[JURIST] A civil trial of American Electric Power [corporate website], the nation's biggest power company, opened Wednesday on charges by the government and eight states that it had violated the Clean Air Act [EPA website]. The suit against AEP alleges violations in connection with modifications made to power plants that didn't include the installation of pollution-reduction devices. Similar suits [JURIST report] have been filed by other states against other power companies. Two key issues are in question: first, whether the work done to the power plants required the installation of the anti-pollution devices; and second, the differences between the Clinton-era rules that governed the industry when the suits were filed, and new relaxed Bush administration rules under review by federal courts [AP report]. AP has more. Read the complaint [PDF].