Monday meeting in Va. to focus on coal ash spill

DANVILLE, Va. (AP) - State and federal officials are heading to Danville next week to discuss the dredging of coal ash from the Dan River.

The Environmental Protection Agency and its state counterpart, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, and public health officials will attend the open house on Monday.

The focus will be coal ash that collected near the Schoolfield Dam. The toxic sludge is the result of a spill upriver in North Carolina at an impoundment pond owned by Duke Energy in early February.

The Danville Register and Bee (https://bit.ly/1kLLx3v) says the meeting will offer residents an opportunity to question officials on the dredging work.

State and federal officials say treated public drinking water supplies exceed safe-drinking standards. They stress, however, that the long-term impacts on marine life are not known.

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Information from: Danville Register & Bee, https://www.registerbee.com