Governor McCrory Gubernatorial Debate 3 Fact Sheet Part 2 | Eastern North Carolina Now

    The Following is part of an article series sent by incumbent Governor McCrory following Gubernatorial Debate on October 18 with Roy Cooper. Click here for more articles related to the debate.

    Press Release:

Roy Cooper Accepted Campaign Contributions From Duke Energy As Attorney General

    Cooper received nearly $83,000 from Duke Energy PACs and employees while was a candidate for and served as Attorney General. (NC State Board of Elections)

    Roy Cooper served on the host committee for the 2012 Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, which received $10 million from Duke Energy (Charlotte Magazine, September 2011; The Washington Times, 3/1/2013)

• "In effect, Duke Energy's 'loan has turned out to be a $10 million contribution to the Democratic convention. Duke CEO Jim Rogers hinted at this possibility in an interview with the Observer last month, when it was becoming clear the Democrats might not repay the company." (Andy Kroll, "Coal Giant's $10 million loan to Democrats is now a $10 million donation," Mother Jones, 3/1/2013)

    Jim Rogers, Duke Energy's former CEO has supported Roy Cooper and Bev Perdue's political campaigns.

• Jim Roberts, Duke Energy's CEO at the time, donated $12,000 to Bev Perdue
• Jim Roberts, Duke Energy's former CEO, has donated $9,700 to Roy Cooper

    Cooper has received over $325,000 in contributions from the energy and natural resources industry during his campaigns. (Democracy North Carolina; Followthemoney.org)

    Duke Energy has heavily contributed to the Democratic Attorneys General Association (DAGA) while Roy Cooper has served as attorney general:

• $15,000 in 2015
• $15,000 in 2014
• $5,000 in 2013
• $5,000 in 2012
• $5,000 in 2011

    (opensecrets.org)

Cooper Ignored Documented Coal Ash Problems At Every Turn, Leading To Dan River Spill

    Coal Ash Has Been An Issue In North Carolina During Roy Cooper's Tenure As A Lawmaker And Chief Law Enforcement Officer Over The Past 30 Years.

• "The Belews Creek Steam Station dumped coal-combustion waste in its on-site, massive ash basin, a type of waste pond, which oozed into Belews Lake. Within years, 17 of the lake's 20 fish species were wiped out. Selenium was the culprit." (Bertrand M. Gutierrez, "Environmental concerns persist at Belews Creek plant, The Winston-Salem Journal, 10/19/2013)
• "December 2008, a massive spill of coal combustion waste from a coal-fired power plant in Kingston, Tenn., brought national attention to ash basins. The Tennessee Valley Authority had a 40-acre ash basin, much smaller than the 350-acre ash basin at Belews. When the pond's earthen dam collapsed in 2008, about 1 billion gallons of coal sludge spilled into the river valley, and about 300 acres of land got covered with it." (Bertrand M. Gutierrez, "Environmental concerns persist at Belews Creek plant, The Winston-Salem Journal, 10/19/2013)

    In The 14 Years After He Was Elected To The General Assembly In 1986, He Failed To Introduce Or Support A Single Bill To Regulate Or Clean Up Coal Ash. (Journals of the House of Representatives of the General Assembly of North Carolina, 1987-1990; Journals of the Senate of the General Assembly of North Carolina, 1991-2000)

    Roy Cooper, Bev Perdue And Mike Easley Knew About Toxic Hazards Near Coal Plants For Years. Despite Hundreds Of Samples Showing Groundwater Exceeding Standards, No Action Was Taken On Coal Ash Until 2013. (John Murawski, "Coal ash troubles were ignored for decades in NC," The News & Observer, 11/7/2015)

• "Since 2011, officials have disclosed more than 226 water quality test violations near the Salisbury plant that bear similarities to coal ash, the hazardous byproduct that remains after burning coal for electricity." (Blog: Kimber Ray, Coal ash management: Long-awaited, still debated," Appalachian Voices, 2/18/2015)

    Cooper Ignored North Carolina's Coal Ash Problem Even After A Massive Coal Ash Spill Occurred In Tennessee During His Five-Year Long Lawsuit Against The Tennessee Valley Authority Over Air Pollution From Coal-Fired Power Plants. (Elizabeth Shogren, "North Carolina Sues TVA to Clean Up Pollution," National Public Radio, 11/1/2006)

• "A coal ash spill in eastern Tennessee that experts were already calling the largest environmental disaster of its kind in the United States is more than three times as large as initially estimated, according to an updated survey by the Tennessee Valley Authority." (Shaila Dewan, "Tennessee ash flood larger than initial estimate," The New York Times, 12/26/2008)

    In 2002, Roy Cooper Supported A Law To Regulate Coal-Fired Power Plant Emissions, But Did Not Address Coal Ash Management. (S.B. 1078/S.L. 2002-4,North Carolina General Assembly, signed by Gov. Easley 6/20/2002; Julie Ball, "Local supporters of Clean Smokestack Act celebrate passage," Asheville Citizen-Times, 6/30/2002)

• Cooper Wanted Consumers To Foot The Bill For 2002 Power Plant Regulations: "The law required Duke Energy and Progress Energy to pay $2.9 billion in upgrades and retrofits to coal-burning power plants, and the costs were covered by customers in their utility bills." (John Murawski, "NC AG: Make Duke Energy pay for coal ash fix," The News & Observer, 6/18/2014)

    Roy Cooper Did Not Join Advocacy Groups As They Sued The Obama Administration's EPA In 2012 To Force New Federal Coal Ash Regulations. (Complaint: Appalachian Voices et. al. v. EPA [Doc. 1], 1:12-cv-00523, 4/5/2012)

• "Since [2010], despite coal ash contamination at more than 200 sites nationwide, the EPA has failed to finalize the protections..." (Press release: "EPA agrees to deadline for first-ever US coal ash regulations," Sierra Club, 1/30/2014)
• The EPA Finalized The First-Ever Federal Coal Ash Rules In 2014. ("Fact sheet: Final rule on coal combustion residuals generated by electric utilities," Environmental Protection Agency, 12/2014)

• Contact: The Pat McCrory Committee
•     media@patmccrory.com