DOJ: Investigate Duke Energy Coal Ash Cover-Up

action alert!

Last week, a coal ash dump spewed 82,000 tons of sludge into a North Carolina river. But all the government did was cover up the facts and let the company responsible off the hook.

DOJ: Investigate Duke Energy Coal Ash Cover-Up

For years, environmentalists have been trying to persuade Duke Energy to clear out leaky coal ash dumps, containing lead, mercury, selenium and arsenic, from ponds around the state of North Carolina. And for years, Duke Energy has refused to do so. Now, it’s been revealed that the megacorporation has had help — from the North Carolina Department of Energy and Natural Resources.

Ever since Governor Pat McCrory, a former Duke employee, took office in January 2013, Duke has been allowed to run haywire through the state. Even the head of the state environmental department, John Skvarla, has described the agency as a “partner” to those it’s supposed to be overseeing — whom he called “customers.”

In North Carolina, apparently you can buy the right to dump poison into our wa ter supply with barely a slap on the wrist.

When a spill dumped 82,000 tons of toxic waste into the Dan River last week, no one was even told about it until the following day. But given that the government had told Duke to pay modest fines rather than actually clean up the waste ponds, it was only a matter of time.

Today, there are still dozens of coal-ash waste ponds in North Carolina. We have to stop this cycle of corruption before another disaster happens. Sign the petition to demand a full DOJ investigation into McCrory’s cover-up and keep North Carolina safe!