State files lawsuit against energy company

North Carolina has filed a lawsuit against Duke Energy for its mishandling of coal ash that has resulted in water pollution. The North Carolina Division of Water Quality has claimed that the energy company has polluted Mountain Island Lake near Charlotte.

The lawsuit claims that Duke Energy's coal ash lagoons have allowed contaminates to leak into the lake causing pollution. The lake is the city's main source of water. This is the first time that the state of North Carolina has taken legal action against an energy company in regards to its handling of coal ash.

The court was asked for an injunction against a Duke Energy subsidiary in relation to the coal-ash pollution at a power plant in Asheville. The complaint was amended on Monday May 20th and has asked the court to force Duke Energy to begin works to ensure that contamination from the company's power plant ceases and to fully assess the extent of the pollution.

A previous intent to sue was filed in March against Duke Energy by the Catawba Riverkeeper and the Southern Environmental Law Centre, relating to the storage of ash in ash lagoons at Riverbend Steam Station. The Riverkeeper has reported that seepage from the ash lagoons at Riverbend have resulted in the contamination of Mountain Island Lake.

Some of Duke Energy's power plants might also have been a cause of the contamination of groundwater. Although natural sources might also be responsible for the issue, contaminated groundwater has been detected close to lagoons at 14 of the company's power plants.

Frank Holleman, a senior attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Centre, said: "The state has been aware of the leaks as well as the groundwater pollution for years. Any reasonable person would say it's irresponsible to store more than 2.5 million tonnes of toxic coal ash in an unlined hole in the ground beside the drinking water supply for the city of Charlotte."