Sutton Steam Electric Plant has 131 groundwater monitoring wells, 79 of which have been polluted above federal advisory levels based on samples collected between March 09, 2010 and March 20, 2019. Groundwater at this site contains unsafe levels of molybdenum, arsenic, lithium, cobalt, manganese, boron, radium, selenium, sulfate, thallium, antimony and lead.
Site descriptionDuke Energy's Sutton Steam Electric Plant began operating in 1954 near Wilmington, North Carolina in New Hanover County and at its peak had an operating capacity of 575-MW. Duke Energy retired the plant's three coal-fired units in November 2013 but left three small combustion turbines in operation. At that time, a new gas-fired 625 MW combined cycle unit was brought online. In 2013, groundwater contamination from the site threatened residential drinking water wells in Flemington, North Carolina. Duke Energy agreed to pay for most of the cost of running public drinking water lines out to Flemington. Three units near the station, CCF Landfill, 1971 and 1984 Ash Basins, are regulated under the CCR rule.
You can find the industry-reported data here. For more information about the Sutton Steam Electric Plant, see EIP's 2019 National Coal Ash Report.