State officials accused of illegally issuing permits for massive gas plant

A conservation group has accused Tennessee environmental regulators of failing to follow the law by approving an air emission permit for a new Tennessee Valley Authority methane-fired plant in Kingston.

In an appeal filed Monday with the Tennessee Air Pollution Control Board, the nonprofit conservation group Appalachian Voices claimed state regulators are allowing TVA to “avoid installing commonsense pollution controls” needed to protect air quality and public health.

The group is seeking an immediate halt to approval of any more permits needed for the project by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, or TDEC — a request, if granted, that would effectively halt construction on the project. The appeal is administrative, meaning it will be heard outside a state courtroom.

A TDEC spokesperson on Tuesday said the agency “is in the process of reviewing the appeal and cannot comment on pending litigation.”

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The appeal marks the latest in a series of legal disputes that have surrounded TVA’s multi-billion dollar makeover plans to convert a fleet of aging coal-fired power plants into natural, or methane gas, plants.

The plans have drawn pushback from environmental and community groups, who have criticized TVA for ignoring cleaner energy alternatives. The groups have also raised concerns about the impact on surrounding communities of the gas-generating plants and miles of new pipelines needed to supply them.

Appalachian Voices, represented in their appeal by the Southern Poverty Law Center, claimed state environmental regulators illegally allowed TVA to seek a “minor modification” of a longstanding air pollution permit tied to its now-defunct coal plant.

State air permits set limits for harmful emissions and require utilities and other companies to operate within the bounds of the federal Clean Air Act.

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New permits present significantly higher hurdles than minor modifications of existing permits, including environmental analysis and more opportunities for public comment.

“By endorsing TVA’s characterization of its proposed methane-fired power plant as a modification to TVA’s soon-to-be-demolished coal plant—which itself lacks modern air pollution controls and never underwent an analysis of its impact on air quality—state regulators have enabled TVA to avoid its Clean Air Act requirements for decades into the future,” a statement from the Southern Environmental Law Center said.

A TVA spokesperson on Tuesday referred questions about the appeal to TDEC.