LUMBERTON The Southern Environmental Law Center filed a lawsuit Wednesday alleging Active Energy Renewable Power polluted the Lumber River, a violation of the Clean Water Act, according to the conservation group.
The law center is suing on behalf of the Winyah Rivers Alliance, a nonprofit coalition of riverkeepers working to protect local rivers in the state. The complaint, filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, details the concerns of the environmental groups and residents regarding unpermitted discharges of wastewater into the river and its tributary, Jacob s Branch, by Active Energy s property in Lumberton that is contaminated with hazardous substances.
CoalSwitch pellets (Photo: Allenby Capital)
The Southern Environmental Law Center, on behalf of Winyah Rivers Alliance, is suing Active Energy Renewable Power over alleged violations of the Clean Water Act at its facility in Lumberton.
Active Energy RP plans to build a wood pellet manufacturing plant there, on Alamac Road, but the facility is 18 months behind schedule. Instead a company subsidiary runs a sawmill on the 145-acre site.
SELC had notified Active Energy of its intent in December; the company had 60 days to respond. At the time, a company spokesman told Policy Watch he had not yet read the complaint.
Federal lawsuits reveal corporate intrigue behind controversial Lumberton wood pellet plant ncpolicywatch.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from ncpolicywatch.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Planned Wood Pellet Facility Raises More Pollution Concerns
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. On behalf of Winyah Rivers Alliance, the Southern Environmental Law Center today sued to stop Active Energy Renewable Power and Lumberton Energy Holdings subsidiaries of the U.K. company, Active Energy Group from illegally polluting the Lumber River in violation of the Clean Water Act. The complaint filed by the conservation groups in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina outlines concerns regarding unpermitted discharges into the river and its tributary, Jacob’s Branch, from Active Energy’s property contaminated with toxic solvents in Lumberton, N.C.
Today, I’d like to share a story of coal-switching, and Active Energy, (that’s a company, not a health supplement). They’ve recently raised several million, are in the midst of constructing a first commercial, and received a first order from PacifiCorp, the largest grid operator in the western United States. AEG’s CoalSwitch will be burnt at the Hunter Power Plant in Utah as part of the coal/biomass co-firing demonstration, supplying up to 900 tonnes of biomass feedstock from its Lumberton site for delivery by June.
Lots of biomass power projects out there, why this one? It’s all about the feedstock. It’s residual wood, including bark and treetops/branches. sourced locally within North Carolina the plant is in the aptly-named Lumberton, which generations of drivers along Interstate 95 will remember as the last town you stop in before you see the South of the Border roadside attraction complex in Hamer, SC. If you have more genteel interests, think of this as the exit