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The public is invited to a March 29 meeting to provide feedback on the state’s proposed risk classifications for the coal ash ponds at Duke Energy’s Marshall Steam Station on Lake Norman.

The meeting, which is being hosted by the state environmental agency, will be held at 6 p.m. at the Catawba Valley Community College Auditorium, 2550 US-70, in Hickory.

As required by the coal ash law, the state environmental agency developed the risk classifications for all of Duke Energy’s coal ash impoundments by assessing structural integrity and the potential impacts on surface water and groundwater.

The agency’s proposed risk classification for one coal ash impoundment at the Marshall Steam Station is low-to-intermediate risk. The state will consider all written and verbal public feedback before making the risk classifications final.

The final risk classifications will determine the timeline for closing each of the utility’s 33 coal ash ponds. Coal ash ponds designated as high-risk must be excavated and closed by December 2019; intermediate risk ponds must be excavated and closed by December 2024; and low-risk ponds must be closed by December 2029.