Court: EPA can stop some power plant modifications

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TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — Government regulators can try to halt construction projects at power plants if they think the companies didn’t properly calculate whether the changes would increase air pollution, a federal appeals court ruled Thursday, marking the latest twist in a decades-long fight over the Clean Air Act.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency sued Michigan-based DTE Energy in 2010, because the company was replacing key boiler parts at its Monroe Unit 2 coal-fired power plant without installing pollution controls. The EPA said the controls were required because the utility was performing a major overhaul, but DTE argued the $65 million project was only routine maintenance and was therefore exempt.

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