GREENVILLE, N.C. -- Duke Energy has pleaded guilty in federal court to environmental crimes and has agreed to pay $102 million in fines and restitution over years of illegal pollution leaking from coal-ash dumps at five North Carolina power plants.
The company's plea to nine misdemeanor counts involving violations of the Clean Water Act was part of a negotiated settlement with federal prosecutors.
Prosecutors say the criminal negligence of the nation's largest electricity company resulted in unlawful pollution at its coal fired power plants. Duke pleaded guilty to crimes involving its operations in Eden, Moncure, Asheville, Goldsboro and Mt. Holly.
The investigation into Duke began last February after a pipe collapsed under a coal ash dump at the Eden plant, coating 70 miles of the Dan River in gray sludge. However, prosecutors said that Duke's illegal dumping had been going back for years, to at least 2010.
The $102 million fine is the largest federal criminal fine in state history. Of that, $68 million will be paid in fines and $34 million will be used on environmental projects and land conservation. The court tapped the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation as the steward of that money.
"The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) is honored to play a role under this settlement that will do so much to benefit the waters and other natural resources of North Carolina and Virginia," said Jeff Trandahl, executive director and CEO of NFWF. "We appreciate the confidence shown in us by the federal authorities who crafted this settlement in a way that entrusts us with this responsibility, and we look forward to working with the various natural resource agencies and other stakeholders to identify and fund outstanding projects as efficiently as possible as we fulfill our obligations under the plea."
US Attorneys argued Duke Energy was negligent and said the company denied at least two requests from engineers at the Dan River Steam Station to inspect aging pipes. The employees wanted to use a $20,000 robotic camera to see inside the pipes. One of those pipes prosecutors say Duke Energy failed to properly inspect, burst spewing more than 30,000 tons of coal ash into the Dan River.
Duke Energy released a statement about the agreement with the U.S. Justice Department:
"Today's decision by Judge Malcolm Howard officially closes this chapter in our company's history. We've used the Dan River incident as an opportunity to set a new, industry-leading standard for the management of coal ash. We are implementing innovative and sustainable closure solutions for all of our ash basins, building on the important steps we've taken over the past year to strengthen our operations. Our highest priority is to operate our system as safely as possible for the customers and communities we serve."
Duke Energy also said working to remove and safely reuse ash from the Asheville Steam Electric Generating Plant to a structural fill at the airport. It's also revamping the organization to strengthen coal ash management by creating new teams exclusive to coal ash.
Shareholders will pay the $102 million fine, not Duke Energy customers.
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