Coal Ash Landfill Proposed in Kentucky as Spill Plays Out in N.C.

When compared to the previous proposal, this landfill would shift toward the west, LG&E officials said Tuesday. That helps avoid what company officials call a “karst feature” but others call a cave. The distinction matters.

Caves are protected by a 1988 law that makes it “unlawful to remove, kill, harm or otherwise disturb any naturally occurring organism” in them. And last year, the Kentucky Division of Waste Management rejected the company’s landfill plan at Trimble after scrutinizing the cave on the property.

Also, a review done for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers uncovered evidence that the cave, called Wentworth Cave, might have been part of the Underground Railroad that moved slaves to freedom.

Duke Energy said Monday that 50,000 to 82,000 tons of coal ash and up to 27 million gallons of water were released from a pond at its retired power plant in Eden into the Dan River, and were still flowing.

Duke said a 48-inch stormwater pipe beneath the unlined ash pond broke Sunday afternoon. Water and ash from the 27-acre pond drained into the pipe.

The pond has a liquid capacity of 155 million gallons when full, according to a recent inspection report, but was at a lower level because the Dan River power plant’s coal-fired units were retired in 2012. It’s not known how much ash was in the basin, but Culbert said most of it appears to still be in the pond.