NC loses court battle over air quality

A victory for less-clean smokestacks:

The act also directed state agencies to “use all available resources and means, including ... litigation to make other states and entities, including the Tennessee Valley Authority,” achieve comparable reductions in harmful emissions.

U.S. District Court Judge Lacy Thornburg, a North Carolinian, last year ruled in the state’s favor. But a three-judge panel of the 4th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals unanimously overruled Thornburg last week.

(The three judges hail from Maryland, Virginia and South Carolina, underscoring the fact that North Carolina remains under-represented on this court as nominees James Wynn and Albert Diaz are stalled during their U.S. Senate confirmation proceedings.)