"NC Supreme Court Hears Arguments on Duke Coal Ash Pollution"

"RALEIGH -- Lawyers for North Carolina environmental groups urged the N.C. Supreme Court on Monday to force Duke Energy to immediately stop the groundwater contamination that’s been seeping for years from Duke’s coal ash pits at 14 sites around the state.

The four organizations want the Supreme Court to uphold Wake County Superior Court Judge Paul Ridgeway’s 2014 ruling, which required Duke to act immediately to stop polluting groundwater beneath its coal ash pits.

The hour-long Supreme Court arguments stem from Charlotte-based Duke’s appeal of Judge Ridgeway’s ruling. Duke’s lawyer, James Cooney III, told the court the case should be thrown out because last year’s pollution standards are no longer relevant."

John Murawski reports for the Raleigh News & Observer March 16, 2015.