PAGES

Friday, March 07, 2014

Judge orders Duke Energy to remove sources of contamination from Feb. 2 coal ash spill

A Superior Court judge in North Carolina on Thursday ordered Duke Energy to “'take immediate action to eliminate sources of contamination, such as ash ponds that allow sludge-like coal waste to leach into the ground. The utility company must do so regardless of the continuing negotiations it has pending with the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources over past groundwater contamination or future clean-up efforts,'" Bertrand Gutierrez reports for the Winston-Salem Journal

The order is in response to a Feb. 2 spill that sent coal ash into the Dan River, and a subsequent lawsuit "filed by Cape Fear River Watch, Sierra Club, Waterkeeper Alliance and Western North Carolina Alliance seeking clarification on state clean-water laws – after the N.C. Environment Management Commission said that utilities such as Duke Energy did not have to immediately remove sources of contamination," Gutierrez writes. The groups requested that Duke Energy stop contaminating groundwater at its 14 coal-fired power plants statewide. (Read more)

No comments:

Post a Comment