"Coal Ash a Hot-Button Issue in Tight North Carolina Governors Race"

"Environmental issues have not gotten much attention in the battle between Republican incumbent Pat McCrory and Democrat Roy Cooper, except one."

"Of all the environmental and climate change challenges facing North Carolina—including its vulnerability to sea level rise, the extreme flooding from Hurricane Matthew, the wisdom of drilling offshore and fracking throughout the state—the one issue Gov. Pat McCrory has struggled with most politically is coal ash.

In a tight re-election campaign against Democrat Roy Cooper, the current state attorney general, McCrory has had to spend little time defending his stance on climate change (he questions whether it is human-caused), and polls indicate his support for fracking and offshore drilling has a majority of his state's support.

But North Carolina has more coal ash impoundments on waterways near people and property than any other state and a massive spill that resulted in federal criminal charges in 2014 put the issue near the top of voters' concerns. It hasn't helped McCrory that the company responsible for that incident and all 33 of the coal ash dumps at 14 sites in North Carolina is McCrory's longtime former employer and political donor, Duke Energy."

Marianne Lavelle reports for InsideClimate News October 27, 2016.

SEE ALSO:

"These Coal Companies Went Broke, Yet Their PACs Found Money To Give To Candidates" (McClatchy)