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Illinois town grieves after car slams through building, killing four young people; Bills aim to strengthen CA health care as Congress considers cuts; NV considers expanding internet voting, election expert says 'bad idea'; Proposed bills would curb jailing of children in IL.

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Trump marks first 100 days of his second term. GOP leaders praise the administration's immigration agenda, and small businesses worry about the impacts of tariffs as 90-day pause ends.

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Rural students who face hurdles getting to college are getting noticed, Native Alaskans may want to live off the land but obstacles like climate change loom large and the Cherokee language is being preserved by kids in North Carolina.

Dan River Coal-Ash Spill Opens Floodgates of Concern

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Thursday, February 20, 2014   

DANBURY, N.C. - Coal ash continues to leak from a retired Duke Energy power plant into the Dan River on the North Carolina-Virginia border. Information is also leaking - about the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources' oversight of that coal-ash pond and the 13 others in the state. The federal government has subpoenaed 18 state employees and documents about how these sites and the toxic byproducts of coal-fired power are regulated.

Attorney D.J. Gerkin with the Southern Environmental Law Center said he is not surprised.

"There is an inherent risk to this method of dealing with the waste that is hazardous in everything but its legal label. We can and should be doing a better job. This stuff eventually catches up with you - and unfortunately, it finally caught up with North Carolina," Gerkin said.

On Tuesday, state regulators ordered Duke Energy to shut off a stormwater pipe at the Dan River site after tests showed arsenic leaking into the water at levels 14 times above safe limits. Duke Energy's CEO has said the "accident should never have occurred," and that the "company takes full responsibility."

With 14 unlined coal-ash ponds in North Carolina, Gerkin urged the state and federal government to look at preventing another "Dan River crisis" from occurring.

"We are really looking toward the state to start coming up with a proactive solution, so that we're not constantly having to deal with the next problem with these outdated holes in the ground for storing hazardous waste next to water bodies," Gerkin said.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said it will finalize the first-ever federal regulations for disposal of coal ash by December. Until now, there has been no requirement that coal-ash ponds be lined to protect the groundwater from toxic substances in the ash, such as mercury and arsenic.




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