"E-Mails Show Close Ties Between Duke, NC Regulators"

"RALEIGH, N.C. -- Internal emails between staff at North Carolina's environmental agency suggest state regulators were coordinating with Duke Energy before intervening in efforts by citizens groups trying to sue the company over groundwater pollution leeching from its coal ash dumps.

The emails were provided Thursday to The Associated Press by the Southern Environmental Law Center, which had filed notice in January 2013 of its intent to sue the nation's largest electricity company under the Clean Water Act.

Within days, the emails show a Duke lobbyist contacted the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources to set up a meeting. The emails suggest the company and regulators were in frequent contact, with a lawyer for Duke even advising the state on legal strategy at one point."

Michael Biesecker and Mitch Weiss report for the Associated Press March 13, 2014.

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"Emails Link Duke Energy and North Carolina" (New York Times)