Press coverage of SELC’s agreement with Duke Energy on SC coal ash
Representing Upstate Forever and Save Our Saluda, SELC has reached an agreement in principle with Duke Energy to remove all of its coal ash at its W.S. Lee facility from the banks of the Saluda River near Greenville and Anderson, South Carolina, to safer, dry lined storage away from the river.
You can read the press release here.
Here is a selection of press coverage of the agreement:
From the Greenville (S.C.) News:
The decision comes after negotiations with environmental groups and has ended with an early Christmas gift for the region, said Frank Holleman, senior attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center.
From the Associated Press via the Charlotte Observer:
The company's plan is part of an agreement in principle with the Southern Environmental Law Center, which has been pushing Duke for years to clean up the unlined, leaky ash dumps at the W.S. Lee facility near Greenville.
From The State (Columbia, S.C.):
Thursday’s announcement by the nation's largest power company means that every major ash waste lagoon in South Carolina now is targeted for cleanup, making the Palmetto State the first in the South with such plans . . .
From GSA Business, covering Greenville, Spartanburg, and Anderson, S.C.:
Frank Holleman, senior attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center and representing Upstate Forever and Save Our Saluda said in a statement that “Duke Energy has agreed to do the right thing in South Carolina and move over 3.2 million tons of its coal ash from the banks of the Saluda River to safer, dry-lined storage.” He said the agreement was a “historic accomplishment for South Carolina’s rivers and clean water.”
From the Charlotte Business Journal:
[SELC’s Frank] Holleman said it was significant because it represents first time environmental groups have been able to reach any agreement with Duke on the removal of ash in either North Carolina or South Carolina.
“And it's significant because we reached the agreement without having to file a lawsuit,” he says.
“Once the coal ash is removed, a major threat to the Saluda River will be eliminated,” said Nick Anastos, board member of Save Our Saluda. “The removal of this ash helps us to save our Saluda River from the effects of long-term pollution.”