ELR Citation: 45 ELR 20030
No(s). 4:14CV-00073-JHM (W.D. Ky. Feb 3, 2015) (McKinley Jr.)

A district court held that TVA did not violate NEPA when it decided to replace two coal-fired power generators with a natural gas-fueled power generating plant. TVA was replacing the generators to comply with mercury and air toxics standards. It issued an EA and FONSI for the project, and a coal association and others filed suit against TVA under NEPA, challenging the agency's decision not to prepare an EIS. But based on its review of the administrative record, the court concluded TVA's decision not to prepare an EIS was not arbitrary and capricious. TVA's determination that the project does not significantly affect environmental quality was not arbitrary or capricious, and the agency took the requisite "hard look" at the effects of the project. Although the plaintiffs may disagree with TVA's findings regarding whether the coal-fired generators should be replaced with a gas-powered system, it is not the court's job to substitute its judgment for that of the agency. The court also rejected claims that TVA's decision to replace the coal-fired power generators with a newly constructed natural gas system violated the TVA Act's least-cost planning requirement.