"North Carolina House and Senate leaders announced a compromise on a stalled coal ash bill late Tuesday, days before legislators end their session.

Both chambers put Charlotte-based Duke Energy on track to drain its 33 North Carolina ash ponds within 15 years. But last-minute changes between them derailed the bill on Aug. 1 and appeared unlikely to be resolved until at least November, if not next year.

Coal ash has been a top legislative priority since a Feb. 2 ash spill, the nation’s third-largest, from a Duke Energy power plant in Eden into the Dan River."

Bruce Henderson reports for the Charlotte Observer August 19, 2014. [2]