EPA says TVA broke law

ATLANTA - Lawyers for the Environmental Protection Agency argued Tuesday that the Tennessee Valley Authority - like most power providers - broke the law by failing to install pollution control equipment at its older coal-burning power plants. <br> <br> The case could have far-reaching effects for utilities, which say they should be able to conduct maintenance at the older plants without making the expensive improvements. <br> <br> The EPA asked the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to uphold a federal order that TVA comply with tougher federal air pollution control requirements set forth in the Clean Air Act. <br> <br> The EPA claims TVA violated the act for 20 years by making improvements at seven of its 11 coal-fired plants in Tennessee, Alabama and Kentucky without installing new pollution control equipment. <br> <br> TVA attorneys said the plants didn&#39;t ignore the law, they simply interpreted it differently. <br> <br> The three-judge panel is expected to rule this summer. Similar cases are pending against 12 other utilities in the South and Midwest, including Atlanta&#39;s Southern Company, and a decision in TVA&#39;s favor could weaken those complaints.