DANVILLE, Va. — December 1, 2014 — $300 million. That's the estimated pricetag one North Carolina researcher is putting on the coal ash spill from February.
And he's predicting it could go even higher.
Dennis Lemly from Wake Forest University looked at economic, clean up, and tourism funds that are and will be lost. So far city leaders say Danville has been hit hard.
"The promise several months ago to make it right and they've done very little to make it right. It's been agonizingly slow," said Danville Vice Mayor Gary Miller.
Nine months after 39,000 tons of coal ash poured into the Dan River, Danville's Vice Mayor Gary Miller still isn't happy with Duke Energy.
"We are in serious negotiations and we have been for sometime with Duke people. We have our attorney, our attorneys and their attorneys" Miller said.
Miller says the spill may have kept an industry out of Danville that's predicted to generate a billion dollar revenue and thousands of jobs.
It's also hurt the city's reputation.