20150041 Ver 1_Hope Taylor - Clean Water for NC Comments on 404 permit_20150406

Burdette, Jennifer a
From:
Hope Taylor <hope @cwfnc.org>
Sent:
Monday, April 06, 2015 10:40 PM
To:
Craig.J.Brown @usace.army.miI
Cc:
Higgins, Karen; Burdette, Jennifer a; Devane, Boyd
Subject:
Clean Water for NC Comments on 404 permit for coal ash landfills in Chatham, Lee
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Regulatory Office
3331 Heritage Trade Drive, Suite 105
Wake Forest, NC 27587
Dear Mr. Brown:
I am writing you on behalf of Clean Water for NC, a statewide environmental justice organization working for
the environmental health, safe water resources and quality of life for communities faces with existing or
potential environmental threats.
We submit the following comments on the application from Green Meadows, LLC seeking Department of the
Army authorization to discharge fill into 1.14 acres of headwater and riparian wetlands, 4,166 linear feet of
jurisdictional intermittent and perennial streams, and 0.50 acre of isolated wetlands non - jurisdictional wetlands,
associated with coal ash repositories planned for the Brickhaven Mine in Chatham County and Sanford (Colon)
Mine in Lee County, North Carolina. More broadly, our concern is that other former clay mines around the
state may be sought for similar coal ash disposal in other locations and that similar potential impacts to surface
and groundwater, air quality, and land uses could occur at any such location.
The 301 acre permitted area of the Mine sites are close to several Clean Water for NC members and allies living
in these areas of Lee and Chatham Counties. Numerous concerns remain about negative impacts these proposed
coal ash repositories could reasonably be expected to impose on surface and groundwater, as well as public
health and safety and ecological receptors. Downstream from both these clay mine sites, the Cape Fear River is
a source of drinking water for several municipalities, including Sanford, Harnett County (which supplies
Lillington, Angier, Ft. Bragg, Holly Springs, and Fuquay- Varina), Dunn, Fayetteville, and Brunswick County.
We hereby request a public hearing on this 404 permit to allow for comprehensive public input on this permit.
Specific Comments
Groundwater contamination: The applicant states in the draft 404 permit that the HDPE liner "is designed to
industry standards and has an expected life of 500+ years ". However, numerous examples of degradation and
damage to such liners exist, with potential significant damage to groundwater in the area. Baseline and follow
up testing of neighbors' drinking water wells for at least 3,000 feet from the mine sites must be required. Both
the Brickhaven and Colon Rd. clay pits overlay the Deep River shale basin, with its very fractured underlying

geology including diabase dikes. Any hydraulic fracturing in or near these coal ash repositories can therefore
be expected to compromise the stability of these repositories and increase the risk of contamination of
groundwater supplies.
Disposal of leachate:
Coal ash leachate is likely to contain high levels of heavy metals including arsenic, lead, mercury, cadmium,
chromium, selenium, aluminum, antimony, barium, beryllium, boron, bromide, chlorine, cobalt, manganese,
molybdenum, nickel, thallium, vanadium, and zinc. Some coal ash also contains radioactive materials. Despite
collection of leachate, some will eventually reach groundwater as the liners disintegrate over time. The leachate
that is collected will need to be removed to a pretreatment system before being discharged to a municipal
wastewater treatment plant, which is still likely to experience upsets and possible compliance failures due to the
relatively high levels of influent chemicals in the leachate.
Impacts on Surface waters:
The 404 permit would allow impacts and destruction to nearly �/z mile of stream and .45 acres of wetlands for
the Brickhaven site. Stream restoration at another location is never sufficient to restore the ecological values of
the streams to be filled and degrade.
We are very concerned that some of the coal ash that will be at both sites could eventually could add to the
current load of sediment and coal ash wastewater from the Moncure Coal Plant ash impoundments, with
inadequate stormwater retention and sediment pond capacity based on optimistic projections from past
meteorological data. Failure or overtopping of the berms or breaching of the containment of the coal ash could
lead to massive pollution of the Cape Fear River. The 8 million tons of ash planned for internment at the
Moncure site will be in addition to the millions of tons of coal ash currently sitting in ponds next to the
Moncure Coal Ash plant less than 2 miles away. If a hurricane or other major storm were to damage or destroy
the berms and other containment at both sites, it would have a devastating impact to the Cape Fear River and
the downstream water users.
Particulate and toxic air pollution:
The transportation of 8 million tons of coal ash to the Brickhaven site could require hundreds of thousands of
truck or train car loads, leaving significant coal ash residue along roadsides and in yards, and allowing for
blowing coal ash from moving vehicles to reach people moving and living near the roadways to be used, even if
transport vehicles are required to use closed and covered containers. No satisfactory plan for ongoing
monitoring and control of this coal ash dust has been proposed and the permit fails to require this.
Mine reclamation... or landfill, and regulatory requirements.
Whether these two clay mine areas at Brickhaven and Sanford (Colon) will be "mine reclamation" as claimed
by Green Meadows, must be critically questioned. The proposed excavation of land which has not previously
been mined, the prohibition of mechanical stress on top of the finished "reclamation" in order to preserve the
integrity of the coal ash liners, and the proposed height of the encapsulated coal ash significantly above the
level of surrounding land, would all make these areas unsuitable for any development whatsoever. These would
unquestionably be coal ash landfills and must be permitted and regulated as such, with all new applicable EPA
provisions. The Army Corps of Engineers much not issue a 404 permit for this site, as it's clear this issue is
unresolved.
Again, we call for a public hearing as critical for evaluation of this 404 permit request, with the permit to
be denied until all concerns have been fully addressed.
Yours truly,
Hope Taylor, MSPH

Executive Director
Clean Water for NC
1318 Broad St.
Durham, NC 27705
(919) 401 -9600