Citizens' hearing on Duke coal plant set for Raleigh 10/23

A coalition of groups concerned about Duke Energy's plans to build a huge 800 megawatt coal-burning power plant in western North Carolina will hold a citizens' hearing on the matter on Tuesday, Oct. 23 at Raleigh's Cameron Village Regional Library (click image for full-size announcement flyer).

The Raleigh hearing and two others that took place this week in Asheville and Charlotte were organized after the N.C. Division of Air Quality refused requests to hold formal hearings across the state. Instead, DAQ held only one hearing about the proposed new Cliffside plant on the border between Cleveland and Rutherford counties on Sept. 18 in Forest City, N.C. The organizers of the citizens' hearings are the Canary Coalition, N.C. Interfaith Power & Light, N.C. Climate Action Network, SURGE, and the N.C. Waste Awareness & Reduction Network.

Among the groups' concerns are the fact that the proposed Cliffside power plant will emit to the environment each year hundreds of pounds of mercury, a potent neurotoxin, as well as 6 million tons of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas pollutant that contributes to global warming.

Citizens who would like to speak are limited to three minutes, but everyone may offer written comments of any length that will be submitted to DAQ by the Oct. 30 deadline. People who pre-register will be allowed to speak first; you can pre-register by e-mailing info@canarycoalition.org or by calling toll-free 1-866-422-6279. DAQ has declined an invitation to attend the hearings, but the events are being taped and DVD copies sent to the agency and media.

If you can't attend the Tuesday hearing in person but still want to weigh in, send your comments on or before Oct. 30 to Don van der Vaart, DAQ Permits Section, "Re: Cliffside Permit," N.C. Division of Air Quality, 1641 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-1641, or e-mail them to donald.vandervaart@ncmail.net.

The Cameron Village library is located at 1930 Clark Ave.; for directions, click here. For a copy of Duke Energy's permit application, click here. For more information about the hazards of coal-burning power plants, click here and here [PDF].