"DEQ: Duke Needs to Dig Up All Its Coal Ash"

"DEQ says all Duke Energy coal ash waste must be dug up, but wants permission to be more lenient if improvements occur."

"State regulators have raised the risk designations for some of Duke Energy’s coal ash dumps, a move that could require 25 impoundments to be dug up by 2024.

Or not.

The Department of Environmental Quality wants the power to lower risk rankings in 18 months if the utility proves that coal ash is not polluting nearby drinking water and repairs dams at its waste sites."

Catherine Clabby reports for North Carolina Health News May 19, 2016.