

After a pipe recently collapsed and spilled coal ash on 70 miles of the Dan River, N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources officials are looking into the possibility that another coal ash spill could happen � this time on the Cleveland-Rutherford counties border.



Coal ash, which typically contains toxic metals such as lead, mercury, and arsenic, can cause cancer and other health problems.



More than 1,100 gallons of water a day is being drained from a pipe at the Cliffside Steam Station. That pipe drains water out of an emergency stormwater basin, which is built on top of an old coal ash dump.



The flow from the pipe has not reached the Broad River, but Duke Energy staff members are sampling the water, looking for toxic metals from coal ash. So far, Duke reports it has found no environmental impact from the draining water.



But what would happen if they did and how would Cleveland County�s water be affected?







Would a spill impact the water now?



Dewey Cook, vice chairman of the Commissioners for the Cleveland County Water District, said the county�s water wouldn�t be affected.



�For Cleveland County�s water, we don�t have any intakes below the Duke Power steam station,� Cook said. �Shelby�s intake is on the First Broad (River) and so is Cleveland County�s. It sits at Knob Creek and the First Broad River in Lawndale. So we�re not downstream of the steam station.�



Kings Mountain water sources would not be affected either.



�That would not have any effect on us,� said Dennis Wells, Kings Mountain Water Resources director. �We have an impoundment on Moss Lake and we get all of our water from there.�







Could there be future impacts?



Shelby�s water, however, could be affected in the long run, said Shelby City Manager Rick Howell.



Howell said there is some concern for the city of Shelby, because of its secondary water intake, which is on the Big Broad River, downstream of the station.



�The only water source it would affect in the county would be our secondary water intake on the Big Broad River,� Howell said. �We�ve never had to activate the secondary intake. If it were to be utilized and if there were issues with the river, then it could impact that secondary water source.�



In the future, if the city and the county�s industry continues to grow, Shelby might have to use that secondary intake for additional water, Howell said. But as of right now, a spill likely wouldn�t cause a problem.



�If it spilled today, it wouldn�t affect us today,� he said. �But if we had to activate the intake this summer, and if there was a spill, it could potentially have an impact."



Howell said the city's primary water intake on the First Broad River above Grover Street would not be impacted.







What are impacts of Dan River spill?



After the spill on the Dan River near Eden, about 200 miles northeast of Shelby, about 70 miles of the river were coated in coal ash sludge. It took Duke Energy nearly a week to fix the leak.



Because of that spill, Duke Energy�s Dan River Steam Station is being cited for violating environmental standards and NCDENR could levy fines against Duke for those violations.



Five other Duke Energy power plants have also been cited, because they didn�t have the required storm water permits. Such permits are required to legally discharge rainwater that drains from its plants into public waterways.



Duke Energy operates 14 sites across North Carolina that contain at least 32 coal ash dumps.







The Associated Press contributed to this report.