N.C. official: Governor was briefed

RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina’s top environmental official said Monday that he briefed Gov. Pat McCrory before intervening in lawsuits against Duke Energy, resulting in a negotiated settlement that fined the $50 billion corporation $99,000 to resolve violations over groundwater contamination leaching from two huge coal ash dumps.

Environmentalists criticized the modest fines as a sweetheart deal that included no requirement to force the nation’s largest electricity provider to actually clean up its pollution.

The state has now put its proposed settlement on hold following the massive Feb. 2 spill from one of Duke’s coal ash dumps into the Dan River, which turned the water cloudy and gray for miles.

State Department of Environment and Natural Resources Secretary John Skvarla told lawmakers at an oversight hearing that he spoke with the governor before his agency used its regulatory authority to intervene in lawsuits filed by a coalition of environmental groups under the federal Clean Water Act.

“When I went to brief Gov. McCrory about the initiation of those suits, he said two things,” Skvarla recounted.

“He said protect the environment, and do the right thing.”

But Skvarla maintains he never told McCrory, a Republican who worked for Duke for 28 years, about the proposed terms of the settlement negotiated by his agency.

The citizens groups that originally tried to sue Duke opposed the state’s deal, saying it shielded the company from far harsher penalties it might have faced in federal court had the state not intervened.

Federal prosecutors served Skvarla’s agency and Duke with grand jury subpoenas demanding records as part of a federal investigation into the spill, which contaminated the river so badly public health officials advised against prolonged contact with the water or eating fish.

McCrory has maintained close ties to Duke since leaving the company to launch his first campaign for governor in 2008.