The North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources is moving to fine Duke Energy over groundwater pollution leeching for years from a pair of coal ash dumps at a retired power plant outside Wilmington. The state issued a notice of violation to Duke yesterday over contamination at the Sutton electric plant in New Hanover County.
The two coal ash ponds are estimated to hold 2.6 million tons of the waste.
The notice says groundwater near the site contains levels of several chemicals that exceed state standards.
Chiquita Pushing For Shareholder Vote In Favor Of Fyffes Merger
Chiquita is urging its shareholders to vote for a merger deal with Irish produce company Fyffes. The company sent a letter to shareholders today that claims a competing offer from Brazilian companies Cutrale and Safra Group undervalues the company.
Meanwhile, the Brazilian companies made their case yesterday to Institutional Shareholder Services, an advisory group that recommends how to vote on shareholder proposals.
Waxhaw Commissioners Remove Mayor From Regional Transportation Orginazation
Waxhaw's Board of Commissioners has removed Mayor Daune Garner as its representative on the Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization. The 4 to 1 vote last night came after the state ethics commission fined Gardner $250 for failing to turn in an economic disclosure form on time.
Gardner said before the mmeting that the board didn't have the authority to remove her since a town's mayor or someone the mayor designates is automatically a member of the organization.
Waxhaw commissioners considered censuring the mayor last fall after she was arrested for DWI and it was discovered the used a town credit card to buy alcohol.
SBI Concludes Investigation Of Scotland County Sheriff's Office
The State Bureau of Investigation says it's finished an investigation of possible mishandling of money it the Scotland County Sheriff's office.
The Fayetteville Observer reports the Scotland County District Attorney asked for the SBI investigation in February, claiming Sheriff Shep Jones was paid for off-duty work, a violation of state law.
The SBI has sent a report to the state attorney general's office, which will handle any further developments.
Area Home Prices Rise
Charlotte area home prices went up in June, rising 3.8 percent from the same month a year ago. The latest Standard & Poor's Case Shiller report also shows home prices increased just over 8 percent in June.
FAA Investigating Drone Flight Over Panthers Game
The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating an incident involving a drone flown over Bank of America Stadium during a Carolina Panthers game.
Charlotte police questioned a man believed to have operated the drone on August 17, during the Panthers exhibition with the Kansas City Chiefs.
The stadium is within the restricted airspace around Charlotte-Douglas International Airport, where the FAA doesn’t allow drones. The NFL also prohibits drones in parking lots or stadiums.
TWC Looking Into Morning Outages
Time Warner Cable is looking into what caused widespread outages of its TV and internet services early this morning. Between 5 and 10 am, many customers nationwide, including the Charlotte, Greensboro, and Raleigh areas, were without service.