Thornburg tosses Cliffside lawsuit
Rather than a judgment on the validity of the suit, however, Thornburg’s ruling seems to be a technicality. Thornburg noted that both state and federal courts are being asked to rule on the same issue, and so is basically removing himself from the picture so that the state courts can rule.
The next ruling on the issue will be handed down by a state administrative court.
The lawsuit was brought by five environmental organizations, including the Canary Coalition, which is headquartered in Sylva and Asheville.
The Canary Coalition recently brought suit against the Town of Sylva regarding a rezoning action that benefitted Sylva’s Jackson Paper Manufacturing Co. That suit has yet to be resolved.
From the Charlotte Observer:
Five environmental groups filed the federal suit last year, claiming Duke illegally began work on the plant before a full review of the stringency of its pollution controls. Cliffside is 60 miles west of Charlotte.
The groups maintained that, contrary to a ruling by state regulators, Cliffside will be a major source of toxic pollutants, such as mercury, and so is required to install the most effective controls available.
Thornburg said last December that the environmental groups “might be right”. He said Thursday that the groups can sue again in Federal court if the upcoming state ruling isn’t to their liking.
Duke Energy claimed that Thornburg’s decision shows that their side of the story — that Cliffside will be plenty clean — is valid. A representative of the Southern Environmental Law Center, a party to the suit, said that Thornburg’s ruling basically puts a decision off to a later day.
Tags: Canary Coalition, Charlotte Observer, coal fired power plant, duke energy, Jackson Paper, southern environmental law center, thornburg
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