Dive Summary:
- North Carolina’s Department of Environment and Natural Resources filed lawsuits on Friday against 12 more Duke Energy coal plants for toxic ash seepage and groundwater contamination.
- These suits follow prior state litigation against two other Duke coal plants. The suits claim the coal plants “pose a serious danger to the health, safety and welfare of the people of the state of North Carolina and serious harm to the water resources of the state.”
- After closing the Riverbend coal plant in April, Duke Energy plans to retire seven of the 14 coal plants by the end of 2014. But Duke has not said if the ash currently stored in ponds will be removed.
From the article:
“State regulators are requesting more data to ensure waters of the state are well protected,” spokeswoman Erin Culbert said. “However, this action does not indicate that water quality has changed dramatically over the decades these plants have operated safely.”