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Friday, May 22, 2009

Ind. Courts - More on: "Duke wins four of six in in EPA power plant lawsuit"

Updating the ILB entry from May 20th, Robin Bravender of the NY Times reported yesterday:

An Indiana jury sided Tuesday with Duke Energy Corp. on four of six claims that proper pollution controls hadn't been installed at several of the company's Midwest power plants.

Both Duke and environmental groups have claimed victory in the case, which dates to 1999, when the Clinton administration launched an aggressive legal campaign against coal-fired utilities under the Clean Air Act's New Source Review (NSR) provisions.

NSR requires power plants to install modern emission controls for major upgrades that result in significant increases in air pollution. The law is aimed at ensuring that utilities do not artificially extend the lives of older, heavily polluting power plants by making significant upgrades to the facilities.

A jury in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana found that Cinergy Corp. -- which merged with Duke in 2006 -- did not violate NSR provisions when it replaced tubing at plants in Ohio and Indiana. The jury found that Cinergy did violate the law when it replaced coal pulverizing equipment at two units at its Gallagher Station in Floyd County, Ind. * * *

Meanwhile, environmentalists also hailed the decision as a victory for curbing air pollution in the region.

The Gallagher Station has emitted 25,000 additional tons of pollution per year since upgrading the pulverizers, according to the New England-based Clean Air Task Force. Sulfur dioxide contributes to acid rain and can also cause serious health impacts.

"What's really important here is the plant we won on is an old clunker that's right on the border of Kentucky and the city of Louisville and upwind from Cincinnati, Ohio, and those people are going to breathe cleaner air," said Ann Weeks, senior counsel for the advocacy group.

An AP story today reports:
Duke Energy Corp. violated the Clean Air Act by making changes at a Southern Indiana power plant that significantly increased the air pollution it released into the Louisville, Ky., area, a federal jury has ruled in a decade-old lawsuit.

The Indianapolis jury found this week that Duke failed to obtain needed permits or install modern pollution-control equipment when it made changes at its coal-fired Gallagher plant near New Albany that raised the station's sulfur dioxide emissions.

Environmentalists had joined the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in suing Cinergy Corp., now owned by Duke, in 1999 over changes to plants in Indiana and Ohio.

They praised the jury's verdict, saying it would help reduce pollution emissions at the plant, which dates to 1958 and is, they say, one of the nation's "dirtiest" in terms of air pollution produced per unit of electricity.

With the verdict entered Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Larry McKinney will next hear arguments from prosecutors and Duke in the remedy portion of the trial. Among other steps, he's expected to order Charlotte, N.C.-based Duke to install pollution-control equipment at the plant.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on May 22, 2009 02:21 PM
Posted to Environment | Ind Fed D.Ct. Decisions