Duke Energy

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FILE - In this Feb. 14, 2012 file photo, Duke Energy employees work on power lines in Charlotte, N.C. Duke Energy Corp. reports quarterly earnings on Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2014. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton, File)

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In this Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2014 photo, Jenny Edwards, program manager for Rockingham County with the Dan River Basin Association, scoops coal ash from the banks of the river as state and federal environmental officials continued their investigations of a spill in Eden, N.C. Duke Energy estimates that up to 82,000 tons of ash has been released from a break in a 48-inch storm water pipe at the Dan River Power Plant. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

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In this Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2014 photo, shows a coal ash pond at the Dan River Power Plant in Eden, N.C. Duke Energy estimates that up to 82,000 tons of ash from the pond has been released from a break in a 48-inch storm water pipe into the Dan River. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

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In this Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2014 photo, a pipe from the Dan River Power Plant where coal ash spilled is seen along the Dan River as state and federal environmental officials continued their investigations in Eden, N.C. Duke Energy estimates that up to 82,000 tons of ash has been released from a break in the 48-inch storm water pipe. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

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In this Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2014 photo, Didi Fung, a contractor for the Environmental Protection Agency, prepares to collect water samples from the Dan River as state and federal environmental officials continued their investigations of a spill of coal ash into the river in Eden, N.C. Duke Energy estimates that up to 82,000 tons of ash has been released from a break in a 48-inch storm water pipe at the Dan River Power Plant. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

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In this Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2014 photo, a fresh-water muscle rests along the banks of the Dan River as state and federal environmental officials continued their investigations of a spill of coal ash in Eden, N.C. Duke Energy estimates that up to 82,000 tons of ash were released from a break in a 48-inch storm water pipe at the Dan River Power Plant. Over the last year, environmental groups have tried three times to use the federal Clean Water Act to force Duke Energy to clear out leaky coal ash dumps. Each time, the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources has effectively halted the lawsuit by intervening at the last minute to assert its own authority to take enforcement action. In two cases, the state has proposed modest fines but no requirement that the nation’s largest electricity provider actually clean up the coal ash ponds. The third case is pending. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

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Johnny Collins, of Kernersville, N.C., holds a large photo of a Duke Energy coal plant during a protest near Duke Energy's headquarters in Charlotte, N.C., Thursday, Feb. 6, 2014 over Duke Energy's coal plants. Duke Energy estimates that up to 82,000 tons of ash has been released from a break in a 48-inch storm water pipe at the Dan River Power Plant on Sunday. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)

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A drummer keeps a beat as demonstrators chant during a protest near Duke Energy's headquarters in Charlotte, N.C., Thursday, Feb. 6, 2014 over Duke Energy's coal plants. Duke Energy estimates that up to 82,000 tons of ash has been released from a break in a 48-inch storm water pipe at the Dan River Power Plant on Sunday. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)

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Demonstrators chant and hold signs behind a display of coal ash and the chemicals in it during a protest near Duke Energy's headquarters in Charlotte, N.C., Thursday, Feb. 6, 2014 over Duke Energy's coal plants. Duke Energy estimates that up to 82,000 tons of ash has been released from a break in a 48-inch storm water pipe at the Dan River Power Plant on Sunday. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)

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Demonstrators hold signs and chant during a protest near Duke Energy's headquarters in Charlotte, N.C., Thursday, Feb. 6, 2014 over Duke Energy's coal plants. Duke Energy estimates that up to 82,000 tons of ash has been released from a break in a 48-inch storm water pipe at the Dan River Power Plant on Sunday. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)

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Kate Fulbright, of Charlotte, N.C., shouts about Duke Energy's coal plants during a protest near Duke Energy's headquarters in Charlotte, N.C., Thursday, Feb. 6, 2014. Duke Energy estimates that up to 82,000 tons of ash has been released from a break in a 48-inch storm water pipe at the Dan River Power Plant on Sunday. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)