The Kansas Department of Health and Environment became the first government agency in the nation to cite carbon dioxide emissions as the reason for rejecting an air permit for a proposed coal-fired electricity generating plant, saying that the greenhouse gas threatens public health and the environment.
The decision marks a victory for environmental groups that are fighting proposals for new coal-fired plants. It may be the first of a series of similar state actions inspired by a Supreme Court decision in April that asserted that greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, should be considered pollutants under the Clean Air Act.
