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Regulators in South Carolina refused today to grant Duke Energy a water-quality certification the utility needs to renew its hydroelectric license for the Catawba River.
The board of the Department of Health and Environmental Control voted down the request for the S.C. portion of the river, the Associated Press reported.
North Carolina has already approved the certification, which says the hydro operation won't hurt water quality, for Duke's N.C. dams.
Two environmental groups, the S.C. Coastal Conservation League and American Rivers, had challenged the S.C. certification. They said it would have allowed Duke to release too little water from its dams for aquatic creatures, including the endangered shortnose sturgeon.
The S.C. environment department had proposed that its board approve the certification.
Duke has worked to renew its Catawba license, first granted in 1958, for several years. License renewal would allow Duke to continue managing the river and 11 Catawba reservoirs for up to 50 more years.
