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Sierra Club Lawsuits

Alabama and Smoky Mountains to Have Cleaner (and Clearer) Air, Thanks to Court Ruling

Case Updates:

August 27, 2007

On August 27^th a federal judge ruled that the Tennessee Valley Authority violated the Clean Air Act over 3000 times between 2000 and 2002 at its Colbert coal-fired power plant. This ruling comes in response to a 2002 legal challenge brought by the Sierra Club and the Alabama Environmental Council (AEC) in order to hold TVA accountable for their years of illegal power plant emissions. Alabama District Court Judge Virginia Hopkins ruled that TVA is liable for their violations of Clean Air Act opacity standards, which measure the density of the smoke emitted by the plant, and gave TVA 60 days to develop a remediation plant. This ruling will serve to protect the health of Alabama communities; fine particulate emissions, the type of air pollution released by the Colbert coal-fired plant, are widely known to cause numerous respiratory related health problems. In response to this ruling David Muhly, Senior Regional Representative for the Sierra Club, noted that "At a time when Americans are looking to the future and recognizing the need to look for cleaner, renewable ways to meet our energy needs, it’s irresponsible for TVA and Alabama regulators to be looking to the past," said Muhly, "While we move into the 21st century of electricity generation, we need to be doing all we can to be cleaning up these relics of the past."

November 22, 2005

In addition to causing serious health concerns, dark smoke pollution from antiquated coal-fired power plants can lead to a thick haze that spreads silently throughout an entire region, and can impair visibility in our most treasured wilderness areas and national parks. One example is the Colbert power plant in Alabama, which has spewed hundreds of thousands of tons of toxic chemicals into the air, and, according to experts, has greatly reduced visibility in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. After the coal-burning power plant broke pollution limits over 8,000 times in five years, Sierra Club went to court to enforce pollution limits against Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), the plant's operator. Interestingly, the crux of TVA's defense was that the limits were not enforceable in court because Alabama was not enforcing them. Luckily though, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals saw through the argument and noted that pollution limits should not be abandoned simply because of "ineffective enforcement." The November victory should mean cleaner air for Alabama and the Great Smoky Mountains because TVA will now need to operate sufficient air pollution control technology to meet its limits and reduce its toxic emissions. It also sets a strong precedent reaffirming citizens' right to enforce pollution limits.

Details and Documents:

News Articles:

Court: TVA Violated Pollution Rules
August 28, 2007 by Associated Press, Forbes

TVA in violation of clean air laws, judge rules
August 28, 2007 by Andrew Eder, Knoxville News Sentinel

Related Documents:

Press Release
November 22, 2005 Sierra Club Press Release

Court Decision
November 22, 2005, Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals