RALEIGH, N.C. – The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality held a public information session Tuesday evening regarding Duke Energy’s Allen Steam Station.
The meeting was at Stuart Cramer High School in Belmont at 6 p.m. [ALSO READ: Families near Allen Steam Station mark 1,000 days living off bottled water] This was the first of several opportunities for the community to discuss what they value in a closure plan and coal ash impoundment for the Allen Steam Station.
She and many of her neighbors spent years drinking bottled water.
They also fought to get a water line but only if they agreed not to sue Duke Energy.
[ALSO READ: Neighbors worry construction near Duke Energy power plant could disturb buried coal ash] Duke Energy has presented options for the state to consider at the Allen Steam plant and the Marshal plant: Covering the coal ash ponds would cost Duke $185 million Moving some ash and covering it all: $280 million Moving it to a landfill on site: $558 million Moving it to an offsite landfill: $1.2 billion Duke Energy wants to cover it, but Brown wants it all hauled away.
"They are unlined, and they are sitting next to our rivers and lakes," Brown said.
"Coal ash is poisonous forever,” Catawba River Keeper Brandon Jones said.
“These are elements (that) don’t breakdown."
"We have decades worth of surface testing on Lake Wylie that shows the lake is safe," Duke Energy spokesman Bill Norton said.
Duke Energy said it will remove coal ash closest to residents.

Due to this loss of pressure, as a precaution, customers are advised to boil water until further notice.” The precautionary boil water advisory will remain in effect until bacteriological samples are collected and analyzed to reflect a negative result for coliform, a type of bacteria, according to the notice.
Until laboratory tests are completed to confirm the water has not been contaminated, the boil water notice remains in effect.
What does boil water notice mean?
A boil water notice means tap water should not be used for drinking, cooking or ice making until tests verify the water is safe.
How does boiling water make it safe to drink?
Boiling does not remove them from the water, but it does kill them, preventing them from causing illness.
Ice already in your freezer when the boil water notice is issued is safe, but icemakers should be turned off until the notice is lifted.
The boil water notice will remain in effect until test samples show the water is safe to drink.
How will I know when the boil water notice is lifted and I can safely use tap water again?
After the boil water advisory is lifted, will my water heater be contaminated?

Severn Trent Water has shed more light on how its engineers went about battling a catastrophic leak in Cheltenham which left thousands with dry taps over Sunday and Monday.
Not one but two burst pipes contributed to the A40 outside GCHQ being flooded and bottled water being shipped in for families across the GL52 postcode to access.
The first problems surfaced on Sunday morning and prompted a warning to motorists to try and avoid one of the main routes into the town, such was the scale of the flooding on the dual-carriageway between the Arle Court and Benhall roundabouts.
It later emerged a second pipe had burst, making repair work doubly difficult.
The first burst pipe was beneath the road outside GCHQ, the second on Badgeworth Road, further down the A40.
A Severn Trent spokeswoman said the second burst also made redirecting water supplies down undamaged pipes to people’s homes tricky and that took longer than they wanted.
"Our teams worked through the night until everyone was back on."
The first customers had water restored at about 9pm on Sunday evening with others following on Monday morning.
Such was the demand from the thousands of households for water at that point that pressure dropped significantly.
Repair work to the two burst pipes then took place throughout Monday and the system was restored to normal in the evening.

Data published on Indigenous Services Canada’s website show that 78 advisories have been rescinded since November, 2015.
Indigenous Services Canada uses a database called the Integrated Capital Management System (ICMS) to assess the risk that water systems present to the people they serve.
Annual inspections assess each system’s design, how well it’s being operated and maintained, record keeping, the operators’ training and the quality of source water; systems are then scored between 1 (presenting very low risk of producing unsafe water) and 10 (extreme risk).
“It’s really a good indication of progress," Mr. Westmacott said, "working with our First Nations partners to address the advisories before they are becoming long term.” Advisories are issued to warn people not to consume water that is unsafe, or at high risk of becoming so.
Many reserves, in contrast, have experienced advisories that drag on for years without remedy.
According to the First Nations Health Authority (which tests drinking water, inspects water systems and can recommend advisories on reserves in British Columbia), that’s an aesthetic issue, and doesn’t present a health risk.
The First Nations Health Authority later confirmed that Sahhaltkum’s manganese levels are above the new guidelines.
“And we have communities that are told they are getting a new [treatment] process.
Another common complaint from First Nations was that the nations themselves, and not the federal government, are driving the elimination of advisories.
It had been on a boil-water advisory for nearly five years.

Last year, Scottish Water and Health Protection Scotland were called into the children’s hospital and UK experts were consulted after six children developed infections linked to bacteria in the water supply.
READ MORE: Jeane Freeman branded ‘complacent’ after defending hospital infection control following child’s death It follows a catalogue of problems, including contamination of the water supply at the children’s hospital and most recently the death in December of the 10-year-old boy, who was treated for the Cryptoccocus infection, linked to pigeon droppings.
Two other patients are being treated for a separate fungal infection related to Mucor mould, with one described as seriously ill. Ms Freeman yesterday denied she had said “infection control was good enough” at the hospital.
It comes after a 10-year-old boy died at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow after contracting an infection linked to pigeon droppings.
Asked on the BBC’s Sunday Politics Scotland about the report, Ms Freeman said: “I don’t believe Healthcare Environment Inspectorate have taken it in that way – they follow an independent professionally driven rota.
“That is why, again, that area has been closed while they investigate what happened and those children – cancer patients – are in an additional area of the hospital.” Ms Freeman also gave an update on two patients who were said to have contracted a separate, unrelated fungal infection called Mucor.
The initial Cryptococcus infection is believed to be from pigeon droppings found in a plant room on the hospital’s roof, with the ventilation system at the heart of the review.
Ms Freeman said: “First of all I did not say that I believed the infection control in the hospital was good enough, what I said was that the hospital had undertaken everything that I believed they should have in order to provide additional infection control in the light of both the Cryptococcus and this second unrelated fungal infection.
“I’d also said though that, as you have outlined, we have had more than one instance of infection that has produced first of all the shift of those children who are cancer patients in terms of water and drainage and then the Cryptococcus infection and now the Mucor infection.
“From the bottom of our hearts, we want you to stay.” Few in the UK know or even care how deeply many Germans appear to love, rather than merely respect, the British, probably because the feeling is not reciprocated.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The trailer of a big rig that went over the edge of the Dames Point Bridge the Friday before Christmas remains in the water more than a month later, and now its load of water bottles is seeping into the river.
Boaters are concerned the bottles will pollute the St. Johns River and harm marine life.
Jacksonville boat captain Lee Bowman was out on the river fishing when he came across the trailer and saw its contents of bottles spilling out.
“Water bottles were all over the place, inside the trailer and starting to float out of it,” he said.
The post has been shared more than 1,100 times on social media.
“I’m really glad it’s getting as much exposure as it is, and more for the reason that I want to see something done about it,” Bowman said.
“I want to see it cleaned up.” Bowman said he and a few friends went to secure the back door of the trailer to avoid more plastic bottles getting into the river.
"I’ve got kids that I want to raise up fishing in the area, and I don’t want this plastic and trash in the river any more than anybody else does," Bowman said.
Bowman said he and his friends ended up using power from his boat to push the container door shut.
Copyright 2019 by WJXT News4Jax – All rights reserved.

