RICHMOND, Va. (CN) - The 4th Circuit has ruled that North Carolina may pursue claims that pollution from Tennessee Valley Authority's coal-fired plants caused a "public nuisance."
State Attorney General Roy Cooper claimed airborne pollutants from the TVA's plants in Tennessee, Alabama and Kentucky travel across states lines and deteriorate North Carolina's health and environment.
The TVA argued that it has sovereign immunity because it's a federal entity, created by Congress in 1933.The court held that the claims are not barred by the discretionary function doctrine or the Supremacy Clause, and the lawsuit does not implicate the separation-of-powers doctrine of court precedent.
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