CNN
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The Biden administration on Wednesday proposed new, stricter rules for harmful pollutants, including mercury, from coal-fired power plants.
The Environmental Protection Agency is proposing to slash mercury pollution and harmful particulate matter from coal-fired power plant emissions, including from lignite coal plants, by up to 70%. If finalized, it would be the strongest update to the mercury standards since 2012.
It is also proposing to improve pollution monitoring at these plants by “requiring continuous emission monitoring systems” that would give the EPA and surrounding communities real-time data on what’s escaping from nearby power plants.
Mercury is a neurotoxin that has a wide range of health impacts, but notably can impact brain development in babies and children. At high levels, mercury exposure “can harm the brain, heart, kidneys, lungs, and immune system of people of all ages,” the EPA noted in its announcement.
The new rule would significantly benefit the public health for communities around these kinds of power plants, according to the EPA. It would also have the effect of requiring plants to cut down on planet-warming pollution that comes from burning coal to generate electricity.
The EPA said that the new rule would also reduce nickel, arsenic and lead pollution. Together, the pollutants can cause “significant health impacts including fatal heart attacks, cancer and developmental delays in children.”
“America is leading the way in innovation, and our work to protect public health is no different,” EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan said in a statement. “By leveraging proven, emissions-reduction measures available at reasonable costs and encouraging new, advanced control technologies, we can reduce hazardous pollution from coal-fired power plants, protecting our planet and improving public health for all.”
The EPA estimates that Wednesday’s proposal would result in $2.4 billion to $3 billion in net public health benefits during the 10 years from 2028 to 2037.
Wednesday’s proposal follows an announcement in February that the EPA finalized a decision to reestablish Obama-era rules temporarily, after the Trump administration had weakened the standards. EPA Deputy Administrator Janet McCabe told CNN at the time the agency was working on its own, stronger standard for mercury.
The Mercury and Air Toxics Standards rules are part of a larger tranche of regulations the agency is expected to roll out this spring that would cut down on coal-fired power plant pollution, which include rules on proper disposal of coal ash.
It also plans to release a much-anticipated rule that would regulate planet-warming pollution like carbon dioxide and methane. That rule is expected to be more limited than climate advocates desire, after the US Supreme Court limited the EPA’s ability to broadly regulate carbon pollution in a ruling last year.
