New England
Senators Call For Reversal Of Mercury Rule
…Weak Mercury Rule
Threatens The Public And The Environment
WASHINGTON (Fri., Jan
30) – A tripartisan group of U.S. senators from New England has
called on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to reverse its
December decision to allow additional mercury emissions to be
released into New England’s air.
On
Dec. 15, 2003, the
Bush Administration announced a set of proposed mercury rules that
will reduce mercury emissions less significantly over a longer
period of time than what would occur if the Administration had
followed the Clean Air Act.
U.S.
Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) and Jim
Jeffords (I-Vt.) were joined by several other New England senators
in writing a letter to EPA Administrator Michael Leavitt asking that
the new mercury rule be withdrawn and replaced with a new rule
consistent with a decade-old commitment to fighting mercury
pollution.
The senators referenced
a 1998 EPA study which concluded that “mercury from coal-fired
utilities is the Hazardous Air Pollutant (HAP) of greatest potential
concern.” The letter went on to note that in January 2003, the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 1 in 12
women of childbearing age has mercury levels above EPA’s safe health
threshold. Estimates suggest that mercury pollution has
contaminated 30 percent of the nation’s lakes, estuaries and
wetlands, and more than 470,000 miles of streams, rivers and coasts
are contaminated. These high mercury levels have led 44 states and
territories to issue fish consumption advisories.
“Mercury kills, and
that’s a scientific fact,” said Leahy, a leader in pushing for
tighter mercury pollution controls. “An emissions standard that
relaxes mercury emissions standards will mean sicker mothers, sicker
children and a sick planet. As mercury billows out of smokestacks
and drifts over
New England, EPA is siding with these
special interests instead of the public’s interest in cleaner air
and water.”
“The revised standards fail to acknowledge the dangers mercury
emissions pose, as well as the fact that once in the environment,
such emissions can remain for centuries," added Snowe. "Simply put,
we have the technology to sharply reduce mercury emissions, and we
continue to put women, children and our environment at risk by
failing to use it.”
Jeffords, Ranking Member
of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, added,
"Unfortunately, the Bush Administration's latest moves on mercury
pollution are reminiscent of the rollbacks they attempted on New
Source Review. This new rule looks just as illegal and harmful to
public health, and I can't imagine any court of law would uphold
it. The public can rest assured that my colleagues and I will do
all we can to defend the Clean Air Act from such attacks."
In February of last year, Leahy and Snowe reintroduced a
comprehensive mercury reduction plan, the Omnibus Mercury Emissions
Reduction Act of 2003. The Leahy-Snowe bill would reduce mercury
emissions from coal-fired power plants by 90 percent. It is the
only comprehensive legislation to reduce mercury pollution from all
major sources, including commercial and industrial boilers, chlor-alkali
plants and cement plants. It also would require labeling of
mercury-containing products to reduce mercury in the waste stream.
Also before Congress is
the Clean Power Act of 2003, a multi-pollutant bill sponsored by
Jeffords and Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.)
aimed at reducing mercury pollution by 90 percent from electric
utilities, along with three other pollutants -- sulfur dioxide,
nitrogen oxides, and carbon dioxide. All components of the bill,
including the mercury provision, would protect or go beyond the
deadlines and emissions reductions required by current law. The
Clean Power Act was approved by the Senate Environment and Public
Works Committee in 2003. Snowe and Leahy are cosponsors of the
legislation.
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View the letter:
Letter
to EPA from New England Senators - January 29, 2004 [PDF FILE]
