Judge orders full review of Duke's Cliffside unit

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A federal judge ordered Duke Energy Corp. on Tuesday to undergo a full environmental assessment of a coal-fired generator under construction in western North Carolina, giving the company 60 days to comply with regulations initially ignored by the Bush administration. The federal judge allowed Duke to continue building its Cliffside unit but dismissed the company's argument that it doesn't need a full assessment to ensure it is using the best-available technology. U.S. District Court Judge Lacy Thornburg wrote that ongoing construction without the review could result in "emissions capable of causing serious health problems, or the shut down of construction and/or in costly retrofitting that would result in unnecessary rate increases." Environmental groups, which led the lawsuit, hailed the decision and said it could serve as precedent to alter the building plans of perhaps a dozen U.S. power plants that began construction during a three-year period. "This is the cleanest, purest legal victory we could have," said John Walke, director of the clean air program at the Natural Resources Defense Council, which is part of the lawsuit...