North Carolina governor: coal ash dispute is ​‘disagreement among scientists’

COAL ASH:
• North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory characterizes the current controversy over water safety as a ​“disagreement among scientists.” (WRAL)
• Some residents near one of Duke Energy’s ash ponds call for the resignations or firings of top North Carolina health and environmental officials. (Progressive Pulse)

NUCLEAR: Duke Energy receives federal regulators’ site safety evaluations for two proposed reactors in South Carolina. (World Nuclear News)

COAL: A new report by an environmental group ranks the TVA’s power plant in Cumberland City, Tennessee as the worst mercury polluter among all coal plants in the country. (Clarksville Leaf-Chronicle)

SOLAR:
• An industry executive urges installers and suppliers in North Carolina to grow big or specialize to survive. (Charlotte Business Journal)
• Entergy starts generating electricity with a new system in New Orleans that incorporates battery storage. (New Orleans Times-Picayune)
• State officials issue a permit and laud plans for a 200-acre, 19-megawatt system in Buckingham County, Virginia. (Area Development)
• Advocates of Florida’s solar Amendment 4 schedule educational events throughout the state in advance of the Aug. 30 primary election. (Southern Alliance for Clean Energy)

UTILITIES:
• Florida Power & Light wants to extend a pilot program opposed by public counsel that allows it to sell energy and lease facilities it doesn’t need to other utilities. (Politico Florida)
• Duke Energy issues $3.7 billion of senior debt to help finance its acquisition of Piedmont Natural Gas. (Charlotte Business Journal)
• A large engineering firm based in North Carolina that services utilities moves to reduce its dependence on coal-fired power plants. (Charlotte Business Journal)

EFFICIENCY: Marshall University in West Virginia spotlights its seventh building to achieve GOLD status in Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. (Huntington Herald-Dispatch)

PIPELINES:
• Environmental groups decry federal regulators’ decision not to analyze the economic, social and environmental impacts of pipelines slated through Virginia. (WVIR)
• Three Virginia counties in the path of the proposed Mountain Valley Pipeline ask federal regulators to delay issuance of a draft environmental impact statement. (The Roanoke Times)

CLIMATE: Two new U.S. Geological Survey reports spotlight the vulnerability of several ecosystems in the Southeast. (Phys.org)

OIL & GAS:
• Companies propose a new deepwater exploration port in the Gulf Coast south of Lake Charles, Louisiana. (Rigzone)
• Authorities are investigating the cause of an oil refinery fire, now contained, along the Mississippi River near New Orleans. (Hickory Record)
• An advocacy group files FOIA requests seeking information on whether federal agents spied on industry protestors in New Orleans in March. (Institute for Southern Studies)

COMMENTARY:
• Hey Gov. McCrory: Stop meddling with scientists’ coal ash warnings. (Charlotte Observer)
• A solar industry-funded program focused on retraining coal workers has a real chance at succeeding. (Vox)
• The resignation of North Carolina’s epidemiologist points to the politicization of its health department. (North Carolina Health News)
• A North Carolina lawmaker calls for halting seismic airgun blasting for oil exploration off the state’s coast. (Charlotte Observer)