"Coal Ash Dam Failures Would Impact Hundreds, Maps Show"

"Raleigh, N.C. — Maps released by Duke Energy late last week reveal for the first time that nearly 300 individual structures – homes, businesses and town infrastructure – could be in danger of flooding as a result of dam failures at the energy firm's coal ash pits scattered across the state.

Dams at the pits hold back a slurry of waste laced with heavy metals and other toxic elements, the byproduct of burning coal for energy. Documents Duke published online Friday afternoon model the potential impact of several different emergency scenarios, including dam breaches that would flood buildings downstream with feet of water in minutes.

'These inundation maps really give an idea of what it would look like – at a minimum – if they were to fail into the river,' Catawba Riverkeper Sam Perkins said."

Tyler Dukes reports for WRAL October 9, 2017.