Mass. AG Praises U.S. Appeals Court Ruling On Mercury Emissions

February 08, 2008 -- BOSTON - Today, Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley’s Office, as part of a coalition of 15 other state Attorneys General, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, the City of Baltimore, MD, and several environmental organizations, were successful in an appeal before the United States Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., related to the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) 2005 regulations pertaining to mercury emissions from electric power plants. The Court ruled in favor of the coalition, finding that the regulations were adopted in violation of the Clean Air Act. As a result of the court’s decision, the EPA must issue new regulations applying the stricter control standards applicable to hazardous air pollutants, in place of the relatively relaxed and permissive rules favored by the Bush Administration.

“The EPA unconscionably argued that one of the most dangerous substances in our environment should not be regulated as a ‘hazardous air pollutant,” said Attorney General Coakley. “Today’s ruling, one in a long string of defeats for the agency, is a victory not only for the environment, but for common sense.”

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Mercury is a powerful neurotoxin, a poison that can impair neurological functioning in human beings, and is particularly harmful to children. In 1998, a public health study ordered by Congress concluded that mercury emissions from electricity generating plants, particularly coal-burning plants, contribute to mercury contamination of fish, the main source of mercury consumed by humans. Two years later, the EPA concluded based on the study that mercury emissions should be regulated as hazardous air pollutants under the Clean Air Act, requiring power plants to reduce emissions to the maximum extent achievable.

However, in 2005, the Bush Administration reversed this conclusion, and decided to regulate mercury emissions as ordinary pollutants. Under the new rules, the EPA proposed to establish a cap on nationwide mercury emissions, and to allow individual power plants to either reduce their own emissions or purchase credits from other facilities, allowing them to avoid reductions. The rules effectively did not require additional controls on any power plants before 2015.

Following publication of the regulations, a coalition of states, including Massachusetts, filed suit, arguing that the EPA had ignored statutory procedures for removing mercury from the list hazardous pollutants. The decision released today upholds the States' arguments.

Joining Massachusetts in the government coalition were: New Jersey, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, Rhode Island, Vermont, Wisconsin and the City of Baltimore. Also participating were a number of environmental organizations, including Earthjustice, a non-profit public interest law firm.

This matter was handled by Assistant Attorney General Bill Pardee of Attorney General Coakley’s Environmental Protection Division.

Source: Massachusetts Attorney General