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===July 2010: TVA plants declared public nuisance, then reversed===
On July 26, 2010, a federal appeals court reversed a judge's ruling requiring prompt installation of upgraded emission controls at four TVA coal-fired power plants, three in Tennessee and one in Alabama. U.S. District Judge Lacy Thornburg had ordered the accelerated cleanup at the TVA plants, ruling that emissions affecting air quality in North Carolina's scenic western mountains were a "public nuisance." A three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the decision. Appeals court Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III wrote that allowing the ruling to stand would undermine the nation's "carefully created" [[Clean Air Act]] regulatory scheme. North Carolina can either seek a rehearing before the full appeals court or appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.<ref>[http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2010/07/federal_appeals_court_blocks_r.html "Federal appeals court blocks ruling for fast-track emission controls at 4 TVA coal-fired plants"] al.com, July 26, 2010.</ref>
In 2009, the [[National Association of Manufacturers]] joined in an [http://www.nam.org/~/media/3D99146ECAAE44209911A91E92AACCC7/North_Carolina_v_TVA.pdf amicus brief] supporting the TVA with the [[U.S. Chamber of Commerce]], the [[American Petroleum Institute]], the "Public Nuisance Fairness Coalition", the Utility Air Regulatory Group (represented by [[Hunton & Williams]]), and the [[American Forest & Paper Association]].
SW: →July 2010: TVA plants declared public nuisance, then reversed: - delete section
===December 2009: TVA considering shutting down some aging coal plants===
In August 2009, CEO [[Tom D. Kilgore]] announced that TVA was studying the possibility of closing its [[John Sevier Fossil Plant]] in Tennessee and the oldest six units at its [[Widows Creek Fossil Plant]] in Alabama. A federal judge has ordered TVA to install pollution equipment on the plants by the end of 2013, at an estimated cost of more than $1 billion. However, the company has not yet budgeted any money for the improvements. In 2010 TVA is planning to begin building an $820 million gas-powered plant to replace the generation at its John Servier Plant. The agency has already reduced power production from the oldest six units at Widows Creek. Environmental groups want TVA to shut down or convert to cleaner fuels the oldest and least efficient of its coal plants, including Widows Creek, John Sevier, and [[Johnsonville Fossil Plant|Johnsonville]] plants.<ref>[http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/24/tva-may-shutter-aging-coal-fired-plants/?local "TVA may shutter aging coal-fired plants,"] ''Chattanooga Times Free Press,'' August 24, 2009.</ref>
===August 2010: TVA Announces Plans to Retire 9 Coal-Fired Units===
