NC can order Duke Energy to remove all coal ash by 2030, judge rules

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A North Carolina hearing officer says a state agency can order the country's largest electric company to excavate all its coal ash pits by 2030 so that they quit polluting neighboring rivers.

[PAST COVERAGE: Proposed bill would prohibit customers paying for coal ash excavation]

A state administrative judge on Friday dismissed claims by Duke Energy Corp. that North Carolina's Department of Environmental Quality can't order the work that could cut the risk of toxic chemicals leaking into water supplies.

The company's administrative appeal represents the first round of a legal fight that could continue for years.

[9 Investigates: Coal ash site exposed near Lake Norman High School]

Duke Energy wants to instead cover the storage pits at six power plants with a waterproof cap that stops rain from filtering chemicals through the unlined bottoms. The company said Friday capping the sites would be quicker and cheaper since excavation could cost billions of dollars.

Associated Press