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Supreme Court Orders Antiquated Power Plants into the 21st Century

Case Updates:

April 2, 2007

In a monumental ruling, on April 2, 2007 the Supreme Court upheld a lower court decision that coal-fired power plants must follow clean air rules by declining to hear industry and Administration efforts to retool the Clean Air Act’s New Source Review program. NSR is a key Clean Air Act provision that requires plants to install modern pollution safeguards when updating the rest of their facilities.  Sierra Club Executive Director Carl Pope stated that “The Supreme Court sent a clear message today: coal-fired power plants are not above the law and cannot be allowed to shirk clean air rules in favor of profits. Another industry attempt to sidestep pollution controls and protect their aging, dinosaur power plants has failed.”  The Court’s unanimous decision protects a critical component of the Clean Air Act and holds industry accountable for the pollution they’ve caused.   

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