Court Rules Administration’s Weak Rule Violates
the Clean Air Act
Washington, DC—A
federal appeals court today ruled that the Bush administration’s rules allowing
coal-fired power plants to avoid making deep cuts in mercury pollution violate
the law. The court’s decision invalidates the administration’s so-called “Clean
Air Mercury Rule,” which would have allowed power plants to continue emitting
dangerously high levels of mercury emissions under a weak cap-and-trade program
that would not have taken full effect until 2020. EPA’s rule would have also
allowed coal-fired power plants to avoid controls on other air toxics including
arsenic, lead, hydrogen chloride and nickel.
“We are thrilled with this decision,” said Nathan Willcox, Energy &
Clean Air Advocate with Environment America. “EPA’s rule would have worsened
the already high levels of mercury contamination in significant national
watersheds like the Chesapeake Bay and the Great
Lakes, as well as smaller local watersheds near power plants. Our
members are already advised to limit consumption of fish from many local
waterways due to mercury contamination. Research shows that deep cuts in
industrial mercury emissions translate to cleaner lakes, rivers, and estuaries,
and lower levels of mercury in fish and wildlife.”
Environment America
(as U.S. PIRG) joined other environmental groups, fourteen states, dozens of
Native American tribes and public health organizations in challenging the EPA’s
suite of rules. Today’s ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of
Columbia Circuit strongly rebuked EPA for creating an illegal loophole for the
power generating industry, rather than applying the toughest emission standards
of the Clean Air Act. The decision also overturned EPA’s delisting rule and the
Agency’s cap-and-trade alternative to strict standards.
Power plants spew 48 tons of mercury into the air each year, yet only 1/70th
of a teaspoon of mercury can contaminate a 25-acre lake to the point where fish
are unsafe to eat. Recent research confirms that the Chesapeake Bay
and the Great Lakes exhibit high levels of mercury contamination
in local fish and wildlife, and EPA’s own research shows that local coal-fired
power plants are a key contributor to local contamination.
“The court has now told EPA in no uncertain terms to follow the law as it is
written. We are looking forward to working on rules that reflect the most
stringent controls achievable for this industry, as the Clean Air Act
requires,” said Ann Weeks, attorney for Clean Air Task Force who represented
U.S. PIRG and three other environmental organizations in the case. “That’s what
is needed to alleviate the public health issues associated with mercury
contamination in fish and wildlife.”
