North Carolina Case Could Test Air Act Preemption Of Nuisance Suits

North Carolina's recently filed nuisance suit seeking to force the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) to reduce utility emissions could result in a precedent-setting federal court ruling over whether the Clean Air Act preempts public nuisance suits regarding emissions, legal scholars say. The eventual ruling could have widespread implications, the sources say, because states and environmental groups have turned to nuisance suits in a bid to force utilities and other facilities to reduce carbon dioxide and other emissions absent federal regulation...