US utility, Duke Energy, has submitted plans to begin removing coal ash from four sites in North Carolina to state regulators for approval, the company said in a press statement.
The plans will see 5.1 million t of ash moved during phase 1, most of which will be recycled in construction and mine reclamation projects.
The company must close its coal ash basins at four of its North Carolina power plants by 1 August 2019 under the North Carolina Coal Ash Management Act, which was passed following the spillage of 40,000 to of coal ash into the Dan River.
The ash removed from the site will be reused in engineered structural fill projects, including the ongoing structural fill project at the Asheville regional airport and two new projects to be developed at opencast clay mines in Chatham and Lee Counties.
Roanoake Cement Co. will also use thousands of tonnes of the ash to make concrete, where it can replace some of the Portland cement.
The remainder of the ash removed during phase 1 will be permanently stored in an existing lined landfill site in Jettersville, Virgina.
Written by Jonathan Rowland.