Duke Energy Fined $25 Million Over Coal Ash Pollution

Source: Associated Press

Duke Energy Fined $25 Million Over Coal Ash Pollution

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Mar 10, 2015, 6:21 PM ET
By MITCH WEISS Associated Press

North Carolina environmental officials said Tuesday that they are fining Duke Energy $25 million over pollution that has been seeping into groundwater for years from a pair of coal ash pits at a retired power plant.

The state Department of Environment and Natural Resources called it the state's largest penalty for environmental damages. It issued the fine over ongoing contamination at the L.V. Sutton Electric Plant outside Wilmington. The site includes a pair of unlined dumps estimated to hold 2.6 million tons of ash.

The state touted the fine as an important development to hold Duke accountable for years of pollution.

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But environmental groups said the fine doesn't force Duke to clean up the pollution — something they've been trying to get the $50 billion Charlotte-based company to do for years. Without that, groundwater near Flemington, a largely working-class community, will remain contaminated, said Kemp Burdette, the Cape Fear Riverkeeper.

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