Alliance for Clean Coal v. Bayh
United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
72 F.3d 556 (1995)
Indiana's Environmental Compliance Plans Act (ECPA), enacted after federal amendments required utilities to cut sulfur dioxide emissions (achievable either by using western low-sulfur coal or installing scrubbers to keep burning Indiana's high-sulfur coal), required utility compliance plans to be reviewed for whether they preserved or increased Indiana coal use, or to justify any decrease. The Alliance for Clean Coal (plaintiff), representing low-sulfur coal interests, sued Indiana officials (defendants), and the district court found the ECPA discriminated against interstate commerce.
Whether state legislation that benefits the production and use of in-state high-sulfur coal at the expense of out-of-state low-sulfur coal violates the Commerce Clause.