June 9, 2014
By Michael Biesicker, Associated Press
Raleigh, N.C.
Environmental and wildlife officials (click here) in North Carolina and Virginia signed an agreement with Duke Energy Monday for the cleanup of toxic coal ash from the Dan River, which flows through the two states.
The agreement requires Duke to pay any "reasonable" cost associated with the Feb. 2 spill at its power plant near Eden, which coated 70 miles of the river in gray sludge. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is also a party to the deal....
...The nation’s largest electricity company has begun the task of vacuuming up large pockets of toxic ash that settled to the bottom of the river as far downstream as Danville, Virgina. Duke must also pay for the ongoing monitoring by government agencies of the spill’s impact on aquatic life.
What is the chance the states will file? The majority legislature in Virginia has just fallen to Republican influence in a scandal that will probably cost a woman a judgeship as well. Duke knows how to tie everyone up in knots, doesn't it? The so called agreement needs to be litigated.
...The nation’s largest electricity company has begun the task of vacuuming up large pockets of toxic ash that settled to the bottom of the river as far downstream as Danville, Virgina. Duke must also pay for the ongoing monitoring by government agencies of the spill’s impact on aquatic life.
The agreement places no cap on what the company might be required to spend. Duke said in April that it had spent $15 million on containing the spill and the immediate aftermath. But it reiterated in a regulatory filing to investors on Monday that it is unable to predict future costs for the cleanup, new laws passed in the wake of the spill or any environmental fines that might be levied against the company.
N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources spokeswoman Susan Massengale said Monday that the agreement provides "a process that attempts to avoid lawsuits by the parties," but does not bar the states from filing suit if the company does not uphold its commitments.... What is the chance the states will file? The majority legislature in Virginia has just fallen to Republican influence in a scandal that will probably cost a woman a judgeship as well. Duke knows how to tie everyone up in knots, doesn't it? The so called agreement needs to be litigated.
