— Environmental groups are praising a decision on permits for coal ash landfills in Chatham and Lee counties.

On Friday, a judge ruled the Department of Environmental Quality exceeded its authority and failed to use proper procedure by issuing permits for the Brickhaven and Colon mine sites, according to the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League.

The ruling comes after environmentalists voiced concerns over groundwater contamination from coal ash, the powdery substance that remains after burning coal.

The initial lawsuit was brought in 2015 by BREDL and other local groups, including Chatham Citizens Against Coal Ash Dump and EnvironmentaLEE.

In June, the DEQ issued a letter about groundwater contamination to Charah, the company hired to dump Duke Energy's coal ash at the Brickhaven site. The letter mimicked concerns the community and environmental groups had for months.

Such groups believe coal ash should be disposed of above ground and isolated from the environment on utility company land.

Laura Leonard, a spokeswoman for DEQ, said the ruling doesn't revoke any permits but does require some modifications.

"This ruling does not affect any of the areas where coal ash has been used as structural fill at the Brickhaven site. No coal ash has been added as structural fill at the Colon (Lee County) site," Leonard said in an email.

Charah spokeswoman Ashley Simmons said coal ash isn't being used for "beneficial reuse purposes" at either location.

"We are pleased that the Office of Administrative Hearings confirmed the validity of the permits for the sites and do not believe that the decision requires any excavation," Simmons said in an email. "We do, however, disagree with some aspects of the ruling and are considering our options for proceeding."

Bill Norton, a spokesman for Duke Energy, said his company is not party to the lawsuit.

“Charah fulfilled their contract with us, and we’re no longer sending coal ash to these sites, so this does not affect any of our basin closure plans,” he told WRAL News in an email.

In August, a North Carolina hearing officer ruled that a state agency can order Duke to excavate all of its coal ash basins by 2030 so that they quit polluting groundwater. According to Norton, Duke is appealing the state’s excavation order, which he says is not supported by scientific evidence.