McCrory makes picks to coal ash panel he opposes

RALEIGH, NC (AP) — Gov. Pat McCrory has made three appointments to the new Coal Ash Management Commission formed to decide how much industrial waste Duke Energy is required to clean up from its 33 unlined dumps across North Carolina.

McCrory opposed the legislature’s creation of the nine-member panel, which he says violates the state constitution by removing control of the ash cleanup from his administration.

McCrory appointed financier Michael Jacobs as chair of the commission. He is a professor of finance at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and founder of Jacobs Capital.

Former state legislator Larry Cobb was also appointed. He specializes in utility regulation at the Nexsen Pruet law firm in Raleigh.

Herbert M. Eckerlin is a professor at North Carolina State University who studies ways to improve energy efficiency.

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