Environmental agency points to Gov. Perdue for 'inaction' on coal ash
Published October 19, 2015
by Donna King, Jones and Blount, October 16, 2015.
The gloves are off, and they’re naming names. McCrory administration figures have long made thinly veiled allusions to the Democratic governors who were in power when they say deals were made with Duke Energy to slow-walk groundwater contamination issues at coal-fired power plants. But now, following multiple newspaper editorials saying that North Carolina’s environmental agency was in cahoots with the utility, a top regulator is blaming former Gov. Beverly Perdue’s administration explicitly for the lack of pollution oversight.
“Most of our frustration is directed at the Perdue administration for its failure to regulate coal ash and its irresponsible policy that blocked our ability to fine Duke Energy for polluting groundwater,” wrote Assistant Secretary Tom Reeder in a letter to the editor of the Raleigh News and Observer.
The lengthy letter to the editor stems from comments Reeder made under oath surrounding a contested $25.1 million fine. The N.C. Department of Environmental Quality, formerly known as the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, slapped Duke with the fine for contamination surrounding the Sutton Plant near Wilmington, N.C. Reeder expressed outrage at the amount of the fine (he said it was too low) and the fact that Duke was fighting it in court even though the utility has settled a federal pollution case for more than $100 million.
In the deposition documents, Reeder expresses frustration by the effects of a Perdue-era memo from 2011 that show that leadership at the agency developed a policy that allowed Duke to take corrective action instead of face fines for contamination. The agency has pointed to that policy as the reason it was unable to enforce the Sutton fine, the largest-ever environmental fine in state history. Officials say that the memo hamstrung them since Duke’s lawyers were able to show that the utility was following official state policy on the coal ash pond groundwater issue.
Instead, the settlement with Duke fines the utility $7 million for contamination issues at all 14 of its coal-fired plants in North Carolina. The $7 million fine would still be the largest in state history, but it still stands in contrast to the original $25.1 fine for the Sutton plant alone.
Reeder complains in his letter that the News and Observer “failed to mention the 2011 Perdue administration policy in its editorials and extensive news coverage of the settlement.”
The unsigned board editorial from Oct. 11 called Reeder’s comments about the fine “candid and refreshing” and predicted that “things are liable to get a little chilly at the office” for the assistant secretary, apparently misunderstanding the target of Reeder’s comments. The editorial treated Reeder as a whistleblower on the McCrory administration rather than indignant at the Perdue administration and Duke.
Reeder’s letter to the editor clears up that characterization right away.
“Our actions stand in contrast to the Perdue administration’s inaction on coal ash,” wrote Reeder, referring to himself as part of the DEQ leadership team put in place by McCrory.
Reeder, a longtime environmental regulator, was director of a division of the agency not involved with groundwater contamination until the McCrory-appointed leadership combined the two water divisions and put Reeder in charge in 2013. Current environmental secretary Donald van der Vaart promoted Reeder to assistant secretary over all regulatory programs in early 2015.
October 19, 2015 at 10:14 am
Norm Kelly says:
Does anyone still wonder about the political leanings of the Noise & Disturber? They have earned their title. No news can be found in their pages; only left-leaning political agenda. Find the Demoncrat talking points memo, then look in the pages of the N&D. The similarity isn't surprising. Scary. Shameful. Not surprising. Many of us who are stuck with this rag as our only local paper hate paying their bill.
If the N&D were to pay attention to their own blatherings, they would note that they have previously said the coal ash leaks were known 'for decades'. Quoted because it comes directly from the pages of the N&D. I noted at the time that it was a slip missed by someone in the editors office and wondered how so much honesty and finger pointing at their allies was possible. Yet, there it was and it will come back to haunt them.
If the disaster was in the making 'for decades', why is it the N&D believes readers/taxpayer/voters/citizens are so stupid as to not realize who ruled Raleigh 'for decades'? The answer is obvious: all leftists believe voters are generally stupid. Look at how Billary responds when pressed on telling (more) lies about her emails and deaths in Benghazi. Leftists tell blacks that Republicans are trying to implement Jim Crow era voting laws hoping that black voters are stupid enough not to know that it was the demons who implemented these laws and demons who defended these laws. Remember it was leftists like Algores dad that fought civil rights legislation in the 1960s. Just like it's leftists who fight to keep blacks on the plantation, even offering to buy them more stuff if they would just keep voting demon and shut up!
Back to the allegiance of the N&D. Why would Reeder feel it necessary to point out the hypocrisy of the N&D? Because, as dedicated allies of the demoncrats, they forget their own history, want you to forget their own history, and especially want you to never question their stories. It is their duty as a good leftist ally to report stories the way their allies want them to, and it's your duty as a good comrade to accept the line fed to you by leftists. Questioning authority is only allowed when you are questioning a Republican. It matters not that the N&D story of the past contradicts the standing of the N&D when referring to McCrory's administration as being in cahoots with Duke. Since Purdue was a demon gov, the N&D is required to either support her or not mention her name if some level of blame belongs to her. Notice how the N&D couldn't wait to write a huge story supporting the newly announced demon candidate for governor. His blatherings indicated that he wants to bring NC back to the past, implementing policies that failed in the past but will somehow, magically work this time around. Nothing new coming from him, but the N&D bent over backwards praising him. It is their obligation as a good ally. No conflict. Nothing to see here. These aren't the androids you are looking for. Shameful. Partisan. Untruthful. But no conflict of interest. And certainly no bias. The N&D will continue to paint the McCrory administration as solely responsible for the coal ash disaster so long as it helps support their candidate for governor.
