This is a guest post by Rhiannon Fionn, an independent investigative journalist and filmmaker in post-production on the documentary film “Coal Ash Chronicles.”
North Carolina’s Department of Environmental Quality today announced a settlement agreement with Duke Energy, ending a lawsuit over the department’s $25.1 million fine for groundwater contamination resulting from coal ash stored at the company’s Sutton plant near Wilmington, N.C. Although the settlement covers groundwater contamination at 14 of Duke’s coal ash facilities and requires accelerated cleanup of groundwater contamination at four sites, activists and residents I spoke with today were not impressed by the announcement.
Since a judge approved the settlement, there will be no opportunity for public comment.
“I am again disappointed with the department, but not terribly surprised,” said Catawba Riverkeeper Sam Perkins. “This is an impressive new low,” he added. “They put a proposed fine out there, but they’ve not only reduced it, they diluted it to 14 sites.”
The state reports the settlement is for an estimated $20 million, though the company doesn’t agree. Paige Sheehan, a Duke representative, estimates the cost to remediate groundwater at its Sutton plant alone will run $3-$5 million, and less at smaller coal ash sites.
According to Sheehan, $7 million of the settlement http://www.duke-energy.com/news/releases/2015092901.asp will be paid by shareholders, but she left open the possibility that the company will seek a rate increase from the N.C. Utilities Commission to cover groundwater remediation costs.
In Nov. 2014, WRAL.com reported that Duke set aside $3.4 billion for coal ash cleanups in N.C., which includes the removal of much of the waste to lined landfills in multiple states.
Crystal Feldman, director of communications for DEQ, told me settlement negotiations began in March after Duke Energy sued the agency for levying the state-record $25 million fine against the company. Duke called the fine “unprecedented” and balked at the requirement to run municipal water lines when it was already doing so.
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