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May 20, 2005

11 States Challenge Break on Mercury for Coal Power Plants

The New York Times reports, "A coalition of 11 states, including New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, filed a lawsuit yesterday challenging a new federal rule that allows coal-fired power plants to buy pollution credits to avoid lowering their mercury emissions."

"According to the suit, the new rule slows attempts to decrease dangerous mercury emissions and poses grave health risks to those exposed to them. Attorney General Peter C. Harvey of New Jersey, acting on behalf of the attorneys general of the other states, filed the suit in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit."

Ted Gayer and Robert Hahn evaluate EPA's mercury rule in their regulatory analysis: Thinking Through Mercury Regulation: Some Lessons for the Design of Environmental Policy. Gayer and Hahn find that the costs of regulating mercury emissions outweigh the benefits because U.S. power plants account for a very small percentage of world mercury emissions and because most Americans do not consume mercury at high enough exposures to cause much harm in the first place.

Also of interest from the Joint Center:

A Regulatory Analysis of EPA's Proposed Rule to Reduce Mercury Emissions from Utility Boilers Joel Schwartz