Duke says the coal ash it stores at the plants isn’t the source of contamination found in local wells.
State officials waffled, initially warning residents in early 2015 not to drink their water, then later rescinding that advice.
Legislators in 2016 ordered the water lines, or installation of filtration systems in some cases, to be completed near Duke power plants statewide by Oct. 15.
The advocates add that some residents with contaminated wells can’t connect to municipal water lines because they live more than a half-mile from the ponds, a limit set by the legislature.
“My well is contaminated, but I’m having to live off what I get – bottled water or use the well water.
And since he lives a mile from the Rogers plant, Duke didn’t have to offer to connect him to a municipal line.
“I wish the higher-ups at Duke could live like for this a week: drink water like this, take showers like this,” Hollis said.
They all feel sorry for us, but it hasn’t done any good.” Duke Energy says a class-action lawsuit that residents filed against the company last August is slowing down its work to supply them with clean water.
Duke has appealed again to undecided residents, Culbert said, and has asked the state Department of Environmental Quality for guidance on how to address unresponsive well owners.
Among other legal arguments, Duke says its coal ash hasn’t contaminated neighbors’ wells.