In the Southside region, it’s socially acceptable to bash the hell out of Duke Energy right now for the coal ash spill. Where’s the environmentalist outrage to a company that’s leaked out 15,000 gallons of concentrated sulfuric acid into a river?
RAAP fined again by DEQ
Well, now. Isn’t that something? Why haven’t we heard from all the environmental groups that have clustered around the coal ash spill on the Dan River? Ten fines from environmental damage in ten years. 13,000,000 pounds of toxins released in 2011.
The plant’s solution seems to be a simple one. Pay the fines and it’s back to business as usual. Where’s the calls to punish this plant over the past 10 years and the contractors that run it? How about 15,000 gallons of concentrated sulfuric acid released into the ecosystem? Look at that. After all of this constant polluting, it’s also business as usual for the environment. As I’ve said before, Mother Nature has a miraculous ability to heal herself.
I’m certainly not endorsing this degree of pollution nor any pollution at all. I believe that this plant should be fined severely and that the operations of the plant clearly need a strong degree of oversight by state and federal regulators. That being said, this strongly adds to my belief that these environmental groups that have descended to the Dan River region are opportunistic to a degree and seem to “never let a serious crisis go to waste”.
The short-term effects of this coal ash spill have been very minor and are now almost gone. We’ll have to wait and see what the medium and long-term effects are but based on what I see here, I’m feeling that this is going to be a case of “So That Happened”. Anyone that shares my hope for the continued success and health for the Southside region should share that opinion.
I’ll be glad to see these environmental groups fly out of the region as fast as they flew in. Once there’s nothing more that they can use to scare the public into panic, they’ll have no reason to stick around. When that happens, I hope we get a statement from them saying “Damn, we were wrong.”… but I won’t hold my breath for that.
Are you referring to the Radford Army Ammunition Plant? Is that in the article, or did I miss it?
You are correct. The “biggest polluter of them all” is the Radford Army Ammunition plant.
I’m going to say its because, sulfuric acid dissolves in water? And guess what one of the chemicals they use in water treatment is. and Guess what one of the uses for coal ash is, in view of its alkalinity and water absorption capacity, may be used in combination with other alkaline materials to transform sewage sludge into organic fertilizer or biofuel.
But remember they don’t trust the word of wikipedia. It might not be 100% correct about Brittany Spears, or even the city of Danville (as I feel someone Heavily edited Danville’s entry to make the river district sound like noah’s ark) It is accurate about most things.