Attorney General Files Brief Urging Federal Court To Overturn EPA Power Plant Mercury Emission Rules
Attorney General Richard Blumenthal and 15 other states today filed a brief urging a federal appeals court to overturn Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rules creating a cap-and-trade mercury emission system for power plants, which will result in dangerous "hot spots" of the deadly neurotoxin.
(Media-Newswire.com) - The suit, filed with the U. S. Court of Appeals for The District of Columbia, also challenges an EPA decision to stop classifying power plant mercury emissions as hazardous. The change was necessary to implement the cap-and-trade system because federal law prohibits such programs for hazardous emissions.
Mercury is a proven neurotoxin that is particularly dangerous to children and fetuses.
"The EPA has once again violated the law, adopting rules that permit power plants to spew deadly mercury emissions, causing more birth defects and neurological disease," Blumenthal said. "This rule undermines public health by creating mercury hot spots that will sicken citizens and despoil our environment. We are fighting to stop these rule changes because mercury is a proven killer and crippler, and the new rule gives power plants a free pass to pump this deadly neurotoxin into our air and water. The Bush administration has once again demonstrated that it puts corporate profits over human health and the environment."
Under the cap-and-trade system, utilities can buy, sell and trade the right to emit mercury pollution. Such a system is acceptable for certain pollutants, but not for mercury, because it will lead to high concentrations of the deadly toxin in certain areas, Blumenthal said.
Residents of such "hot spots" will face an increased and unacceptable risk of neurological illnesses and birth defects, he said. Exposure to mercury also impairs speech, concentration, memory, vision and motor functions.
Other states in the case are New Jersey, California, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wisconsin.
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