Judge orders TVA to limit pollution at four plants

A federal judge ordered the Tennessee Valley Authority yesterday to curb pollution from its coal-fired plants closest to the North Carolina border. U.S. District Court Judge Lacy Thornburg has imposed emission caps on four of the TVA's plants and given the utility until the end of 2013 to install pollution controls at those facilities. North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper filed a lawsuit two years ago asking the court to order the TVA to comply with stricter emission standards. Cooper argued pollutants from the utility's plants cross into North Carolina, harming residents' health and the state's economy and natural resources. The judge ruled that four of the eleven plants cited in the lawsuit, did just that. Cooper notes those four facilities are the ones closest to North Carolina. "Our evidence showed by far that these four plants we're doing the most damage to North Carolina's air and damage to the health of North Carolinians," says Cooper. The TVA says it's disappointed by the ruling and will continue analyzing the decision.