the "new york times" reported that the north carolina department of environmental quality (ncdeq; formerly the department of environment and natural resources) was directed to minimize its regulatory role prior to the accident by governor pat mccrory. prior to being governor, mccrory had worked for duke energy for nearly three decades. at the time, it was the third largest coal ash spill to have occurred in the united states. prior to the incident, environmental groups had attempted to sue duke energy three times in 2013 under the clean water act to force the company to fix leaks in its coal ash dumps. each time, the groups were blocked by ncdeq, which eventually fined the company $99,111. federal prosecutors found this fine to be suspiciously low, and investigated both duke energy and the state regulators. many newspaper editorials alleged that duke energy's environmental safety controls were lax and that the company "bullied" regulators.