N.C. sues TVA for cleaner air

Coal-fired power plants in neighboring states hurt our economy and health, the suit says

State Attorney General Roy Cooper sued the Tennessee Valley Authority on Monday, claiming air pollution that blows across mountains into North Carolina is a public nuisance that causes thousands of illnesses a year.

The lawsuit charges that pollutants spewed from TVA's 11 coal-fired power plants in Alabama, Kentucky and Tennessee harm the health of North Carolina residents as well as the state's environment and economy. It does not seek money damages, but asks the court to order reduced emissions of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and mercury. The pollutants create haze and soot, foul creeks and lead to acid rain, the suit charges.

The lawsuit was filed in federal district court in Asheville -- in the midst of the region most affected by pollution carried in the prevailing west-to-east winds.

"We thought it was important to bring this legal action where the harm was being done," Cooper said in an interview. "I want the people of North Carolina to stop getting sick from dirty air. I want to keep North Carolina business from getting whacked with higher health costs because dirty air is making employees sick."

TVA's chairman Bill Baxter said the federal utility has spent billions installing pollution controls on its plants. He said lawsuits by individual states just kept lawyers busy.

"How do you continue to improve the air for the people of North Carolina?" Baxter said. "You don't do that by dreaming up clever legal schemes. It's just a piecemeal, wasteful way to approach this subject."

Sulfur dioxide, which is produced by burning coal or oil, can form a fine soot that causes respiratory irritation and returns to earth as acid rain. Nitrogen oxide, produced by power plants and motor vehicles, leads to ground level ozone, which causes respiratory problems, particularly for people with asthma. Mercury is a toxin that concentrates as it moves up the food chain. People exposed to elevated levels of mercury suffer nerve damage.

The Attorney General's Office estimates that pollution from out-of-state power plants is responsible for more than 15,000 illnesses and hundreds of emergency room visits and deaths each year in North Carolina. The pollution also damages forests, lakes and streams and fouls scenic vistas in North Carolina mountains, Cooper said.

"We will use modeling showing pollution from TVA is coming into North Carolina," Cooper said. "We will show that illness and death is caused by pollution from TVA. We will show there is specific economic harm to North Carolina with rising health care costs and injury to tourism."

Cooper said the lawsuit was a last resort. In 2004, the attorney general petitioned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to force the TVA to clean up its power plants. EPA responded that a long-term federal plan to cap utilities emissions in 28 states in the Eastern United States would solve the problem.

But the bulk of the reductions aren't expected until after 2015, and they let utilities decide which plants should get pollution controls. State officials say those rules won't guarantee that plants most harmful to North Carolina will get pollution controls.

Cooper is asking the court to make TVA reduce emissions near levels required for North Carolina plants under the state's Clean Smokestacks Act by 2013.

"We've attempted to engage TVA in discussions, but had no results thus far," he said. "We are willing to discuss legally binding agreements on their part to reduce pollution."

"It's interesting the attorney general says he would like to talk," Baxter responded. "We've been offering him a meeting for over a year and can't get our phone calls returned."