"Tweak To Law Protected Duke's Coal Ash Pits"

Duke Energy lobbyists asked the GOP-controlled North Carolina legislator for a legal loophole protecting it from having to clean up coal-ash pollution, after environmentalists sued to force clean-up. The legislature obliged, and GOP Gpovernor Pat McCrory signed it.

"CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Duke Energy was in a bind.

North Carolina regulators had for years allowed the nation's largest power company to pollute the ground near its plants without penalty. But in early 2013, a coalition of environmental groups sued to force Duke to clean up nearly three dozen leaky coal ash dumps spread across the state.

So last summer, Duke Energy turned to North Carolina lawmakers for help."

Mitch Weiss reports for the Associated Press March 18, 2014.