Court Decision Emphasizes Importance of Pennsylvania's State-Level Rule
Washington,
D.C. – 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 after 2020.
Pennsylvania’s
power plants have the second highest mercury emissions in the country. In order to address the threat posed by this pollution, PennEnvironment worked successfully with other environmental, sporting and public health groups to convince the Rendell adminstration to enact a rule requiring Pennsylvania's coal-fired power plants to cut mercury emissions by 90 percent.
"Today's decision emphasizes the need for states to take the lead in cutting mercury pollution, in the face of the Bush adminsitration's fatally flawed policies," said Nathan Willcox, Energy & Clean Air Advocate for PennEnvironment. "Thankfully, Pennsylvania has accepted this challenge by enacting its own state-level mercury rule."
At the federal level, PennEnvironment’s national lobby office, Environment America
(as U.S. PIRG), joined with other environmental groups, fourteen
states, dozens of Native American tribes and public health organizations in challenging 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.
“We
are thrilled with this decision,” added Willcox.
“EPA’s rule would have worsened the already high levels of mercury
contamination in Pennsylvania's waterways.”
Nationally, 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.
“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.”
