Dive Brief:

• Duke Energy, the largest U.S. utility, and North Carolina’s state environmental regulator are appealing a court order to clean up spilled coal ash. Duke and the state regulator came under investigation after one of the utility’s facilities spilled 39,000 tons of ash into the Dan River.
• Duke has been accused of trying to “avoid enforcement,” according to one of the attorneys involved in the case. Unacceptable levels of poisonous chemicals like arsenic and thallium have been found at a number of Duke’s 33 coal ash ponds.

Dive Insight: 

Duke has been storing coal ash for nine decades and has 650 coal ash ponds throughout the U.S., according CEO Lynn Good. Duke currently operates seven coal-fired power plants in North Carolina, some of which have coal ash ponds. Dealing with a problem on such a scale would a significant amount of time, Good said.

But Good also said no solution should jeopardize the reliability and cost-effectiveness of electric service. 

“We need to continue to think about balance," she said. "Of course we must protect the environment. And, of course, we must promote safe, reliable and cost-effective electricity. We cannot do one; we have to do both."