Deposition: Toxicologist Says State Mishandled Water Safety Orders

There are plenty of questions swirling after testimony emerged this week from a state toxicologist who disagreed with how the state handled water safety in 2015.

Dr. Ken Rudo says that Gov. Pat McCrory's administration tried to play down the dangers of the water consumed by residents near coal ash basins.

Rudo also said the governor himself had called a meeting with Rudo in early 2015 to discuss the issue, which McCrory's chief of staff, Thomas Stith, firmly denied.

"We don't know why Ken Rudo lied under oath, but the governor absolutely did not take part in or request this call or meeting as he suggests," Stith said in a statement.

Craig Jarvis has been covering this story for the Raleigh News and Observer. He says Rudo was so upset with the way the state ultimately handled its “do-not-drink” orders, he didn't want anything to do with them.

Interview Highlights

On Dr. Ken Rudo's reaction to the state's 2015 water safety orders:

These do-not-drink letters went out without [Rudo's] signature on them. He was so upset, he said don't put my name as the contact person on these notices, because I just think this is the wrong thing to be doing, saying we're telling people on the one hand, “don't drink the water,” but on the other, “don't worry about it.”

So yeah, he felt like the message he was getting, especially from another state agency – the Department of Environmental Quality – was kind of throwing roadblocks up into concerns that the health agency was raising about these notices.

On the possible political implications of Rudo's testimony:

Politically, this is just another example of the governor being haunted by coal ash issues, and I don't think it's going to help him any in the election. On the other hand, coal ash just wasn't a big issue until there was a big break in Tennessee in 2009 – I mean a spill – far bigger than the one we had on the Dan River a couple of years ago. But as a result, the McCrory administration has done quite a bit to tackle the problem and to try to dissuade any skepticism that they're in bed with Duke [Energy]. They've hit them with major fines, and Duke certainly doesn't feel like they're getting any favorable treatment at this point.

On the next chapter in this story:

Duke has not finished its deposition of Dr. Rudo, and Duke has said they want to take a close look at his credibility, basically. And he's a big concern for them. So it will be interesting if that deposition ever surfaces, or when it does, if they are able to discredit him in some way.