A little over a month ago, the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD) approved permits for four new dual-fuel combustion turbines to be used at Georgia Power’s Plant Bowen, a huge coal-fired facility located just a few dozen miles northwest of Atlanta. In response, earlier this week, environmental groups promptly filed a lawsuit (see the petition here) against the EPD and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources through its commissioner to appeal EPD’s issuance of the permit, claiming that the turbines will only augment ambient violative air readings under the federal Clean Air Act, endangering millions of Atlanta-area residents in order to attract the data center community.

In the action the groups allege that this issuance violates Georgia’s federally enforceable Ozone Maintenance Plan (OMP) under the Georgia Air Quality Act. More specifically, the groups allege that EPD’s decision to allow the turbines’ construction without requiring Georgia Power to company with non-attainment new source review permitting requirements violates the OMP. In other words, the groups claim, the EPD is errantly treating several counties across the Atlanta metropolitan area as if they were meeting ambient air quality ozone standards and is thereby refusing to implement applicable federal and state law requiring EPD’s affirmative action to address the ongoing violations.

Moreover, the groups claim, the EPD also allowed Georgia Power to ignore the Clean Air Act Nonattainment New Source Review Program and federally enforceable State Implementation Plan, required to respond to the Atlanta area’s ongoing violation of the federal ozone standard. Accordingly, the groups demanded as a remedy vacatur of the permit as it relates to an increase in Plant Bowen’s ozone-forming pollutant emissions.

Put simply, the groups contend, the EPD is refusing to follow its own rules in addressing federal ozone violations by allowing utilities to produce toxic emissions and endanger Atlantans.

This suit was filed amidst a nationwide push to limit the growth of energy-guzzling data centers, including in the Atlanta area (the phenomenon of which has been covered extensively by ELM, as recently as last week). As to whether environmental groups will be able to harness the lack of public support to guide its lawsuit to victory is anyone’s guess.