regionally, nationally and internationally to reduce greenhouse gas emissions."

Duke is also moving forward with plans to build a solar energy facility on site.

"We have earmarked $120 million for renewables in the area, including building a solar plant and battery-storage facility at the Asheville station," Danenhower said, adding that investments in natural gas and renewables will allow the utility to "retire coal plants faster and help the company achieve its goal of cutting carbon dioxide emissions by half by 2030."

The utility had previously heavily invested in the coal plant, putting in place a "scrubber smokestack" and other upgrades that cost about $300 million, in response to emissions rules the North Carolina General Assembly passed in 2002 that required emissions reductions at 14 coal-fired plants. Some of the scrubber stack equipment still has resale value, as it's not that old, Duke said previously.

Before we get to today's burning question, my smart-aleck answer and the real deal, I'd like to update the Lake Julian fish question.

Last week, a reader asked if the fish in Lake Julian were safe to eat, and the Lake Julian Park manager and Duke Energy officials indicated that they were, as well as fish in the French Broad, citing water and fish tissue testing.

Hartwell Carson, the French Broad riverkeeper at MountainTrue, a regional environmental group, said that information is not accurate.

"The fish in Lake Julian are not safe to eat, but neither are the fish in any part of the French Broad River," Carson said. "There is a statewide fish consumption advisory for mercury. Furthermore, there are some specific studies done by Duke Energy that show mercury and selenium are problematic in the French Broad River."

The advisories can be found here:

http://epi.publichealth.nc.gov/oee/fish/advisories.html

Carson said Duke Energy had previously agreed with him to stop using the talking point about fish safety. He also takes exception to the Duke spokeswoman's assertion that the Lake Julian plant has "a long history of safety and high operational excellence."

"They were sued by us and the state of North Carolina for violating state and federal laws around their coal ash storage," Carson said. "When (the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources) gets around to suing you for violating the law, that is the opposite of high operational excellence."

Now, on to another water-based question.

Question: I have been told that the Corps of Engineers is exploring a potential dam on the Swannanoa River, near Warren Wilson College. Please check this out and respond in your column.

My answer: ...and let the protests begin.

Real answer: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers office in Asheville handles regulatory issues, not dams, but Scott Jones, chief of the Asheville Regulatory Field Office, said the city of Asheville has been working with the Corps' Nashville office on a flood assessment project on the Swannanoa.

At the city, McCray Coates, stormwater services manager for Asheville, said they are evaluating possibilities. The Swannanoa flooded badly in 2004, inundating Biltmore Village and other areas.

"The city, partnering with the North Carolina Division of Water Resources and the Army Corps of Engineers, have been evaluating flood mitigation opportunities throughout the Swannanoa Valley," Coates said. "This study is currently in the feasibility stage with the Corps. Initially there were 48 different areas identified and reviewed as potential flood mitigation projects. As the study has continued, many of these areas have not been found to provide the necessary flood benefit versus the actual cost of the construction to continue the evaluation process."

So they whittled the list down.

"The projects that are currently being considered include a flood mitigation project located off of Azalea Road (former Lake Craig), removal of the floodplain fill near the Biltmore Avenue Bridge in Biltmore Village and a flood control structure located at Warren Wilson College," Coates said. "The proposed structure at Warren Wilson would be designed to allow normal flow to pass through and would in turn back up water during heavier rain events. These project are currently in the evaluation stage by the Corps, who will be continuing the evaluation of these options over the next several months."

This is the opinion of John Boyle. To submit a question, contact him at 232-5847 or [email protected]