Duke, Va. settle over coal-ash spill

Duke Energy has agreed to a $2.5 million settlement with Virginia over a massive coal-ash spill that coated 70 miles of the Dan River in gray sludge, state environmental officials announced Friday.

The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality said the settlement would include $2.25 million in environmental projects that Duke would perform in communities affected by the spill in February 2014. The remaining $250,000 would be placed in a fund for the department to respond to environmental emergencies.

The spill originated in Eden, North Carolina, but affected areas in Virginia, too, leaving more than 2,500 tons of the toxic ash backed up behind a dam in Danville. The ash is the waste left behind when coal is burned to generate electricity. It contains toxic metals.

The settlement is subject to approval by the State Water Control Board.