An ash pond full of dead trees near Duke Energy’s Buck Steam Station in Dukeville, N.C.
Credit: AP/Chuck Burton

In North and South Carolina, the problems of coal ash — the waste product leftover from burning coal — are often shouldered not by the utilities that burn the coal, but by residents that live nearby.

In South Carolina, Duke Energy — the largest electric power holding company in the United States — recently filed a case with state regulatory agencies requesting that the first $1.5 million installment of their $500 million coal ash cleanup program be funded by a rate hike for South Carolina residents. According to the Charlotte Business Journal, this is the first time that Duke has asked to make taxpayers fund the cleanup of its 34 coal ash ponds throughout North and South Carolina.

After a 2014 coal ash spill, in which more than 80,000 tons of […]