Environmental groups to challenge EPA mercury rule
WASHINGTON, May 16, 2005 -- AFX
Nearly a dozen environmental groups are prepared to challenge an Environmental Protection Agency rule requiring power plants to curb mercury emissions over the next decade.
The groups plan to file their challenge with the U.S. District Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. A number of states have filed similar lawsuits against the rule.
Fossil fuel-burning power plants are the largest source of man-made mercury emissions in the United States. Mercury, a toxin that has been found to impair the development of young children, is released when coal is burned and can wind up in lakes and streams, polluting fish that can eventually be consumed.
In March, EPA ordered the nation's coal-fired power plants to cut mercury emission levels to 38 tons a year from 48 tons. Utilities would then have until 2018 to bring the level down to 15 tons, according to EPA.
If, however, utilities bank emissions credits allotted to plant owners under the rule the reduction could be much lower, said Nat Mund, a senior representative for Sierra Club in Washington, DC.
The goal of these environmental groups is to send EPA back to the drawing board to revamp the rule.
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