EPA proposes rolling back Mercury and Air Toxics Standards
On Friday, the Trump administration proposed rolling back a 2011 Obama administration rule called the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards. The regulation is credited with helping to dramatically reduce toxic mercury pollution from coal-fired power plants. Environmental groups say these federal and state efforts have cut mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants by 85%. Mercury causes brain damage, learning disabilities and other birth defects in children and coal power plants are the largest single manmade source of mercury pollutants. But Trump’s EPA calculates that the crackdown on mercury and other toxins from coal plants produced only a few million dollars of measurable health benefits and therefore wasn’t appropriate and necessary. The proposal is open for a 60-day public-review period.
EPA proposes rolling back Mercury and Air Toxics Standards
