Upper Neuse Riverkeeper, Matthew Starr, takes a water sample near the HF Lee facility in Goldsboro following Hurricane Florence.

A settlement agreement with Duke Energy was announced on January 2, 2020 that puts into place a comprehensive cleanup plan for all Duke Energy’s coal ash sites in North Carolina. The announcement came from our partners at the Southern Environmental Law Center, who reached the agreement on behalf of Sound Rivers and Appalachian Voices, Stokes County Branch of the NAACP, MountainTrue, Catawba Riverkeeper Foundation, Waterkeeper Alliance, Sierra Club, Roanoke River Basin Association, Cape Fear River Watch, and N.C. State Conference of the NAACP.

This is not only a win for Sound Rivers’ watersheds, it is a win for our entire state. The new agreement will result in the largest coal ash cleanup our country has seen to date, and will allow for more coal ash to be recycled. This settlement means coal ash will be taken out of the danger zone for your waterways – and we are thrilled to start 2020 with this important victory.