Coal ash

Published June 14, 2014

by Carter Wrenn, Talking about Politics, June 13, 2014.

When it comes to avoiding another coal ash spill, the problem may not be (as the environmentalists believe) the villainy of Governor McCrory.  The problem may be more subtle. 

 

Going back decades, the career state employees over at the Department of Environment and Natural Resources have told Duke Energy it was handling coal ash just fine.   

 

That seems odd now.  But it really wasn’t all that unusual then.

 

Back in 1917, before Duke Energy ever built the first coal ash pond, Alcoa Corporation was smelting aluminum down on the Yadkin River and in those days – since the EPA didn’t even exist – it simply loaded the waste (which is more toxic than coal ash) onto trucks and dumped it in the woods around Badin. Later, after the EPA came along, Alcoa began dumping the waste in unlined landfills and, over the years, regular as clockwork, state bureaucrats would write Alcoa and ask, Send us a report about your pollution. 

 

And Alcoa would send a long report back which basically said, As you know, there’s been pollution (in the past) but none of it is an immediate threat to anyone so rather than cleaning it up we propose to leave it as is and go on monitoring.  

 

Then the state bureaucrats would write back, Fine, and stamp the report and file it in a warehouse full of other state documents.

 

 Apparently no one stopped to wonder if it made sense to ask the folks who’d have to clean up the pollution whether it was a problem.

 

Then Duke’s coal ash pond ruptured and Governor Pat McCrory found himself face to face with another unusual fact: The folks he had to put to work (at DENR) cleaning up the mess were the same folks who’d been telling Duke Energy – for years – it was doing just fine.

 

Now the environmentalists aren’t fond of the Governor and they’ve got their reasons but maybe, this once, the Governor’s not the villain.

http://www.talkingaboutpolitics.com

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June 14, 2014 at 10:30 am
Norm Kelly says:

Not only do the libs hate McCrory simply because he's a Republican, but they have added to their hate (if that's possible!) because he's the gov who allowed the coal ash ponds to explode. Now, since Carter is documenting the history of ponds, he will be equally hated by libs. If he isn't already.

The more information that comes out about ponds, the less positive it is for libs/environmentalists/socialists, the more positive it is for McCrory. Who was in charge of Raleigh for almost the entire last century? Who was in charge of new environmental groups, like the EPA and DENR, over most of the last century? Who is it that CONSTANTLY tells us that their single most important and only goal in life is to protect citizens from polluters and protect the environment? The answer to every question is LIBS. Who has failed to do ANY of what they claim to do? Same answer: LIBS! When will people open their eyes? Someone on the radio has a habit of saying 'follow the money'. Even when it comes to loving, open-minded, open-arms, environmentally friendly, non-racist libs, it always comes down to money. If they can make money on a scheme, then they will allow the scheme to proceed. And they will gladly, willingly lie to their supporters and detractors alike.

Take gun control as an example. No new legislation will change illegal behavior. Yet libs push for new rules/laws that affect ONLY law abiding citizens.

Take socialized medicine as an example. Can you keep your doctor? Can you keep your existing policy? Can you check in at your local hospital? Will your premiums actually go DOWN because of socialized medicine? Once again, libs knew the facts then, know the facts now, and continue to lie about socialized medicine. Look at K as a perfect example of someone who doesn't learn from past mistakes. It appears that since the first round of socialized medicine forced on us by the demon party, K hasn't changed her stance on it's implementation. What is her response to all the problems with Obamacancer? It didn't go far enough! It didn't eliminate enough of the private sector. So the big lie continues. And she appears to be perfectly happy continuing the lie, when it suits her. K claims that if we simply eliminate the private sector entirely, have the government take over the entire health care system in the entire country, the problems will be solved and the solution will be solvent.

Take school choice. Should parents be allowed more control in where their kids go to school? According to libs, and the education establishment (redundancy alert!), the answer is NO. The libs want your money to spend on education as THEY see fit, regardless of how it might or might not help your kid learn, regardless of how much they teach your kid stuff that you don't want your kid taught, regardless of how much you can prove they are wasting money. If it were up to libs, they would raise the amount spent on big education and they would limit parental authority even more!

Libs. Gotta love them. Still trying to figure out why, but for now we'll let that one stand!