The complaint, spearheaded and filed by three residents of the province, was filed in the Superior Court of Ontario in late June. In addition to $US50 billion in damages, the complainants are seeking $US4 billion for continuing damages to be awarded annually and $US1 billion in punitive damages.

The complaint centers around pollution from plants in Ontario, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Michigan, Ohio and Kentucky. Companies named in the suit include Ontario Power, DTE Energy, American Electric Power, FirstEnergy, Reliant Energy, Public Service Enterprise Group, Exelon, Allegheny Energy, Cinergy, DPL, Constellation Energy, PPL and Pepco Holdings.

According to a report in the Dayton Daily News, most of the defendant companies have not yet been served with the lawsuit. One company, Texas-based Reliant Energy, said in its second quarter SEC filing that they were aware of the complaint but had not yet been formally served.

“We are confident that we have operated and continue to operate our coal-fired generation facilities in material compliance with all applicable federal and state environmental regulations.”