Press Release
Care2
Last week, up to 82,000 tons of coal ash slurry spilled into North Carolina’s Dan River, stemming from a broken pipe owned by Duke Energy. Now a petition on Care2 demands the Department of Justice step in to investigate Governor Pat McCrory and his role in allowing Duke to avoid penalties for environmental destruction for years.
More than 1,700 have signed the petition demanding accountability after last week’s spill ushered lead, mercury, selenium and arsenic into the Dan River that supplies drinking water to communities in North Carolina and Virginia. The Duke spill is the third largest coal ash spill in U.S. history, and many are outraged over the lack of accountability and transparency about the true consequences for residents of the region.
“Be a responsible corporate citizen of our community and clean up your toxic mess, Duke Energy,” writes Jason Smith of North Carolina.
Gov. McCrory worked for Duke Energy for 30 years. The Associated Press reports McCrory’s Department of Environment and Natural Resources stepped in to block three separate Clean Water Act lawsuits brought against the company in 2013. Instead of harsh penalties and fines, Duke was given light financial penalties and was not required to change its storage of toxic byproducts from coal-fired power plants.
Now, North Carolina has claimed the power to handle environmental enforcement of each of Duke’s NC-based coal ash storage sites. The move essentially protects the company from Clean Water Act lawsuits in the future.
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