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Client Alert
Georgia Court Rules Permit for Coal Plant Must Limit Carbon Dioxide Emissions
July 09, 2008
Sanjay Ranchod
On June 30, 2008, in another signal of a trend of greater scrutiny of new coal-fired power plants, a Georgia state court held that the air permit for a proposed coal plant must set limits on carbon dioxide (CO2") emissions. The ruling represents the first time a judge has applied the U.S. Supreme Courts recent landmark decision on regulation of greenhouse gas emissions to an industrial source, although state regulators have been giving increased scrutiny to proposed plants. The decision in Friends of the Chattahoochee v. Couch, No. 2008CV146398 (Fulton County Superior Court), may be a harbinger of things to come in similar cases.