Duke Energy says it expects to pay $100 million to settle an ongoing federal criminal investigation that began after a massive coal ash spill at a North Carolina plant.
The details are contained in an earnings report filed Wednesday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The U.S. attorney's office in Raleigh began the investigation after a spill at Duke's Eden plant coated more than 70 miles of the Dan River in toxic sludge.
U.S. Attorney Thomas Walker has declined to comment. But the extent of records sought by subpoenas in the case suggests that prosecutors are not only looking at the spill, but also at the relationship between Duke and state regulators going back for many years.
