Gloves Are Off! McCrory (R-NC) Mentions "Double-Checking" Duke Energy, Concedes Spill "Serious"

“This is a serious spill, and we need to get it under control as quickly as possible,” McCrory said in a statement. “Our top priorities are ensuring the health and safety of the public, as well as the wildlife in the Dan River vicinity and the river itself, and the best way to do that is to get this controlled and cleaned up.”

Duke spokeswoman Paige Sheehan said the utility has hundreds of people working to repair the leak, and the flow of ash into the river has been slowed to a trickle – and shut off completely at times.

The company also is taking samples of water at 11 spots downstream of the spill, Sheehan said. "Drinking water is absolutely safe downstream. That's great news," she said. "We're looking very closely at any potential environmental impact."

EDIT

Pete Harrison, an attorney for the Waterkeepers Alliance environmental group said he doubts the accuracy of Duke's tests. The group said its tests show arsenic levels in the water 10 times higher than the trace amounts reported by Duke. "A citizen group was able to obtain lab results for heavy metals that's alarmingly high before state regulators could. That's an abject failure," Harrison said.


EDIT

http://www.wral.com/mccrory-berger-call-for-action-after-coal-ash-spill/13366780/