ASHEVILLE, N.C. — An expert in air pollution control technology says the Tennessee Valley Authority could move far more quickly to reduce emissions from its coal-fired power plants.

The testimony came Tuesday on the second day of a hearing in U.S. District Court in Asheville in North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper’s lawsuit against TVA. The lawsuit accuses the utility of allowing its plants to illegally spew sulfur dioxide, mercury and other chemicals across state lines into North Carolina.

The Asheville Citizen-Times reported that Jim Staudt, a consultant to the Environmental Protection Agency, testified that TVA’s pollution is unreasonable.

“The responsible thing to do would be to take actions to reduce those emissions at a faster rate,” Staudt said.

Staudt testified that TVA emissions are higher than the levels required under a North Carolina law passed in 2002.

The state has asked a federal judge to order TVA cut pollution from 11 of its coal-fired plants in Tennessee, Kentucky and Alabama. A lawyer for the utility has said TVA has already reduced pollution.

Cooper filed the lawsuit in 2006. The lawsuit claims that TVA hasn’t complied with pollution controls unless forced to do so and wants caps imposed on pollution.

U.S. District Court Judge Lacy Thornburg is hearing the case without a jury.

Staudt said EPA data and TVA data show the utility could emit no more than 140,000 tons of sulfur dioxide and 60,000 tons of nitrogen oxides annually if it reduced its emissions to what’s allowed by state law. TVA said it emits 374,000 tons of sulfur dioxide a year — less than the 875,000 tons it put out a decade ago.

Staudt also said 50 of the TVA generating units are at least 50 years old, and that its remaining 50 units are at least 35 years old.

TVA has upgraded its plants since the lawsuit was filed.

“It’s a clear sign that (if) motivated, TVA is capable of reducing its emissions,” Staudt said.

Staudt also said a federal appeals court ruling struck down the 2005 Clean Air Interstate Rule, which could allow utilities to slow or cancel improvements to pollution controls. The interstate rule required states to reduce smog-forming emissions that can be carried long distances by the wind.

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