Water began to return late last night, although there was very low pressure from the taps, and many people had full supplies restored in time for getting ready for school and work.
However, there could still be low pressure and taps could run dry again as Severn Trent says it will be opening a station where customers can collect free bottled water.
This will be at Morrison’s car park, Caernavon Road, Up Hatherley, Cheltenham, GL51 3BW from 8am and Seven Trent will be there all day.
The burst pipes caused flooding around the Arle Court roundabout on the A40 in Cheltenham and people in the GL51 area, including Up Hatherley and Leckhampton, found their taps running dry from around 11.30am on Sunday.
And while supplies returned for a bit, many people had no water until around 10pm on Sunday.
"We know that this is going to be inconvenient as you try to get ready for work and school, but please bear with us – we’re trying our best to get everything back to normal as quickly as we can.
Areas of Cheltenham were without water or experiencing low pressure for hours after two water pipes were confirmed to have burst.
However, just before 4pm, they revealed a second pipe had burst in the area which would also need to be fixed.
We know that this is going to be inconvenient as you try to get ready for work and school, but please bear with us – we’re trying our best to get everything back to normal as quickly as we can.
We’ll be at Morrison’s car park, Caernavon Road, Up Hatherley, Cheltenham, GL51 3BW from 08:00 am.

This is the first meeting that the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality and Ottawa County Department of Public Health has held since early November 2018, after elevated levels of PFAS substances were detected in wells at Robinson Elementary School.
A high level of PFAS was found at the school and one residence.
Kristina Wieghmink, the public information officer for the county health department, said the February meeting was scheduled due to requests from Robinson Township officials and community members.
“We want to ensure Robinson Township residents and the public have information about PFAS and the opportunity to ask questions from local and state health officials on the PFAS testing in their area, and other concerns in the community,” she said.
Four potential sources for the contamination were initially considered — including firefighting foam, undocumented dump sites, biosolid applications and highway construction materials.
DEQ spokesperson Scott Dean told the Grand Haven Tribune this month that high concentrations of PFAS chemicals have not been discovered in close proximity to nearby biosolid applications or highway construction materials.
Dump sites have historically been allowed without documentation, Dean said, but none have been identified close to elevated PFAS levels in the township.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has a lifetime health advisory of 70 parts per trillion (ppt) in drinking water for the two chemicals PFOA and PFOS.
Michigan has not established standards for drinking water, but the DEQ has investigated the contaminants across the state.
In a statement, the congressman said task force leaders are concerned that contamination like what was discovered at Robinson Elementary School is “just the tip of the iceberg.” “At the end of the day, residents deserve to know the truth and the full picture about the health risks, as well as the sources associated with PFAS and PFOAS,” he said.

PAOLA, KS.
(KCTV) — The Kansas Department of Health and Environment on Sunday morning issued a boil water advisory for the City of Paola.
The advisory will be in place until conditions that "placed the system at risk of bacterial contamination are resolved," KDHE officials said in a news release.
Below are recommendations from the KDHE on what to do during a boil water advisory: • If your tap water appears dirty, flush the water lines by letting the water run until it clears.
• Boil water for one minute prior to drinking or food preparation or use bottled water.
• Dispose of ice cubes and do not use ice from a household automatic icemaker.
• Disinfect dishes and other food contact surfaces by immersion for at least one minute in clean tap water that contains one teaspoon of unscented household bleach per gallon of water.
• Water used for bathing does not generally need to be boiled.
Supervision of children is necessary while bathing so that water is not ingested.
Persons with cuts or severe rashes may wish to consult their physicians.

Areas of Cheltenham have been without water or experiencing low pressure for hours after two water pipes were confirmed to have burst.
Severn Trent sent officers to investigate the incident and confirmed at 3.17pm that a pipe had burst.
However, just before 4pm, they revealed a second pipe had burst in the area which would also need to be fixed.
"We’re working hard at the moment to get water supplies back on for those customers affected by the burst water pipe in Cheltenham."
Severn Trent added: "We’re moving water around our network of pipes to bring supplies back into the area, so we hope that everyone will have water again in the next couple of hours."
They have confirmed that ‘vulnerable’ customers that they are aware of will be receiving bottled water.
The roads have also been affected in the area and motorists were warned to take care or avoid altogether as water from the burst pipe sat on the road.
The A40 and Benhall Ave was partially blocked, rendering the bus lane on the A40 unusable.
Motorists had to take care when using the traffic lights on the roundabout; driving through the inches of water.
The live blog below has ended, but read below for updates and where you can go for further information and assistance.