Court: TVA must continue to curb pollution
Judge: Gear can be installed on time
By Clarke Morrison
A federal judge in Asheville rejected a request by the Tennessee Valley Authority for a delay in installing controls on air pollution that blows into Western North Carolina.
U.S. District Court Judge Lacy Thornburg denied a motion by the utility to put off construction of scrubbers and other equipment at four of its power plants until the appeal of a lawsuit is settled.
In arguing for a stay of Thornburg's ruling in January setting emissions limits and timetables for the installation of pollution control equipment, TVA argued the order “poses a real and substantial threat to system reliability that can only be minimized at a great, irreversible cost to TVA and its customers.”
But N.C. Attorney General Roy Cooper contended in a court filing that a delay of two to three years while the appeal is resolved would needlessly prolong the damage caused to residents and the environment by pollution emitted from TVA plants.
“TVA should not be awarded a stay based on its own delay in moving forward with controls required to abate significant public health and environmental concerns,” Cooper said.
In a ruling last week, Thornburg sided with North Carolina.
“Simply put, the court finds the evidence presented at trial supports the conclusion that TVA can install all of the pollution controls required by the judgment within the time period provided,” the judge said.
Avram Friedman, executive director of the Canary Coalition, said that while Thornburg's original ruling was not everything that environmental groups had hoped for, the rejection of TVA's request could help to improve air quality in Western North Carolina.
“It is certainly a step in the right direction, and it could make a huge difference for Asheville,” he said.
Monitors at Bent Creek recorded six yellow, or moderate, ozone levels between April 1 and Aug. 13, according to the WNC Air Quality Agency. There have been no orange, red or purple ozone days recorded in WNC so far this year, according to the agency.
There was one day recorded at Bent Creek in 2008 that exceeded federal ozone limits for sensitive groups.
Cooper sued TVA in 2006 to force reductions in pollutants from the utility's power plants that drift over the mountains into North Carolina.
Thornburg sided with Cooper following a 12-day trial last summer in Asheville. The measures are needed to clean up air pollution that harms the health of North Carolina residents, obscures mountain vistas and damages forests, Thornburg said. He ordered that improvements to the four plants closest to North Carolina be in place by the end of 2011.
Citizen-Times staff writer Nanci Bompey contributed to this report.
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