United States Seventh Circuit
US v. State of New York, 09-3344
In the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) suit against affiliated owners of a number of coal-fired electric power plants in the Midwest, claiming that defendants violated section 165(a) of the Clean Air Act by modifying a number of the plants without first obtaining from the agency a permit that the agency claims was required by a regulation, 40 C.F.R. section 52.21(a)(2)(iii), because the modifications were "major" and would produce increases in emissions of nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide, jury's finding of liability against the defendants is reversed and remanded where: 1) the judgment of the district court is reversed so far as the sulfur dioxide emissions are concerned as the Clean Air Act does not authorize the imposition of sanctions for conduct that complies with a State Implementation Plan that the EPA approved, and here, the EPA approved Indiana's plan with exceptions that did not include section 43, thinking that Indiana would submit a revised plan which the EPA would then approve; and 2) with respect to the charge of nitrogen oxide pollution, government's experts should have been excluded, and without expert testimony to support an estimate of actual emissions caused by the modifications, the government cannot prevail.
Appellate Information
- Argued 09/20/2010
- Decided 10/12/2010
- Published 10/12/2010
Judges
Court
- United States Seventh Circuit