WILLIAMSTON, S.C. - Jul 17

 

Changes made at Duke Energy's power plant on the Saluda River and seven others from 1988 to 2000 are at the heart of a lawsuit being considered by the U.S. Supreme Court.

The court's decision could determine how much pollution plants across the nation can legally put into the air.

The question is whether changes made at the eight Duke Energy plants increase the amount of emissions from those plants.

Environmental Defense sued the Charlotte, N.C.-based power company, saying changes allow the plants to operate longer and that means more pollution is released in the air. Duke contends the plants' hourly emissions did not increase as a result of the changes.

The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with Duke.

Environmentalists ultimately hope the suit requires Duke to outfit the Lee Steam Station in Anderson County and the other plants with the latest in pollution-control technology, said Blan Holman, an attorney working on the case for the Southern Environmental Law Center.

The court will take up the case in the fall.

The issue is particularly important to the South Carolina Upstate where the level of smog and soot in the air put the region close to stringent regulations by the Environmental Protection Agency.

If the area's air is too polluted, the EPA could impose a burning ban, the state could lose federal highway funds and new businesses could have to install expensive pollution-control technology.

Devices to control the emission of a main smog ingredient - nitrous oxide - have been installed on all three of Lee Steam Station's power-generating units, said Duke spokesman Tom Williams. The upgrades, finished this month, cost of $13.4 million and reduced emissions 60 percent over 1997 levels, according to the company.

"We're proud of this plant," Williams said

If Environmental Defense wins at the Supreme Court level, the case would go back for trial in Greensboro, N.C., Holman said. There, Holman said, the plaintiff would ask the court to require Duke to install the newest pollution-control technology at its plants.

But Duke said that would be too expensive. "It would cost many times more than the plant cost to build," Williams said.

___

Information from: The Greenville News, http://www.greenvillenews.com