Investigate NC Governor Pat McCrory for Coal Ash Spill Coverup!
- by: Susan V
- recipient: Department of Justice
Last week up to 82,000 tons of coal-ash slurry containing lead, mercury, selenium and arsenic spilled into North Carolina’s Dan River from a collapsed pipe. This was the third largest coal ash spill in American history.
The public was not even told about the disaster until the following day, and the severity of the situation was drastically understated. Now, environmental groups' water tests show the contamination is widespread and the water is nowhere near safe to drink.
Duke Energy is responsible, but Governor Pat McCrory, who worked for Duke for 28 years, has assisted in covering up information and letting Duke off with criminally minor consequences for environmental catastrophes for years. This time, a fine of $99k was proposed, paling in comparison to the millions of dollars it will take to clean up the mess and make drinking water safe again. Even worse, Duke will no doubt try to pass on costs of the cleanup to the customers it's been poisoning for decades.
Citizens can't count on McCrory to hold Duke accountable for its environmental abuses. Sign this petition to demand that the Department of Justice step in and investigate McCrory's cover-up and his role in making a mockery of the Clean Water Act and the safety of the region's people.
We, the undersigned, say North Carolina citizens have a right to permanent relief from Duke Energy's chronic violations of the Clean Water Act. Warnings and lawsuits have done little if anything to curb Duke's audacious negligence and crimes against the public and nature. And Governor McCrory has been letting them off the hook for years, leaving the people of the region to deal with toxic waste in their water. We will not stand by any longer. Reports say that Duke Energy and Governor McCrory were aware of the spill and took samples before others knew about it and then kept the results quiet. This is a horrifying abuse of power that Duke and the Governor failed to provide the public with information about the toxicity of the water. The Governor and the Department of Environmental and Natural Resources have fallen so far behind in its duty to protect state waters that citizens are having to file their own actions to get any level of protection at all - and pay taxes to support DENR on top of it. For these and other reasons, we call on the Department of Justice to investigate a cover-up by McCrory and help keep North Carolina citizens safe.
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