Environment
Pressure from citizens in coal ash communities credited for winning cleanup settlement
For years, communities across North Carolina stood up to Duke Energy (as well as the energy giant’s enablers in the McCrory administration and the General Assembly) and fought to get coal ash pollution cleaned up in their neighborhoods. The tenacity of those communities reflects the true spirit of democracy and resilience, now that Duke Energy…
Read MoreSettlement forces Duke Energy to clean up coal ash ponds — but who will pay for it?
After years of Duke Energy trying to shirk its responsibility to clean up its coal ash ponds, a new settlement means the energy giant will finally have to clean up these polluted ponds which have leaked countless tons of toxic chemicals into North Carolina waterways. From WRAL: Frank Holleman, senior attorney for the Southern Environmental…
Read MoreDuke Energy should pay for cleanup instead of charging ratepayers
A report out today from a coalition of 14 community and environmental justice organizations reveals that Duke Energy skewed its political campaign contributions last year in order to gain support for a highly controversial bill that would make it easier to pass cleanup costs on to customers. Last year, the North Carolina Utilities Commission authorized the giant Charlotte-based utility to charge…
Read MoreThe Virginia Pilot: Editorial: Ignoring waste lagoons’ is a lasting risk
Cutting taxes has consequences. One of those is a lack of staff and funding to keep water clean and prepare for hurricanes. From The Virginia Pilot: The threat of hurricanes is a constant in eastern North Carolina, as much a part of the landscape as the golden fields of tobacco that once dominated the region…
Read MoreOur View: Stopping GenX is only 1 step toward safer water
The Cape Fear Public Utility Authority is planning to install a water-treatment plant which would remove GenX and other pollutants (PFAS) from Wilmington customers’ water. The source of the pollution, Chemours, has stopped dumping PFAS into waterways and is incorporating new equipment to capture emissions. Experts plan to see a reduction of more than 70…
Read MoreThe New York Times: A Leader in the War on Poverty Opens a New Front: Pollution
Environmental justice has strong ties to economic and racial justice. Poor people, people of color, and people living in rural areas are disproportionately affected by climate change. In Forsyth County, coal ash from Belews Creek Steam Station is polluting drinking water and affecting the health of local residents. Belews Creek is a predominantly black community…
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