Jon Ostendorff

ASH

ASHEVILLE – U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan says North Carolina’s new coal ash regulations don’t go far enough in cleaning up Duke Energy’s toxic waste ponds.

Her opponent, state Republican House Speaker Thom Tillis, said the legislation would make the state a leader in dealing with the byproduct of burning coal for electricity. He said it would “help safeguard our water for future generations.”

Hagan, a Democrat from Greensboro, said the state should require ash from every pond be placed in a “leak-proof area,” something the new law does not do.

The General Assembly approved legislation on Wednesday that would force Duke Energy to put all ash from ponds at its Asheville, Dan River, Sutton and Riverbend plants in lined landfills or sell it for use by the construction industry.

It allows the company to cap other “low risk ponds,” a decision environmentalists say is a bad idea. The law directs Duke Energy to move low-lying dumps if there is significant risk of groundwater contamination.

Hagan also questioned how Duke would fund the massive cleanup.

“Who’s paying for it?” she asked in a meeting Thursday with the Asheville Citizen-Times editorial board.

“I’d say if you are claiming victory you should figure out the cost and there is nothing in there that mentions cost,” she said of the law.

The company, based in Charlotte, is the nation’s largest electricity company. It can seek regulatory permission in January to charge consumers for cleanup costs projected as high as $10 billion.

Hagan said the consumer should not have to cover the cost.

When asked whether Duke Energy should pay, she said “I think, well, somebody’s got to.”

The Tillis campaign called her comments about the bill a distraction and claimed she voted to exempt coal ash from environmental regulations when she was in the state Senate though the bills it offered as evidence appeared aimed at reforming solid waste laws and had the backing of environmentalists, including the Sierra Club.

Tillis spokeswoman Meghan Burris said he was “putting North Carolinians first” while Hagan was hiding behind “election-year rhetoric.”

Duke has given Hagan $20,400 since 2009, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. She is among the company’s top five recipients in Congress.

Tillis has also accepted energy sector donations with $21,100 from Ohio-based Murray Energy Corp. in the first quarter, according to the Raleigh News & Observer.

Her interview with the newspaper’s editorial board was wide-ranging and covered many of the key issues in the campaign.

She said she would welcome the chance to campaign with President Barack Obama in North Carolina though she does not know whether he will make that effort.

The Associated Press contributed.