RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- A federal appeals court has ruled that North Carolina can proceed with a lawsuit that accuses the Tennessee Valley Authority of causing a "public nuisance" with pollution from its coal-fired plants.

The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia, issued its decision Thursday, saying the lawsuit filed by state Attorney General Roy Cooper in January 2006 can continue.

The court's decision says the TVA has coal-fired plants Tennessee, Alabama and Kentucky. Cooper's lawsuit seeks to require the TVA to clean up air pollution from those plants. It says the dirty air harms North Carolina's health, environment and economy.

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