Cutting through the confusion about McCrory and coal ash
Published October 23, 2015
by Chris Fitzsimon, NC Policy Watch and NC SPIN panelist, October 22, 2015.
t’s probably getting tough for most people to keep up with all the court cases, settlements, and fines surrounding coal ash contamination at sites across North Carolina owned by Duke Energy. Every week seems to bring another proceeding or ruling or lawsuit.
Governor Pat McCrory and his top environmental officials are not only counting on the confusion to mislead the public they are adding to it, hoping that people fail to grasp the theme running through all the coal ash cases, that this administration continues to refuse to enforce the law and protect the state’s water quality that’s being damaged by McCrory’s former longtime employer.
This week U.S. District Judge Loretta Biggs not only refused a request by Duke Energy to dismiss a lawsuit by environmental groups against the company for its leaking coal ash pit near the Yadkin River, she also raised questions about how diligently state officials were working to force the company to clean up the pollution at the site.
The judge’s harsh words come just a couple of weeks after a coalition of environmental groups filed a separate lawsuit to stop a sweetheart deal between the state and Duke Energy in response to a $25 million fine the state initially imposed with great fanfare on the utility for coal ash contamination at its Sutton Lake coal ash site near Wilmington.
Duke appealed the fine and in September the McCrory Administration and the company agreed on a settlement that lowered the fine to $7 million for contamination at all 14 of the coal ash sites, not just the Sutton Lake location.
The settlement also does not require the company to do anything it had not already promised to do and in effect ends real enforcement of pollution laws at the coal ash sites and may provide immunity for violations in the future.
That’s quite a sweeping capitulation to the company that was merely appealing one fine in one case affecting one area of coal ash pollution.
Lawyers at the Southern Environmental Law Center called the settlement “an amazing midnight deal” that “twisted a simple penalty dispute into a bad settlement that reneges on its promise to clean up every leaking coal ash pit across North Carolina.”
It’s hard to argue with that assessment and it’s not the first time the McCrory Administration has gone out of its way to protect the company.
Before the massive Dan River coal ash spill early in 2014, the McCrory Administration actually sued Duke Energy over coal ash, a fact McCrory likes to cite as evidence that he’s tough on his former company when he needs to be.
What McCrory generally does not mention is that the lawsuit came after citizen groups first sued Duke to stop leaks from coal ash ponds. McCrory’s environmental agency took over the lawsuits and then reached a settlement with the company that included a paltry $99,000 fine but no requirement that Duke take specific actions to clean up the coal ash.
Then came the Dan River spill though not much has changed about the attitude of the administration since then judging by the absurd settlement in the Sutton Lake case.
A top McCrory official did weigh in recently to say none of this was McCrory’s fault, blaming the previous administration for the current coal ash issues.
That prompted Frank Holleman with SELC to correctly diagnose the problem with McCrory and his top appointees in an interview with News and Views, the radio show produced by N.C. Watch.
“They have constantly viewed it as a matter of politics and posturing instead of a matter of protecting the public interest and protecting our clean water,” Holleman said.
He went on to add that the best politics in this case is good public policy, protecting the state’s water quality and holding Duke Energy accountable for threatening it.
There’s a thought, just do the right thing, though it’s hard to think the current administration will ever be up to it.
http://www.ncpolicywatch.com/2015/10/22/cutting-through-the-confusion-about-mccrory-and-coal-ash/
October 23, 2015 at 10:05 am
Norm Kelly says:
Some of us remember when Chris's ally, the ever truthful ever non-partisan Noise & Disturber, had an editorial gaff earlier this year and actually printed that the coal ash ponds around the state were KNOWN to have been leaking FOR DECADES. And nothing was done about it by state government agencies. What's wrong with the N&D letting this slip? Simple. It implicates past DEMOCRATIC administrations, from the mansion through the legislature, in knowingly allowing Duke coal ash ponds to leak and pollute water. How many of those DEMOCRAT administrators and regulators worked for Duke? We'll never know if their allies like Chris are allowed to be the investigators and reporters. The entire problem of coal ash leaks & spills is strictly, solely, the responsibility of Republicans. Matters not to partisan libs how long Republicans were in control of regulations or regulators, since the disaster happened when a Republican was in office, libs will blame the Republican. It just helps the lib whine that Pat used to work for Duke. Remember, when a Republican severs ties with an organization it doesn't mean anything. When a lib pol MAINTAINS a relationship and that relationship is benefited by the pols actions, because the perp is a lib, there is NEVER a conflict of interest. Every time a lib is accused of nefarious deeds, it is always, without question, a vast right-wing conspiracy. There is no 'there' there. Never has been. Never will be.
To a true leftist, Republicans are always guilty. To a true leftist libs are always beyond reproach.
Which is why Billary isn't being held responsible for ANYTHING she has done, and is allowed to laugh in the face of 4 dead Americans. Good libs will support and vote for the liar knowing full well that she can't be trusted. She even told us the reason she will be voted for by low-information types and leftists is because she's a woman. What has she or anyone else claimed were valid reasons to support her? Which lib has created a truthful, viable list of Billary's accomplishments that indicate she should be elected to anything? Honesty among leftists is NOT a requirement.
Which is how we end up with so much useful information concerning the coal ash spill. There was NO PROBLEM with Duke prior to Republicans being elected into the majority. The only problem with Duke is that Pat used to work for them. Therefore, both Duke and Pat are guilty. Simply read the blatherings of libs, leftists, Chris, N&D editorial writers and you will see very little proof of Republican guilt, very little investigation into the DECADES of prior administrations KNOWING about the leaks and doing nothing about it, very little actual useful information. Simply finger pointing for political gain. They hope.
So, leftists, libs, Chris, answer 2 simple questions. How were regulations enforced in prior administrations that would have prevented the ash leak? What 'renewable' energy source is viable enough that Duke should convert to immediately and stop using either coal or natural gas? The ads running in support of our AG indicate that he has the power, integrity to FORCE Duke to stop using coal. Where will our electricity come from? Is our state becoming LESS dependent on electricity that we can afford to have 3rd world grade electric supply? If we convert to 'renewable' energy, how many hours each day should we expect to have our electric supply interrupted? What scheme will libs put in place to insure that we DON'T have power outages because they forced us to convert to 'renewable' energy sources? How will we know the lib 'scheme' will be true? How can we know in advance that the lib scheme will actually work? It's called a 'scheme' because it's not a plan, it's not reliable. It's another lib smoke-and-mirror scheme. Kinda like socialized medicine will improve medical care for everyone. Just a lib scheme!
October 23, 2015 at 4:41 pm
John White says:
Ms. Kelly:
In this case, "NO actions (by the Governor) speak louder than your words."
