Duke Energy is at it again. Last February, the company spilled 39,000 gallons of coal ash sludge into North Carolina’s Dan River contaminating water supplies. While a federal grand jury is still investigating that spill, the company had a 5,000 to 8,000 gallon diesel spill into the Ohio River during a routine transfer. The spill threatened the Greater Cincinnati Water Works and the Northern Kentucky Water District. Water is essential to life itself and ultimately more precious than oil.
Duke Energy has had troubles in North Carolina before. They were cited for intentionally dumping 61 million gallons of coal ash waste into the Cape Fear River. There are documents suggesting the company was warned numerous times about the integrity of the drainage pipe that caused the February coal ash spill. In March, the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources cited 5 other Duke Energy coal plants for improperly storing coal ash waste.
Duke is not the only energy company that has shown irresponsibility. Profit over all drives carbon loading the atmosphere, dangerous spills and transport. It’s past time to transition off of fossil fuels.
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/08/20/3473479/duke-energy-ohio-diesel-spill/