page_title: 2014 Dan River coal ash spill
section_title: Incident
hierarchical_section_title: 2014 Dan River coal ash spill / Incident
caption_attribution_description: English: View of coal ash deposits on the Dan River shoreline, approximately 0.75 miles (1.21&#160;km) from the discharge pipe of the Dan River Steam Station (Duke Energy), Eden, North Carolina. A collapsed coal ash impoundment at the power plant caused a spill of 39,000 tons of coal ash into the river in 2014. See 2014 Dan River coal ash spill.
context_page_description: In February 2014, an Eden, North Carolina facility owned by Duke Energy spilled 39,000 tons of coal ash into the Dan River. The company later pled guilty to criminal negligence in their handling of coal ash at Eden and elsewhere and paid substantial fines. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has since been responsible for overseeing cleanup of the waste. EPA and Duke Energy signed an administrative order for the site cleanup.
context_section_description: On February 2, 2014 a drainage pipe burst at a coal ash containment pond owned by Duke Energy in Eden, North Carolina, sending 39,000 tons of coal ash into the Dan River. In addition to the coal ash, 27 million gallons of wastewater from the plant was released into the river. The broken pipe was left unsealed for almost a week before the draining coal ash was stopped. The ash was deposited up to 70 miles (110 km) from the site of the spill and contained harmful metals and chemicals. This catastrophe occurred at the site of the Dan River Steam Station, a retired coal power plant which had ceased operation in 2012. Duke Energy apologized for the incident and announced detailed plans for removal of coal ash at the Dan River site. Workers were only able to remove about ten percent of the coal ash that was spilled into the river, but cleanup is ongoing and Duke Energy plans to spend around 3 million dollars to continue the cleanup efforts.
  CNN reported that the river was turned into an oily sludge. The river is a drinking water source for communities in North Carolina and Virginia. Immediate tests showed increased amounts of arsenic and selenium, but the river was deemed by state officials to be a safe source for drinking water. However, further tests showed the ash to contain pollutants including but not limited to arsenic, copper, selenium, iron, zinc and lead. The coal ash immediately endangered animals and fish species that lived in or around the river. Six days after the spill Duke Energy announced that the leakage had been stopped and they pledged to clean up the coal ash.
caption: Coal ash deposits on the Dan River shoreline, downstream from the spill
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