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Duke Energy Will Use Drones To Monitor Coal Ash Sites After Hurricane

KERI BROWN/WFDD

Hurricane Florence is raising some concerns from environmentalists about possible flooding that could impact coal ash ponds across the state.

Duke Energy says it already has some safety measures in place.

It has been working on draining several coal ash basins, particularly those near the coast. The company says this will allow the basins to take in more water, if flooding from the hurricane is an issue.

“In terms of preparing for the storm, where we are sending our ground staff ahead of time [is] Cape Fear, H.F. Lee, Sutton and Weatherspoon in North Carolina, and Robinson in South Carolina. Those are the ones that are closer to the coast, closer to the storm,” says Bill Norton, a spokesman with Duke Energy.

And Norton says there's a new addition to the company's toolbox: drones that can monitor changes at high-risk sites.

“The drones will be able to get out there once the winds die down, but water is still an issue, so that helps us react even quicker than we might have been able to in the past.”

Norton says the company started using drones over the past few years to monitor solar panels. They were also used in Puerto Rico last year after Hurricane Maria.

“In Puerto Rico with the storm recovery there, we went as far as restringing lines by drone because stuff there was so inaccessible,” Norton says. “We're not anticipating that here, but over the years we have gotten a lot more advanced in terms of what we can do.” 

Duke Energy faced scrutiny from environmental groups after Hurricane Matthew in 2016. The storm caused a breach in a cooling pond at a power plant near Goldsboro.

Coal ash is the waste left after burning coal. It contains arsenic, mercury, lead and other heavy metals, many of them toxic.

The company said at the time that no measurable amounts of contaminants reached the Neuse River.

North Carolina law requires Duke Energy to close all 31 of its ash basins by 2029. Norton says it also plans to close them in every state in which it operates.

*Follow WFDD's Keri Brown on Twitter @kerib_news

Keri Brown is a multi-award winning reporter and host at 88.5 WFDD. She has been honored with two regional Edward R. Murrow awards for her stories about coal ash, and was named the 2015 radio reporter of the year by the Radio Television Digital News Association of the Carolinas (RTDNAC).Although she covers a variety of topics, her beats are environmental and education reporting.Keri comes to the Triad from West Virginia Public Broadcasting, where she served as the Chief Bureau Reporter for the Northern Panhandle. She produced stories for the state's Public Television and Radio programs and was honored by the West Virginia Associated Press Broadcasters Association for her feature and enterprise reporting.She also served as an adjunct instructor at Wheeling Jesuit University and Bethany College in West Virginia. She worked with the Center for Educational Technologies in Wheeling, WV, and other NASA centers across the country to develop several stories about the use of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) concepts in the classroom.Keri's journalism career began at WTRF-TV 7 in Wheeling. She worked in several roles at the station, including the head assignment editor. She also was a field producer and assignment manager at WPGH-TV Fox 53 in Pittsburgh.Keri is a graduate of Ohio University. When she's not in the studio or working on a story, she enjoys watching college football with her family, cooking, and traveling.Keri is always looking for another great story idea, so please share them with her. You can follow her on Twitter @kerib_news.

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