White House, EPA Move To Ease Mercury Rules

[papau]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A29807-2003Dec2.html

White House, EPA Move To Ease Mercury Rules

More Flexible Enforcement System Sought

By Eric Pianin Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, December 3, 2003; Page A01

The Bush administration is working to undo regulations that would force power plants to sharply reduce mercury emissions and other toxic pollutants, according to a government document and interviews with officials.

The Nov. 26 document makes the case that the Environmental Protection Agency, under President Bill Clinton, misread the Clean Air Act's requirements and that there are less onerous ways to reduce the emissions.

Until recently, the EPA was on track to issue new rules this month requiring the nation's 1,100 coal- and oil-fired power plants to install equipment to achieve the maximum possible reductions in mercury and nickel emissions, which can cause severe neurological and developmental damage in humans. The plan has drawn fierce resistance from industry groups and their congressional allies, who say the new regulations would be excessively costly and should be softened or delayed beyond the 2007 target date.

Now, the White House and EPA Administrator Mike Leavitt are considering rescinding a December 2000 EPA ruling, which concluded that mercury emissions are a public health menace that requires power plants to meet a "maximum achievable control technology" (MACT) standard to sharply reduce toxic pollutants.
<snip>

..draft EPA proposal, under review by the Office of Management and Budget, would limit mercury emissions nationwide to 34 tons a year by 2010. That is about 30 percent below current levels, but far less than the 26-ton limit originally proposed by the Bush administration as part of its "Clear Skies" initiative. <snip>

Comment: I guess the 41 states that have fish-consumption advisories due to mercury poisoning need not worry that the problem will get better any time soon.

[papau]

1. DUPE

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=249854

Slight headline difference but same article

Sorry

[SkipNewarkDE]

2. Emissions Vouchers

I heard on NPR yesterday a guy talking about a method of easing these restrictions. The suggestion of having companies be permitted to emit a certain amount, and if they need to go over that amount, they can "buy" that right from a company with lower emissions that isn't emitting up to their quota.

So just hope you aren't living near one of those high-emission companies that has bought the right to dump more of the stuff out from a clean company.

[MiddleRiverRefugee]

3. Minamata...

http://www1.umn.edu/ships/ethics/minamata.htm

[Beetwasher]

4. There is Nothing to Low for These Scumbags

The EPA is now the Environmental Polluting Agency...

[papau]

5. Really Green will vote Nader so Bush can get in?

I never understood the "no difference between parties" line - seems the current EPA has shown that Bush "green" is different from Democratic Party "Green"