southern environmental law center
December 19, 2014 -
501(c)(3) nonprofits are not supposed to get involved in supporting or opposing political candidates -- yet such groups spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on ads criticizing specific candidates during the North Carolina election this year. Are they breaking the law or just pushing it to its limits?
December 11, 2014 -
Environmental advocates announced they discovered a coal ash leak into North Carolina's Yadkin River from a Duke Energy power plant just days before 60 Minutes aired a report in which the CEO said her company was "operating safely." Will the EPA finally take tough action to stop the ongoing coal ash disaster in that state and others -- or will that job continue to fall to private watchdogs?
October 16, 2014 -
The conservative advocacy group acknowledges mailing bad voter registration information to North Carolinians but says it was an error by staff who lifted material from a similar document sent in Arkansas but who failed to fact-check it. AFP also accuses the N.C. Democratic Party of filing a formal complaint over the mailer for fundraising purposes.
September 30, 2014 -
Liberal-leaning groups in North Carolina are building their independent political spending network -- but as of now they're still being outspent by conservative-leaning groups by a 2-to-1 margin.
July 17, 2014 -
A new Facing South/Institute for Southern Studies analysis finds that super PACs and other outside groups spent more than $2.6 million targeting state races in North Carolina's 2014 primaries, with almost half targeted at a key seat for the state supreme court.
June 26, 2014 -
North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory gave a radio interview last week in which he made a number of misleading claims about coal ash and his administration's response to Duke Energy's toxic pollution. With the issue still at the top of the legislature's agenda, we examine those claims and set the record straight.
April 3, 2014 -
North Carolina regulators have found highly toxic thallium seeping from coal ash pits at two Duke Energy plants. Rep. Mike Hager -- the state lawmaker who co-chairs the committee that will handle coal ash cleanup legislation and former engineering manager for one of the thallium-leaking plants -- doesn't think the discovery is cause for alarm. Is his perspective shaped by his Duke connections?
