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

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.