US: River swirls with grey muck near coal ash dump in North Carolina

Grey muck is flowing into the Cape Fear River from the site of a dam breach at a Wilmington power plant where an old coal ash dump had been covered over by Florence's floodwaters. Forecasters predicted the water will continue to rise through the weekend at the L.V. Sutton Power Station. Duke Energy spokeswoman Paige Sheehan said the utility doesn't believe the breach poses a significant threat of increased flooding to nearby communities. Sheehan said the company can't rule out that ash might be escaping the flooded dump and flowing through the lake into the river. Inspectors with the state Department of Environmental Quality travelled to the plant by boat on Sunday to collect water quality samples. Environmental Secretary Mike Regan said aerial video of the site show "potential coal ash" flowing into the river. "When the environment is conducive, we will put people on the ground to verify the amount of potential coal ash that could have left and entered those flood waters," Regan said. Floodwaters breached several points early Friday in the earthen dam at Sutton Lake, the plant's 1,100-acre (445-hectare) reservoir. Lake water then flooded one of three large coal ash dumps lining the lakeshore. The ash left over when coal is burned to generate electricity contains mercury, lead, arsenic and other toxic heavy metals. Duke said Friday the plant's inundated basin contains about 400,000 cubic yards (305,820 cubic meters) of ash. The area received more than 30 inches (75 centimeters) of rain from former Hurricane Florence, with the Cape Fear River still rising and expected to crest Sunday and remain at flood stage through early next week. Grey material the company characterized as "coal combustion byproducts" could be seen floating in the lake and river.