McCrory Campaign Responds To Larry Hall | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Raleigh, N.C.     The McCrory campaign released the following statement in response to Larry Hall's press conference politicizing coal ash:

    "Larry Hall, Roy Cooper and their cronies have decided to politicize coal ash because they ignored the problems for decades and even fought cleanup efforts. Instead of politics, Governor McCrory has been focused on results: cleaning up coal ash once and for all and ensuring that homeowners near ash pits get connected to municipal water supplies at Duke Energy's expense." - Ricky Diaz, McCrory Campaign Spokesman

• "As AG, Roy Cooper Fought Coal Ash Cleanup Efforts & Let Duke Off The Hook"

    2007: Roy Cooper, Easley Administration Specifically Exempted Coal Ash From Tougher Landfill Rules And Regulations (Roll call vote, S.B. 1492, North Carolina General Assembly, 8/2/2007; "Solid Waste Management Act," S.B. 1492/S.L. 2007-550, North Carolina General Assembly, signed by Gov. Easley 8/31/2007)

    2009: Even After A Massive Coal Ash Spill In Tennessee, Roy Cooper And The Perdue Administration Tied The Hands Of Regulators By Blocking Access To Dam Safety Records That Could Have Revealed Dam Safety Problems And Prevented The Dan River Spill (Roll call vote, S.B. 1004, North Carolina General Assembly; S.B. 1004, S..L. 2009-390, North Carolina General Assembly, Signed by Gov. Perdue 7/31/2009)

   

• "§ 143-215.25A. SECTION 3.(b) Any impoundments or other facilities that were in use on the effective date of this section in connection with nonnuclear electric generating facilities under the jurisdiction of the North Carolina Utilities Commission, and that had been exempted under the provisions of G.S. 143-215.25A(4), prior to amendment by Section 3(a) of this act, shall be deemed to have received all of the necessary approvals from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Commission for Dam Safety, and shall not be required to submit application, certificate, or other materials in connection with the continued normal operation and maintenance of those facilities."
   

(S.B. 1004, S..L. 2009-390, North Carolina General Assembly, Signed by Gov. Perdue 7/31/2009)

    2011: Roy Cooper, Perdue Administration Allowed Duke Energy To Use Sutton Lake As A Coal Ash Dumping Ground. When Professional Regulators Protested, Cooper's Office Told Them To Back Off. (Email Chain, NCDEQ, 2011)

• Cooper, Perdue Administration Weakened Water Quality Standards At Sutton Lake Near Coal Ash Basins At Then-Progress Energy's Now De-Commissioned L.V. Sutton Steam Plant To Please The Energy Company in 2011. (Memorandum: "Policy for compliance evaluation of long-term permitted facilities with no prior monitoring requirements," Office of Governor Bev Perdue, 6/17/ 2011; Rescinded 9/29/2015; "Progress Energy to shut down Wilmington's Sutton Plant in 2014, Star-News, 12/1/2009 )
• "The [Sutton Lake] reclassification followed a document review during which records were found indicating that while the water body met the legal definition for waters of the state, previous department leadership decided to disregard that determination." (Press release: "Duke Energy Hit With Record $25 Million Coal Ash Fine," NCDEQ, 3/12/2015)

    2011: Roy Cooper, Perdue Administration Let Duke Off The Hook With A New Policy Shielding Duke Energy From Fines And Penalties Associated With Groundwater Contamination At Coal Ash Facilities.

• The McCrory Administration Overturned This Policy To Hold Duke Accountable (Memorandum: "Policy for compliance evaluation of long-term permitted facilities with no prior monitoring requirements," Office of Governor Bev Perdue, 6/17/ 2011; Rescinded 9/29/2015)

    2012: Roy Cooper, Perdue Administration Fought Efforts To Stop Groundwater Pollution At Duke Energy Coal Ash Basins. (Blog: In bid for EPA rules, environmentalists target state coal ash programs," Inside EPA, 10/19/2012)

• "In October 2012, the SELC filed a petition with the N.C. Environmental Management Commission on behalf of several environmental groups. It asked for a declaratory ruling that, under state law, Duke must start immediate efforts to stop groundwater leaks found by state regulators at its ash disposal ponds." (John Downey, "Top N.C. court rules new law trumps court order on Duke Energy coal-ash leaks, Charlotte Business Journal, 6/11/2015; Cape Fear River Watch v. N.C. Environmental Management Commission)
• "The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, joined by Duke Energy, opposes implementing the parts of the rule that would require immediate action to stop the source of groundwater contamination."(Report: "Timeline: North Carolina's environmental agency's interference with coal ash clean ups and citizen enforcement efforts," Southern Environmental Law Center, 10/2015)
• "[a coal ash lawsuit in Montana similar to one in North Carolina], says an attorney close to the petition, 'is a perfect example of how states aren't pursuing violations. There's no doubt that there's a regulatory vacuum here.'" (Blog: In bid for EPA rules, environmentalists target state coal ash programs," Inside EPA, 10/19/2012)
• Special Deputy Attorney General Mary Lucasse, From Roy Cooper's Office, Represented The Environmental Management Commission. (Special Deputy Attorney General, North Carolina Department of Justice)

