Friends of the Chattahoochee, Inc. v. Longleaf Energy Associates, LLC

The Georgia Supreme Court declined to consider an appeal by environmental groups regarding a decision that found a proposed coal-fired power plant was not required to limit its carbon dioxide emissions. 

The Georgia Court of Appeals reversed a lower court ruling that had vacated a state permit for the construction of a 1,200-watt coal-fired power plant on the Chattahoochee River. The lower court found that the permit was invalid on a number of grounds, including because it did not limit carbon dioxide emissions. The Court of Appeals held that the lower court erred by ruling that under the Clean Air Act, the Environmental Protection Division of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources was required to include carbon dioxide emissions limitations in its permitting process, finding that it would compel the state agency to limit these emissions even though no provision of the Clean Air Act or state law or regulation actually controls or limits them.

The Georgia Superior Court rejected a state permit for construction of a coal-fired power plant on the Chattahoochee River. The court held that the Environmental Protection Division of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources must limit the amount of carbon dioxide from the proposed plant before construction can begin, overruling an administrative law judge's decision upholding the agency's approval of the plant.