"Air Pollution: EPA Targets Industry's Defense for 'off-The-Book' Emissions"

"Texas environmentalists faced off in court this year against a coal-fired power plant with more than 6,500 alleged exceedances of the federal Clean Air Act limits on opacity, an indicator of fine airborne soot.

The Sierra Club was seeking more than $330 million in civil penalties from Luminant Generation's Big Brown unit.

It got nothing.The court ruled the pollution exceedances were covered by Texas' "affirmative defense" shield, which uses a Clean Air Act provision that lets states exempt industries from penalties for emissions during equipment malfunctions or plant startups and shutdowns."

Amanda Peterka reports for Greenwire October 16, 2014.

Source: Greenwire, 10/17/2014