Echoes of Flint, as North Carolina water pollution is swept under the rug
You probably think I'm referring to Flint, Michigan, but the community I'm talking about is actually in North Carolina. In fact, hundreds of families in more than a dozen communities across the state received Do Not Drink notices last year telling them their groundwater has been contaminated by toxic chemicals found in leaking Duke Energy coal ash pits nearby. These families have been living off bottled water for nearly a year, but Gov. Pat McCrory -- himself a former Duke Energy employee of nearly 30 years -- has refused to publicly acknowledge the public health crisis. Instead, the McCrory administration decided to simply dilute the water quality standards -- claiming the previously-unsafe levels of contamination are suddenly safe again.
More...