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U.S. NEWS Saturday 29 december 2018

EPA targets Obama crackdown on mercury from coal plants

By ELLEN KNICKMEYER priate and necessary. Any
Associated Press such change would trigger
WASHINGTON (AP) — The new rounds in what have
Trump administration on Fri- already been years of
day targeted an Obama- court battles over regulat-
era regulation credited ing mercury pollution from
with helping dramatically coal plants.
reduce toxic mercury pol- Friday’s move is the latest
lution from coal-fired pow- by the Trump administra-
er plants, saying the ben- tion that changes estimates
efits to human health and of the costs and payoffs of
the environment may not regulations as part of an
be worth the cost of the overhaul of Obama-era
regulation. environmental protections.
The 2011 Obama adminis- It’s also the administration’s
tration rule, called the Mer- latest proposed move on
cury and Air Toxics Stan- behalf of the U.S. coal in-
dards, led to what electric dustry, which has been
utilities say was an $18 bil- struggling in the face of In this July 27, 2018, file photo, the Dave Johnson coal-fired power plant is silhouetted against the
lion clean-up of mercury competition from natural morning sun in Glenrock, Wyo.
and other toxins from the gas and other cheaper, Associated Press
smokestacks of coal-fired cleaner forms of energy. ing what Carper said were tration’s deregulatory aims. part of “the quiet disman-
power plants. The Trump administration in clear health, environmen- Janet McCabe, a former tling of the regulatory
Overall, environmental August proposed an over- tal and economic benefits air-quality official in the framework” for the federal
groups say, federal and haul for another Obama- to come up with a bottom Obama administration’s government’s environmen-
state efforts have cut mer- era regulation that would line that suited the adminis- EPA, called the proposal tal protections.q
cury emissions from coal- have prodded electricity
fired power plants by 85 providers to get less of their
percent in roughly the last energy from dirtier-burning
decade. coal plants.
Mercury causes brain dam- In a statement, the EPA
age, learning disabilities said Friday the administra-
and other birth defects tion was “providing regu-
in children, among other latory certainty” by more
harm. Coal power plants in accurately estimating the
this country are the largest costs and benefits of the
single manmade source of Obama administration
mercury pollutants, which crackdown on mercury
enters the food chain and other toxic emissions
through fish and other items from smokestacks.
that people consume. Hal Quinn, head of the Na-
A proposal Friday from the tional Mining Association,
Environmental Protection charged in a statement
Agency challenges the Friday that the Obama ad-
basis for the Obama regu- ministration had carried out
lation. It calculates that “perhaps the largest regu-
the crackdown on mer- latory accounting fraud
cury and other toxins from perpetrated on American
coal plants produced only consumers” when it calcu-
a few million dollars a year lated that the broad health
in measurable health ben- benefits to Americans
efits and was not “appro- would outweigh the cost
priate and necessary” — a of equipment upgrades by
legal benchmark under the power providers.
country’s landmark Clean Sen. Tom Carper of Dela-
Air Act. ware, the top Democrat
The proposal, which now on the Senate’s Environ-
goes up for public com- ment and Public Works
ment before any final Committee, condemned
administration approval, the Trump administration’s
would leave the current move.
mercury regulation in The EPA has “decided to
place. snatch defeat from the
However, the EPA said it jaws of victory” after the
will seek comment during successful clean-up of tox-
a 60-day public-review ins from the country’s coal-
period on whether “we plant smokestacks, Carper
would be obligated to re- said.
scind” the Obama-era He and other opponents of
rule if the agency adopts the move said the Trump
Friday’s finding that the administration was play-
regulation was not appro- ing with numbers, ignor-