Fed Grand Jury Convenes Today On NC Coal Ash Disaster; Duke, DENR, Utilities Commission To Testify
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A federal grand jury planned to convene Tuesday as part of a widening criminal investigation triggered by the massive Duke Energy coal ash spill that coated 70 miles of the Dan River with toxic sludge.
The session at the federal courthouse in Raleigh comes as environmental groups amp up pressure on regulators and lawmakers to force Duke to clean up the leaky, unlined ash pits polluting North Carolina's waterways. Prosecutors have issued at least 23 grand jury subpoenas to Duke executives and state officials.
Thomas Walker, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, declined to comment, citing the secrecy of grand jury proceedings.
The subpoenas seek records from Duke, the state Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the state Utilities Commission. They include reams of documents, including emails, memos and reports, related to the Feb. 2 spill into the Dan River and the state's oversight of the company's nearly three dozen other coal ash dumps spread out at 14 power plants.
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http://www.seattlepi.com/business/energy/article/Federal-grand-jury-looks-into-Duke-Energy-spill-5326883.php
Related: At Least 23 Subpoenas Issued For Grand Jury
RALEIGH Federal prosecutors have issued at least 23 grand jury subpoenas in their criminal probe of the relationship between Duke Energy and the state environmental agency tasked with regulating the country’s largest electricity provider.
A federal grand jury is set to meet behind closed doors from Tuesday to Thursday in the federal courthouse in Raleigh to examine documents, video and other materials with the Duke executives and 18 current and former N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources employees summoned to the hearing.
In the federal court system, unlike North Carolina’s state courts, grand juries can conduct investigations as well as decide whether to indict a person or company on alleged criminal activity.
What is discussed behind closed doors with the grand jury might not immediately become public. But there must be a record of the proceedings, either written or electronic. U.S. Attorney Thomas Walker has declined to discuss specific targets of the criminal probe launched in mid-February, nor has he detailed how the investigation got started.
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http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2014/03/17/4774030/federal-grand-jury-probe-of-denr.html#.UyfdJs5s08o
