Rockingham rebranding, promoting waterways as coal ash is hauled away

As Rockingham County leaders gathered Thursday morning to discuss the county's challenges and rebranding efforts, Duke Energy announced plans to continue cleanup of an environmental disaster along the Dan River that dragged the county into the spotlight earlier this year.

Duke Energy laid out a plan Thursday to relocate 5.1 million tons of coal ash from four sites, including 2.4 million tons from two coal ash ponds at the Dan River Steam Station where in February tons of ash spilled into the river downstream from Eden. That relocation will begin in May.

Clean up of the ponds follows efforts to mitigate the damage when they spilled toxic ash into the Dan in February, with Duke Energy targeting the worst deposits and continuing to monitor water quality.

"We cleaned up every available ash deposit that they (the EPA) directed us to go after," said Davis Montgomery, district manager for Duke Energy, said at the Triad Business Journal's State of Rockingham discussion at Rockingham Community College. "We have not left the river."

The coal ash removal plan needs to clear permitting hurdles before the ash is moved beginning in May, Montgomery said. The state's new Coal Ash Management Act calls for those basins, along with 10 other Duke Energy basins in the state, to be closed by Aug. 1, 2019.

And as the river and surrounding environmental threats are cleaned up, Rockingham County and its communities are working to recraft their image, which was tarnished following the spill with national media coverage and the attention of environmental groups.

Eden, with its water supply upstream from the spill site, was tagged as being affected because news stories carried the "Eden" tag, said Mike Dougherty, director of economic development for the city.

Owen Covington covers health care, insurance, law/bankruptcy court, media/advertising, local government and sports business. Contact him at 336-370-2909.