After reading David Bass’s Carolina Journal piece today about NC Attorney General Roy Cooper’s large livin’ Washington lawyers, who helped him press his state “nuisance” lawsuit against the Tennessee Valley Authority, I went back and read some of our CJ stories that set the timeline for the case. Cooper found his authority to threaten neighboring or nearby states over pollution controls in the 2002 NC Clean Smokestacks law, which he promptly did following its enactment in June that year:
When the Improved Air Quality/Electric
Utilities legislation, better known as the ?clean smokestacks? bill,
was overwhelmingly approved by the General Assembly in June, most
lawmakers said North Carolina needed to regulate its power plants?
emissions properly before it could tell neighboring states to clean up
their act.Empowered by the new law, the state is now telling the rest of the
Southeast that it has taken the environmental high ground, and to jump
on board ? or else.Attorney General Roy Cooper sent a letter to his counterparts in
Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and
West Virginia, notifying them of the state?s new ?law that will
dramatically reduce air pollution without increasing electricity rates
for consumers.? Cooper said, ?North Carolina?s Clean Smokestacks
legislation became a model for the nation when it was signed into law.?
Justifiably, TVA of all the states felt especially threatened:
Most states that received Cooper?s letter
acknowledged it, thanking him for information about the bill. However,
the State of Tennessee responded in detail, including documentation
showing that it has improved emissions controls for smokestacks owned
by the Tennessee Valley Authority.The reason for greater concern from Tennessee? The TVA is the only
entity mentioned by name in the Smokestacks law as a potential target
for litigation.
As Joel Schwartz determined in a study of the TVA case that he did for the Locke Foundation, ?The attorney general?s experts grossly
exaggerate potential benefits from power plant emissions reductions,
ignore evidence that contradicts their assumptions, and misinterpret
study results to make their case.?
And despite not recognizing the ritzy hotel partying that Cooper’s lawyers would enjoy in the future, former Republican NC Rep. Don Davis — one of only four legislators who opposed the Smokestacks bill — was prophetic:
Rep. Davis questioned the wisdom of potential
legal action against North Carolina?s neighbors. ?I don?t think it
would be appropriate,? he said, ?because we?d be spending a whole lot
of taxpayer money and nothing would come of it. I don?t think one state
can dictate over another. Just because we had a bill passed, doesn’t
mean we can tell other states to do that.?
But the judge-shoppers in Cooper’s office found an ally in Asheville.
