Cliffside Steam Station has 108 groundwater monitoring wells, 47 of which have been polluted above federal advisory levels based on samples collected between April 01, 2011 and May 03, 2019. Groundwater at this site contains unsafe levels of cobalt, manganese, sulfate, arsenic, beryllium, thallium, selenium, lithium, molybdenum, lead, radium, boron, cadmium and chromium.
Site descriptionDuke Energy's Rogers Energy Complex (formerly Cliffside Steam Station) began operating in 1940 in Cleveland and Rutherford Counties, North Carolina, and at its peak, it could generate up to 1,387-MW. In October 2011, four of the coal-fired units were retired. The fifth unit is located about a half mile away from the other four units and has been upgraded in recent years to allow up to 40% natural gas co-firing. The newest unit, Unit 6, is fueled by clean coal and allows for 100% natural gas co-firing. It came online in 2012 and can generate up to 825-MW of electricity. Duke Energy has not announced any plans to retire these units. Duke has planned a retirement date of 2049 for the facility, while clarifying that this date is only for planning purposes and could change. The station has five inactive basin units, one active ash basin and one CCP landfill, and they are all regulated under the CCR rule.
You can find the industry-reported data here. For more information about the Cliffside Steam Station, see EIP's 2019 National Coal Ash Report.