Posted on 01/15/2002 9:43:17 AM PST by DSH
Clean Air Lawsuits Get Green Light
By KAREN GULLO
Associated Press Writer
January 15, 2002, 1:16 PM EST
WASHINGTON -- The Justice Department has concluded that the government can legally go forward with Clinton administration-era clean air lawsuits against power companies.
In a review of the Environmental Protection Agency's enforcement of the Clean Air Act, the department said it will "continue to prosecute vigorously the EPA's civil actions."
The EPA's enforcement actions "are consistent with the Clean Air Act and its regulations," the department said in the review, which was submitted Tuesday to the White House's energy policy planning group.
It is up to the EPA to decide whether to withdraw from the lawsuits that were filed by the previous administration.
The department has taken steps to settle a number of Clinton-era lawsuits, namely the antitrust case against software giant Microsoft Corp., and a massive lawsuit against tobacco companies.
At issue here are lawsuits against coal-powered power plants. Under the Clean Air Act, companies are required to install pollution-control devices when they modify their plants. The Clinton administration filed suit against the companies, contending that they failed to install the equipment when they modified plants.
The companies said the plants underwent routine maintenance and repair not major modifications and said the suits conflicted with the EPA's long-standing policy of not enforcing the Clean Air Act requirements against similar projects in the power industry.
The Justice Department said the suits "do not constitute an impermissible reinterpretation of the Clean Air Act."
The lawsuits are against Alabama Power Co., Cincinnati Gas & Electric Co., Georgia Power Co., Illinois Power Co., Ohio Edison Co., Pennsylvania Power Co., and Southern Indiana Gas and Electric Co., among others.
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