High court revives suit over pollution

The U.S. Supreme Court revived a bid yesterday by the federal government and environmentalists to reduce pollution at eight Duke Energy Corp. coal-fired power plants.

The justices unanimously set aside a federal appeals court decision that barred the anti-pollution suit. It said the panel might have overstepped its authority by invalidating Environmental Protection Agency regulations. The Supreme Court told the lower court to reconsider the matter.

The high court opted not to resolve a debate over a part of the Clean Air Act affecting companies that modify coal-fired plants. The so-called New Source Review provisions require companies to get permits and install pollution-control equipment when they make a plant modification that "increases" emissions.

Utilities, backed by manufacturing companies that are also subject to the law, said those provisions applied only when plants increased their maximum hourly emissions rate.

Conservation groups, led by Environmental Defense, say the requirement encompasses the more common scenario in which an upgrade allows longer hours of operation, thereby boosting annual emissions.

The Bush administration, through the EPA, sought to navigate a middle course that would let the suits against Duke and American Electric Power Co. Inc. proceed while applying the industry-backed standard in the future.

The decision is "exceedingly narrow," said Carter Phillips, an attorney for Duke Energy. He said the company would have a strong case when the dispute returned to the appeals court. "I like our chances," he said.