EPA Mercury Emissions Rule Struck Down

AG King: Big Win for New Mexico

(ALBUQUERQUE)---The New Mexico Attorney General’s Office and more than a dozen other states claimed a big victory today in their legal fight against a federal policy that exempts power plants from mercury emissions regulations. The U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C. dissolved the Environmental Protection Agency’s so-called cap-and-trade rule. The Court agreed with the states that the EPA had no authority to exempt power plants.

Attorney General Gary King says, “This is a big victory for us and the other states involved because of the toxic effects of mercury, particularly on our children. The federal policy just doesn’t address mercury emissions control in a manner consistent with public heath.”

The EPA policy, which was to take effect in 2010, allows power plants that don’t meet mercury emissions limits to buy credits from other plants that do meet compliance standards, thereby skirting the need to have their own emissions control systems.

The Court also struck down the EPA’s plan to exempt power plants that use coal or oil from regulations requiring emission control technology to restrict emissions.

Source: New Mexico Attorney General

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