Duke Energy to pay $6 million fine for Dan River spill
RALEIGH — Duke Energy Corp. has agreed to pay a $6 million fine for a big spill that coated the Dan River with liquefied coal ash in 2014, North Carolina’s environment agency said Friday.
The fine holds Duke Energy accountable for violations of federal water protection laws during and after the country’s third-worst spill of the residue left behind after burning coal, the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality said in a statement.
The spill coated 70 miles of the river on the North Carolina-Virginia border in more than 30,000 tons of sludge after a pipe burst at a holding pit at Duke Energy’s closed power plant near Eden. Coal ash can contain toxic chemicals including arsenic, chromium and lead.
The state originally fined Duke Energy $6.6 million for the Dan River spill, but the utility contested it.
Read more: http://www.greensboro.com/news/duke-energy-to-pay-million-fine-for-dan-river-spill/article_4cda2b19-5a31-5479-8f6f-4383528a0273.html