A federal appeals court in Chicago on Aug. 17 ruled for the Environmental Protection Agency in its Clean Air Act lawsuit against Cinergy Corp. Cincinnati, concluding that it is EPA's duty to determine how emission increases trigger the law's new source review requirements. EPA in 1999 sued Cinergy, now merged with Charlotte-based Duke Energy, saying Cinergy's coal-fired Midwestern powerplants violated NSR because repairs increased the units' annual emission rates.The court said Cinergy's interpretation of the regulation would "distort the choice between rebuilding an old plant and replacing it with a new one."