Awards We Give Duke Energy Environmental, Health & Safety Awards
The Environment, Health & Safety (EHS) Award recognizes Duke Energy employees for significant contributions to the environment, and the health and safety of employees and the public. Awards are presented for outstanding achievements supporting environmental stewardship on the job or in the community, or outstanding contributions to enhancing the overall health and safety of employees and the public.
Duke Energy’s commitment to protecting the environment, conserving natural resources, and safeguarding the health and safety of employees and communities is long-standing and deeply ingrained in the company’s culture. The EHS Award recognizes exemplary contributions that set the standard for EHS performance within the company and for the industry as a whole.
Following are recipients of the 2005 EHS Awards, which recognized 2004 achievements.
Jim Mozley, senior vice president for Crescent Resources and head of second home resort community development, is responsible for Crescent’s Palmetto Bluff and Lake James developments.
Jim took responsibility for the Lake James developments during a period when land issues were extremely controversial. At that time, he brought his abundant but unique set of skills to the matter. Jim’s creative expertise as a technical land planner was instrumental in creating a comprehensive land plan for the Lake James area using environmentally sensitive, low density development concepts that were truly appropriate for the Lake James area.
In a process that is a model for public, private and governmental cooperation, Jim solicited input from area residents, environmental groups, land conservation groups, the Burke County Commission and other elected officials. In a remarkable display of leadership ability he led these stakeholders in developing a consensus for a comprehensive land plan for development in the area.
The highlight of the overall plan was the designation and subsequent sale of approximately 3,000 acres to the state of North Carolina for the expansion of the Lake James State Park.
According to Daniel Kuehnert, an attorney for Burke County, “when Jim heard the wishes of what some might consider the most extreme environmental position, he saw not a problem but an opportunity. As a result, he not only advanced the goals of his employer, but he gained the respect of, if not totally won over, many of the most adamant environmental opponents to lake development. He is simply an outstanding example of corporate leadership and integrity.”
"Find a need and fill it,” is a phrase that has inspired many monumental inventions and ideas. For Les Shugart, a supervising engineer of hydroelectric generation, it was the driving force behind a creative solution at hydroelectric power stations throughout Duke Power’s system.
Across the industry, surveyors regularly inspect spillways of hydroelectric dams to study dam deformation and concrete erosion.
For years, surveyors at Duke Power’s spillways have worked with a life jacket as their only safety device. However, inspired by Duke Energy’s renewed commitment to safety, employees began asking for a way to secure themselves to prevent falling over the face of the dam.
In response, Les developed a relatively inexpensive, compact, easy-to-handle and environmentally-friendly “safety float.” Les’ device is about five feet long, two feet wide and one foot deep. This rectangular structure is tapered on both ends, like a barge, and has two small wheels attached to one side for rolling along the face of the dam. Small holes in the float allow the device to fill with water. The weight of the water in the semi-submerged vessel allows employees to walk safely along hydroelectric plant spillways by providing a place for the employee to tie-off.
Les’ safety device is a testament to the innovation and creativity of Duke Energy employees and offers a creative solution to an industry-wide safety concern.
In Brazil, Duke Energy International (DEI) operates eight hydroelectric plants along the Paranapanema River. According to its government permit, Duke Energy is required to release 1.5 million young fish per year into the reservoirs.
Until 2001, DEI’s Salto Grande Station’s restocking program was maintained through a time consuming, forced fertilization process that required three employees, which only allowed two species of fish to be restocked.
Between 2002 and 2004, Rodolfo Sirol’s team developed innovative ways to improve Salto Grande’s repopulation efforts. Rodolfo’s program also improved the diversity and survivability of the young fish, or fingerlings, and significantly reduced costs.
Rodolfo’s team developed a fertilization method that more closely resembles the natural process. Under the new system, spawning takes place naturally in large circular tanks that facilitate the release of reproductive cells and egg fertilization.
This approach allows Rodolfo’s team to breed six different species of fish—up from the two that were produced before. Natural fertilization also encourages genetic diversity using the sperm and egg cells from more than 25 fish.
In addition, Rodolfo studied the reservoirs, identifying release sites with more food and fewer predators.
He also knew that a significant number of fish died during transit from the Salto Grande Station to release sites up to six hours away. His team added products to the water that practically eliminated transit-induced deaths and fatigue, which makes the fingerlings more susceptible to being preyed upon.
Finally, Rodolfo increased the cultivation period from two months to as many as ten. Instead of being released at two centimeters in length, the young fish are now anywhere from 12 to 18 centimeters when released.
The process that Rodolfo’s team adopted with the State University of Londrina and the State University of São Paulo has decreased DEI’s annual spending on aquatic projects by 45 percent.
In June 2002, North Carolina passed clean air legislation that requires electric utilities to significantly reduce sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions from coal-fired power plants over the next decade.
To achieve these reductions at Duke Power, the company is installing Flue Gas Desulfurization (FGD) technology, or “scrubbers,” at Marshall, Belews Creek, Allen and Cliffside Steam Stations. The scrubbers remove sulfur dioxide by injecting a mixture of limestone and water into the hot air coming from the power plant’s smokestacks. This step is in addition to the air pollution control systems already in place.
However, the scrubbers produce a wastewater stream that includes selenium and mercury. And approximately 90 percent of these pollutants have to be removed. Duke Power contacted several water treatment vendors, but none could reduce selenium to the required level.
Robert Wylie, an engineer who provides wastewater permitting support for the Marshall scrubber project, knew of a constructed wetland treatment system that was used at the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina.
A constructed wetland treatment system uses micro-organisms and plants like bulrush and cattail to remove pollutants from contaminated water.
Robert contacted Dr. John Rodgers, a Clemson University scientist who helped design the wetlands at Savannah River, to discuss the possibility of using a similar system at Marshall.
The university agreed to conduct a pilot project. To help fund it, Robert worked with Progress Energy, who agreed to share costs. The pilot’s wetlands successfully met target levels for mercury and selenium.
Today, Duke Power is building 15 acres of constructed wetlands at Marshall. The system is scheduled for completion by September 2005.
By using constructed wetlands instead of a chemical treatment plant, Duke Power expects to save several million dollars and will consider using a similar wetland treatment system at other scrubber sites.