Is Concrete Industry the Answer to Coal Ash? That was the headline on a June 10 article by The Charlotte Observer which included comments made to North Carolina state Senate committee by former NRMCA Board of Directors Chairman Henry Batten. Batten, president of NRMCA Producer member Concrete Supply Co., told state lawmakers his company has to import coal ash from out of state. "I’m really here telling you the industry wants to buy it, consume it," he told members of the Senate Committee on Agriculture/Environment/Natural Resources.

Batten spoke at a hearing on Governor Pat McCrory’s plan to deal with the 106 million tons of ash in 33 ponds. The plan is a response to February’s spill of 39,000 tons of ash into the Dan River. Read more (and note the extensive comments section).