Appalachian Voices v. Bodman

A federal district court in the District of Columbia held that an environmental group challenging federal tax credits issued to Duke Energy and other companies for “clean” coal projects was not entitled to a preliminary injunction because it failed to demonstrate the likelihood of imminent, irreparable harm in connection with the Duke Energy project. Appalachian Voices alleged that the Departments of Energy and the Treasury failed to consider the environmental consequences of its clean coal tax credit program, violating both the Endangered Species Act and the National Environmental Policy Act. The court held that because Appalachian Voices did not expect an injunction to prevent Duke from proceeding with the project and the plant is not expected to begin operating until 2012, the injury was not imminent.