Break in basin wall at H.F. Lee plant
By Steve Herring
Published in News on October 12, 2016 2:43 PM
UPDATE -- County officials monitoring breach at H.F. Lee plant --
A Wayne County press release at 3:02 p.m. said Emergency Services and "additional agencies" are monitoring the breach. The release also emphasized that the breach is at the plant's cooling pond, not the coal ash pond.
Local fire departments and Duke Energy officials are involved in the survey of the gap. Also, officials with the National Weather Services, which monitors river levels, are looking at their river forecast models as well, said county spokesman Ken Derksen.
It is too early to determine what caused the gap in the basin which contains nothing but water, Derksen said.
Additional updates will be provided as more information becomes available.
Initial report -- A 50- to 60-foot break has occurred in the earthen basin wall surrounding the cooling pond at the H.F. Lee Plant, a Duke Progress Energy news release said.
The release was issued just after 2 p.m. to day.
A survey crew is aboard one of the Wayne County Sheriff's Office helicopters and is currently examining the damage, Sheriff Larry Pierce said.
The break is in the southeast corner of the approximately 545-acre cooling pond -- a man-made reservoir that was constructed to supply cooling water to the power plant, a news release said.
The active ash basin is not impacted by this incident and continues to operate safely, Duke officials said.
There is water still coming into the cooling pond from the Neuse River through the spillway, and now there is water leaving the cooling pond though the opening in the basin wall, the officials said.
"Based on the current flooded state of the river and detailed studies of the area, we expect minimal impact -- less than an inch -- to the Neuse River level as a result of the water entering from the cooling pond," said Duke spokesperson Erin Culbert.
"We continue to work closely with local emergency management and other officials."
Editors note -- Further details are being gathered at this time. Updates will be added as more information becomes available.