environment
Colonial spill much larger than previous estimate
July 22. Colonial Pipeline says the gasoline spill in Huntersville was actually 47,600 barrels—2 million gallons—more than twice previous estimates. The spill, first identified on Aug. 14, 2020, is the worst in North Carolina. Colonial says it has recovered more than 35,500 barrels to date, approximately 75 percent of the updated release estimate. “We will […]
DEQ files consent order requiring Colonial to pay $4.5 million penalty
July 5. The NC DEQ and NC Attorney General have filed a consent agreement in which Colonial Pipeline would pay $4.75 million to resolve all of the outstanding issues related to a massive gasoline spill in Huntersville. The proposed settlement includes a civil penalty of $4.5 million, and holds Colonial accountable for the necessary cleanup. […]
Greenway Waste adds 20 new employees at new facility in Huntersville
July 27. Greenway Waste Solutions at North Meck, a Griffin Brothers’ Company, has launched a state-of-the-art recycling facility in Huntersville with 20 new employees. The 30,000 square-foot facility at 15330 Holbrooks Road will recycle about 75 percent of the residential and commercial construction debris that is already accepted at the Greenway Waste Solutions construction and […]
No federal penalties for Colonial Pipeline spill in Huntersville
July 9. A consent agreement between the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) and Colonial Pipeline means Colonial will not have to pay federal civil penalties for the spill. They will have to follow certain repair methods in the future and submit a plan for better monitoring, according to NC Sen. Natasha Marcus […]
Gasoline spill: Estimated size keeps growing
April 19. The size of the Colonial Pipeline gasoline spill in the Oehler Nature Preserve in Huntersville may be larger than anyone thought. “The reported volume is going to increase again,” according to an internal memo from Huntersville. Colonial says they have recovered about 1.03 million of the 1.2 million gallons of gasoline estimated to […]
NC Sen. Marcus introduces bill to improve pipeline safety
April 6. NC Sen. Natasha Marcus has filed filed Senate Bill 549, Improve Pipeline Safety, in the wake of the worst pipeline leak in North Carolina history. Since the leak was discovered in August of last year more than 1.2 million gallons of gasoline have leaked from the 40-year-old pipeline which spans several counties in […]
Regan, head of NCDEQ, has bipartisan support for EPA administrator
Feb. 5. By Lisa Sorg/NC Policy Watch. Several years ago, Michael Regan was giving his young son a bath when he remembered a conversation with Amy Brown. Brown, the mother of two young boys, lived near the Allen coal-fired power plant and had been depending on bottled water for hundreds of days because her drinking […]
