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March 7, 2014

Duke Energy Ordered to Stop Pollution at N.C. Coal Plants 
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The energy giant Duke Energy has been ordered to stop groundwater
pollution at its 14 coal-fired plants in North Carolina. On Thursday, a
state judge reversed a North Carolina Environmental Management
Commission ruling that left Duke off the hook for immediately cleaning
up contaminated groundwater. The decision comes just weeks after Duke
spilled over 35 million gallons of coal ash into the Dan River, one of
the worst such spills in U.S. history. A coalition of environmental
groups had brought the case to challenge what they called lackluster
state oversight. In a statement, the Waterkeeper Alliance said: "If the
state had exercised its authority to require cleanup of those ponds
previously, the catastrophic coal ash spill could have been prevented.
The time to use this authority to require cleanup at other plants around
the state is now, before another disaster occurs."

 

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