Duke wins NSR appeal.(New Source Review )

Byline: Joe Truini

A federal appeals court has dealt another blow, perhaps the most significant, to the Clinton-era lawsuits claiming power companies did little more than just routine maintenance.

The U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals has sided with a lower court that ruled Duke Energy Corp. did not violate New Source Review requirements under the federal Clean Air Act.

"There can be little doubt this is the beginning of the end of an ill-conceived effort to use the NSR program to leverage power sector emissions reductions, potentially at the expe