    2014: After the McCrory Administration Became The First Administration To Sue Duke Energy, Roy Cooper's Office Negotiated A $99,111 Limited Settlement With The Energy Company Over Groundwater Contamination At Its Coal Ash Basins. The Settlement Was Later Rescinded By The McCrory Administration (Michael Biesecker, "McCrory counsel: Cooper has politicized coal ash," The Associated Press, 3/25/2014)

    2015: Duke Energy Plead Guilty For Clean Water Act Violations At Coal Ash Facilities That Started On Roy Cooper's Watch. (Press Release: "Duke Energy Subsidiaries Plead Guilty and Sentenced for Clean Water Act Crimes," EPA, 5/14/2015)

    2016: Because Of The Perdue-Cooper Administration's 2011 Policy Shielding Duke From Fines And Penalties, Cooper's Office Advised DEQ To Seek A Settlement With Duke Energy Instead Of Enforcing A Record $25 Million Fine. (Press release: "DEQ gives legislative update on coal ash cleanup," North Carolina Department of Commerce, 1/13/2016)


    Coal Ash Has Been An Issue In North Carolina During Roy Cooper's Tenure As A Lawmaker And Chief Law Enforcement Officer Over The Past 30 Years.

• "The Belews Creek Steam Station dumped coal-combustion waste in its on-site, massive ash basin, a type of waste pond, which oozed into Belews Lake. Within years, 17 of the lake's 20 fish species were wiped out. Selenium was the culprit." (Bertrand M. Gutierrez, "Environmental concerns persist at Belews Creek plant, The Winston-Salem Journal, 10/19/2013)
• "December 2008, a massive spill of coal combustion waste from a coal-fired power plant in Kingston, Tenn., brought national attention to ash basins. The Tennessee Valley Authority had a 40-acre ash basin, much smaller than the 350-acre ash basin at Belews. When the pond's earthen dam collapsed in 2008, about 1 billion gallons of coal sludge spilled into the river valley, and about 300 acres of land got covered with it." (Bertrand M. Gutierrez, "Environmental concerns persist at Belews Creek plant, The Winston-Salem Journal, 10/19/2013)

    In The 14 Years After He Was Elected To The General Assembly In 1986, He Failed To Introduce Or Support A Single Bill To Regulate Or Clean Up Coal Ash. (Journals of the House of Representatives of the General Assembly of North Carolina, 1987-1990; Journals of the Senate of the General Assembly of North Carolina, 1991-2000)

    Roy Cooper, Bev Perdue And Mike Easley Knew About Toxic Hazards Near Coal Plants For Years. Despite Hundreds Of Samples Showing Groundwater Exceeding Standards, No Action Was Taken On Coal Ash Until 2013. (John Murawski, "Coal ash troubles were ignored for decades in NC," The News & Observer, 11/7/2015)

• "Since 2011, officials have disclosed more than 226 water quality test violations near the Salisbury plant that bear similarities to coal ash, the hazardous byproduct that remains after burning coal for electricity." (Blog: Kimber Ray, Coal ash management: Long-awaited, still debated," Appalachian Voices, 2/18/2015)

    Cooper Ignored North Carolina's Coal Ash Problem Even After A Massive Coal Ash Spill Occurred In Tennessee During His Five-Year Long Lawsuit Against The Tennessee Valley Authority Over Air Pollution From Coal-Fired Power Plants. (Elizabeth Shogren, "North Carolina Sues TVA to Clean Up Pollution," National Public Radio, 11/1/2006)

• "A coal ash spill in eastern Tennessee that experts were already calling the largest environmental disaster of its kind in the United States is more than three times as large as initially estimated, according to an updated survey by the Tennessee Valley Authority." (Shaila Dewan, "Tennessee ash flood larger than initial estimate," The New York Times, 12/26/2008)

    In 2002, Roy Cooper Supported A Law To Regulate Coal-Fired Power Plant Emissions, But Did Not Address Coal Ash Management. (S.B. 1078/S.L. 2002-4, North Carolina General Assembly, signed by Gov. Easley 6/20/2002; Julie Ball, "Local supporters of Clean Smokestack Act celebrate passage," Asheville Citizen-Times, 6/30/2002)

    Cooper Wanted Consumers To Foot The Bill For 2002 Power Plant Regulations: "The law required Duke Energy and Progress Energy to pay $2.9 billion in upgrades and retrofits to coal-burning power plants, and the costs were covered by customers in their utility bills." (John Murawski, "NC AG: Make Duke Energy pay for coal ash fix," The News & Observer, 6/18/2014)

    Roy Cooper Did Not Join Advocacy Groups As They Sued The Obama Administration's EPA In 2012 To Force New Federal Coal Ash Regulations. (Complaint: Appalachian Voices et. al. v. EPA [Doc. 1], 1:12-cv-00523, 4/5/2012)

• "Since [2010], despite coal ash contamination at more than 200 sites nationwide, the EPA has failed to finalize the protections..." (Press release: "EPA agrees to deadline for first-ever US coal ash regulations," Sierra Club, 1/30/2014)
• The EPA Finalized The First-Ever Federal Coal Ash Rules In 2014. ("Fact sheet: Final rule on coal combustion residuals generated by electric utilities," Environmental Protection Agency, 12/2014)