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Although nowhere near as damaging at the Johnston Flood, about two weeks ago some North Carolinians experienced a different sort of flood themselves when a storm water pipe broken beneath one of Duke Energy\u2019s 14 coals ash ponds. Duke Energy reported<\/a> that 50,000 to 82,000 tons of coal ash and up to 27 million gallons of water were released from a coal ash pond in Eden, about 130 miles northeast of Charlotte. The containments are still flowing into the Dan River. The preliminary reports suggest that the coal ash ponds in North Carolina lack stringent regulations and that the pipe that broke had not been properly maintained. (Sound familiar?)\u00a0These reports led the New York Times<\/a> to publish, \u201cNorth Carolina citizens have good reason to wonder just whom their environmental regulators are trying to protect.\u201d The question now: who are we to blame?<\/p>\n In the case of the Johnstown Flood, I agree with Jean and Catherine<\/a>, we should hold people accountable. Jean<\/a> pointed out that using a more structuralist approach we can blame\u00a0 \u201cIgnorance and focus on capital, reputation and pride that a person holds often clouds the vision of doing what is right.\u201d We can also blame the mindset of the people in Johnstown. As Victor Hesier would later recall, \u201cThe townspeople, like those who live in the shadow of Vesuvius, grew calloused to the possibility of danger. \u2018Sometime\u2019 they thought, \u2018that dam will just give way, but it won\u2019t ever happen to us!\u2019 (66).\u201d And if you want to point fingers at someone specific, maybe try Benjamin Ruff, the man in charge of the dam\u2019s restoration.<\/p>\n But with so many running narratives \u2013 is it even useful to attribute blame? This is the question that the current North Carolina and federal governments are facing in dealing with the coal ash. Federal prosecutors recently order dozens of subpoenas seeking documents from Duke and the N.C. Department of Environment and National Resources. Critics are also looking to Governor Pat McCrory for appointing businessman John Skvarla as head of the department.<\/p>\n But at the end of the day we must hold people responsible for the coal ash and the Johnston Flood; ignorance is not a good enough excuse. If you are going to intentionally manipulate nature, you better intentionally manage it, if not for the sake of environmentalism, for the people. These two tawdry tales illustrate the need for stricter regulation and enforcement. Why can’t we learn from the past?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Although nowhere near as damaging at the Johnston Flood, about two weeks ago some North Carolinians experienced a different sort of flood themselves when a storm water pipe broken beneath one of Duke Energy\u2019s 14 coals ash ponds. Duke Energy reported that 50,000 to 82,000 tons of coal ash and up to 27 million gallons … <\/p>\n