The Charlotte Business Journal has it:
The Southern Environmental Law Center is making good on a threat to file suit against Duke Energy Corp. to halt construction at the Cliffside Steam Station.
The organization contends Duke doesn’t have a valid air-quality permit to expand the coal-burning electric plant.
Duke contends otherwise, although it has agreed to conduct additional analysis of its plans for controlling mercury and other pollutants at the facility.
The organization will file its suit Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Asheville, and will ask a judge to order Duke to stop construction of the plant.
N.C. regulators granted Charlotte-based Duke (NYSE:DUK) an air-quality permit for the 800-megawatt facility on Jan. 29. The company began construction at the site the next day. The complex is on the Cleveland-Rutherford county line, about 55 miles west of Charlotte.
The issue is whether the plant will comply with the federal Clean Air Act. The Bush administration relaxed rules on the control of pollutants in the power industry, a move that federal courts overturned this year. The decision set the standard for the control of mercury emissions at the highest level achievable with current technology.
Southern Environmental Law Center says the air-quality permit issued to Duke doesn’t comply with the ruling. The center warned Duke two months ago it would file the suit if Duke didn’t stop construction.
Duke says its plan for emission controls exceeds federal requirements. But it has agreed to voluntarily analyze its plan using the stricter standard set by the court ruling.