Supreme Court Sides Against Utilities Industry in NSR Case

The Supreme Court handed environmental advocates yet another victory, this time regarding the Clean Air Act and coal-burning power plants having to replace equipment without installing costly new air emission controls. 

The Environmental Protection Agency and the electric utilities industry were dealt a defeat last week when the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear arguments in a new source review case dealing with the definition of routine maintenance.  Operators of coal-fired electric power plants hoped to overturn a March 2006 decision to make it easier for coal-burning power plants to replace equipment without installing costly new air emission controls.

"We are grateful, but not surprised, that the Supreme Court has once again reminded EPA that the Clean Air Act says what it means and means what it says -- significant renovations at old dirty power plants cannot avoid requirements to apply pollution controls," said Ann Weeks, legal director of the Clean Air Task Force.

Despite the ruling, utility industry representatives remain optimistic.  They said a recent Supreme Court decision in the Duke Energy case that also dealt with new source review clears the way for additional reforms to the program that would benefit the electric industry.

However, environmentalists disagree, saying the changes being prepared by the EPA would create additional loopholes designed to exempt aging power plants and other industrial facilities from installing the most modern and effective air emission reduction equipment.