Duke Energy: Report on Coal Risks
WHEREAS: The use of coal produces well-established harms to public health including water contamination, climate change, and poor air quality. Climate impacts are exacerbating operating risks, necessitating robust mitigation planning.
Toxic contamination. Coal burning results in coal waste -also called coal ash- which is laced with heavy metals such as arsenic, and which can contaminate nearby water sources and raise cancer risk with long term exposure. Duke Energy has had three high profile coal ash spills since 2014 at its Sutton, Dan River, and H.F. Lee coal plants, incurring brand damage, environmental and water impacts, and millions of dollars in clean-up costs. In 2018, Hurricane Florence resulted in breaches at two of Duke’s ponds, highlighting Duke’s lack of preparation for storms and flooding whose frequency and intensity are increasing due to climate change. Duke’s response provoked strong public criticism, while peers demonstrated that available best practices could have prevented spills. A 2019 report from the Environmental Integrity Project ranked Duke’s coal ash storage site at the Allen Steam Station as the second-most contaminated site in the nation, with levels of cobalt -- a heavy metal linked to thyroid damage – found in nearby groundwater at 500 times safe levels.
Harm to vulnerable communities. An NAACP report found people living near coal plants are disproportionately poor and minorities: the six million people living within three miles of U.S. coal plants have an average per capita income of $18,400 per year and 39 percent are people of color.
Declining air quality. Burning coal results in sulfur dioxide, nitrous oxide, mercury, and particulate matter. These pollutants can cause serious health problems such as respiratory illnesses, including asthma and lung diseases; heart attacks; reduced life expectancy; and increased infant mortality.
Climate change. Coal burning releases carbon dioxide, the primary greenhouse gas driving climate change. Climate change results in many health harms and challenges ranging from extreme temperatures to declining air and water quality to the spread of warm weather pests and diseases to new areas. In addition to the health impacts, climate change intensifies extreme storms and flooding, threatening the reliability and safety of coal ash infrastructure and increasing the risk of water contamination.
Despite all this, Duke has yet to adequately address the risks of its continued use of coal.
BE IT RESOLVED: Shareholders request that Duke Energy publish a report assessing how it will mitigate the public health risks associated with Duke’s coal operations in light of increasing vulnerability to climate change impacts such as flooding and severe storms. The report should provide a financial analysis of the cost to the Company of coal-related public health harms, including potential liability and reputational damage. It should be published at reasonable expense and omit proprietary information.
SUPPORTING STATEMENT: Investors request the company consider:
The public health impacts of climate change and how Duke Energy’s coal burning exacerbates them;
How the Company’s coal operations, including its coal ash disposal, impacts the public health of low income communities of color.
Resolution Details
Company: Duke Energy Corp.
Lead Filers:
As You Sow
Year: 2020
Filing Date:
November 2019
Initiative(s): Coal
Status: Agreement Reached, Resolution Withdrawn