Lawyers representing Pennsylvania citizens have filed what they say could the first of several new tort suits under state law for alleged public nuisance from utilities' emissions, following an appellate court ruling that split with other circuits by upholding citizens' right to file such claims, which it found are not barred the Clean Air Act. One legal source tracking the issue says the use of state law for public nuisance suits to try and force financial damages due to power plant air pollution "could be used against any polluter anywhere in the United States." A second legal source says many industrial facilities could be vulnerable to tort claims, regardless of whether they are in compliance with all federal air permits. "Certainly there are a lot of different industries that directly pollute their immediate neighborhoods, all while trumpeting that they are within their permits," the source says.
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