April 15, 2008--Justices to rule on utilities, waterways (Denver Post)
The Supreme Court agreed Monday to hear an environmental case in which utility companies want to revive an industry- friendly regulation put in place by the Bush administration. The dispute with environmental groups revolves around the harm companies cause when they draw water from rivers and lakes to cool electric generating equipment, then return it to the waterway. The process kills aquatic life. The Environmental Protection Agency allowed the industry to skip the most expensive solution, installing closed-cycle cooling systems which would cost billions of dollars at 550 generating units around the country including 104 nuclear power plants. The units account for 40 percent of the country's energy production.
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