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Duke Energy has signed an agreement with the US Environmental Protection Agency to have it oversee the cleanup of toxic coal ash that spilled into a North Carolina river earlier this year. For days this February, tens of thousands of tons of coal ash flooded into the Dan River, which flows between North Carolina and Virginia, from a reservoir beside an old Duke power plant. Duke has been cleaning it up in the time since, with the EPA monitoring its progress, and its now agreed to compensate the EPA for all past and ongoing oversight costs. Protection of public health and safety remains a primary concern.EPA will work with Duke Energy to ensure that cleanup at the site, and affected areas, is comprehensive based on sound scientific and ecological principles, complies with all federal and state environmental standards, and moves as quickly as possible, Heather McTeer Toney, an EPA regional administrator, says in a statement.