NC judge denies Duke motion to seal coal ash docs
The Associated Press | Posted: Friday, April 4, 2014 1:06 pmRALEIGH, N.C. - A North Carolina judge has denied Duke Energy's motion seeking to shield records related to groundwater pollution leeching from 33 coal ash dumps in the state while a separate federal criminal investigation is ongoing.
Superior Court Judge Paul Ridgeway made his ruling Friday. It came after Duke lawyer Jim Cooney scaled back the company's request to restrict access to documents in a civil case filed last year by state regulators over environmental violations.
Duke following a Feb. 2 coal ash spill that coated 70 miles of the Dan River in toxic gray sludge.
Duke could still seek to seal some records as trade secrets.
http://www.godanriver.com/news/coal-ash/nc-judge-denies-duke-motion-to-seal-coal-ash-docs/article_7ba2071e-bc1b-11e3-83ab-0017a43b2370.html
Judge rules Duke Energy can’t have blanket protection for its records
cjarvis@newsobserver.comApril 4, 2014 Updated 2 hours ago
RALEIGH — Duke Energy cannot have a blanket order keeping its coal ash records out of the hands of environmental groups that are suing it over water pollution violations, a Wake County superior court judge ruled Friday.Instead, Judge Paul Ridgeway said he will consider the utility’s concerns over specific kinds of documents as the case progresses, and might permit them to be filed under seal but still shared with attorneys for the environmentalists.
Duke Energy, the Southern Environmental Law Center and the state attorney general’s office will meet within the next month to begin sorting out what kinds of records the company will provide. An attorney for the utility said the law center has requested millions of records.
Duke had sought a protective order that would keep records out of the SELC’s hands that had been subpoenaed by the federal grand jury that is investigating the company’s Feb. 2 spill into the Dan River and its 13 other coal ash storage ponds around the state.
Duke’s attorney in the criminal case, James Cooney,accused the SELC in the court hearing of trying to influence the grand jury by publicizing records it has already obtained and that it wants to obtain in the lawsuits.
The SELC’s Frank Holleman countered that the court process should be as open and transparent as possible.
“It is wrong, in fact plainly not true, that it’s not possible in the United States of America to have a fair trial simply because something is publicized,” Holleman told the judge.
The state Department of Environment and Natural Resources is suing Duke to enforce violations of the federal Clean Water Act at the coal ash plants. The lawsuits were prompted by the SELC’s intention to sue if the state didn’t. http://www.newsobserver.com/2014/04/04/3758015/judge-rules-duke-energy-cant-have.html?sp=/99/102/110/
Duke Energy, the Southern Environmental Law Center and the state attorney general’s office will meet within the next month to begin sorting out what kinds of records the company will provide. An attorney for the utility said the law center has requested millions of records.
Duke had sought a protective order that would keep records out of the SELC’s hands that had been subpoenaed by the federal grand jury that is investigating the company’s Feb. 2 spill into the Dan River and its 13 other coal ash storage ponds around the state.
Duke’s attorney in the criminal case, James Cooney,accused the SELC in the court hearing of trying to influence the grand jury by publicizing records it has already obtained and that it wants to obtain in the lawsuits.
The SELC’s Frank Holleman countered that the court process should be as open and transparent as possible.
“It is wrong, in fact plainly not true, that it’s not possible in the United States of America to have a fair trial simply because something is publicized,” Holleman told the judge.
The state Department of Environment and Natural Resources is suing Duke to enforce violations of the federal Clean Water Act at the coal ash plants. The lawsuits were prompted by the SELC’s intention to sue if the state didn’t. http://www.newsobserver.com/2014/04/04/3758015/judge-rules-duke-energy-cant-have.html?sp=/99/102/110/
