One big reason Duke Energy is trying to make us pay:

Dozens of insurance companies say they’re not obligated to help pay for Duke Energy Corp.’s multi-billion dollar coal ash cleanup because the nation’s largest electric company long knew about but did nothing to reduce the threat of potentially toxic pollutants.

The claim is in a filing by lawyers for nearly 30 international and domestic insurance companies that were sued by Duke Energy in March to force them to cover part of the utility’s coal ash cleanup costs in the Carolinas.

In a perfect world, the NC Utilities Commission would be keeping a close eye on this civil case, and if the defendants prove their case that Duke Energy was at fault and should be responsible for shouldering the costs of cleaning up their coal ash, the NCUC would deny Duke's rate increase request on the same grounds. And if Duke Energy won against the insurance companies and they were forced to pay, then there would be no need to jack up our rates. But we don't live in that perfect world, and Duke Energy is notorious for being able to conceal the big picture when they want something. Here's more:

Playing a dangerous game with the health of downstream citizens:

Chemours said on June 21 it would voluntarily stop discharging GenX into the Cape Fear from its Fayetteville plant. On June 27, the NCDEQ verified Chemours had stopped.

However, the NCDEQ said on July 12 that additional sources of GenX were still being discharged into the river from the Chemours site after June 27.

On July 13, NCDEQ confirmed that the discharging of GenX from the Chemours complex had ended.

This timeline shows the folly of NC regulators' tendency to prefer self-regulation by private companies over applying strict rules. That "voluntary" decision to stop discharges just happened to coincide with water testing that was in process, so the declaration was already suspect. But that promise also (apparently) superseded/supplanted the need for DEQ to order them to stop. Chemours beat them to the punchline, and they may have done so because they knew more discharges would be needed to get rid of that crap, and were relying on regulatory ambiguity to continue a little longer. Whatever the case, they broke their promise, and DEQ needs to take appropriate steps before they end up owning part of this disaster. Here's a warning to stockholders from the Motley Fool:

No ambiguity at all in this statement:

“It’s clear that opening North Carolina’s coast to oil and gas exploration and drilling would bring unacceptable risks to our economy, our environment, and our coastal communities—and for little potential gain,” said Gov. Cooper. “As Governor, I’m here to speak out and take action against it. I can sum it up in four words: not off our coast.”

A potential oil spill could decimate North Carolina’s coastal tourism and commercial fishing industries, both major economic drivers for the region. Coastal tourism in North Carolina generates more than $3 billion annually, supporting more than 30,000 jobs.

Boom. What a difference between this man and McCrory, who actually invited Big Oil to set up shop in his own office. Which became the headquarters for the Outer Continental Shelf Governor's Association, who were hell-bent on scattering offshore oil rigs all over the Southeastern seaboard, and allowed industry reps to dominate what were supposed to be public hearings in coastal communities. Just one more reason the voters kicked McCrory to the curb.

The Resistance has a new weapon:

Politico notes Cooper quietly, but aggressively attempting to lay groundwork to "break the majority" https://t.co/qzHMI1oefw #NCGA #NCPOL pic.twitter.com/V2USBC6V0D

— Jonathan Kappler (@jonathankappler) July 18, 2017

It's beginning to look like this may be the only way Governor Cooper will be able to do the job he was elected to do:

Thomas Farr is the last person who should be donning that robe:

“I’m disappointed that President Trump nominated a lawyer who has been at the forefront of defending the North Carolina Republican legislature as it has repeatedly engaged in political gerrymandering of state legislative and congressional district boundaries and has passed regressive voting laws that had the intended effect of diluting the voting rights of minority groups,” Butterfield said.

“I urge the United States Senate to carefully scrutinize the record of Thomas Farr and determine if he can impartially serve as a judge in cases involving voting and civil rights,” Butterfield said.

This development, on top of the Republicans' sustained refusal to approve African-American judicial appointees, sends a clear message the GOP is intent upon suppressing the rights of NC's minority populations in whatever way it can. It's unconscionable and unforgivable, and it needs to be a core campaign issue in both 2018 and in Thom Tillis' re-election bid in 2020. If we don't push back harder, Republicans will continue to stifle the voices of those who are already widely ignored by the majority of NC's citizens.