Jessica King, jessica.king@sierraclub.org
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, EPA confirmed that it is “appropriate and necessary” under the Clean Air Act to regulate mercury and other hazardous air pollution from power plants, reversing a 2020 decision by the Trump Administration.
This decision restores the legal underpinning of EPA’s Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS), securing protections for communities against mercury and other toxic air pollutants released from coal plants.
In response, Senior Director of Energy Campaigns Holly Bender released the following statement:
“For years, the Trump Administration recklessly undermined life-saving public health policies like the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards–common-sense protections whose benefits to the public vastly outweigh their cost to industry. Meanwhile, communities across the country have continued to suffer under the burdens of toxic, dangerous air pollution from coal plants. Today, we applaud President Biden’s EPA for demonstrating its continued commitment to public health and scientific integrity by reaffirming the value of these important protections for children and pregnant mothers from mercury poisoning and other air pollutants.
“But the work is far from over, and the Biden Administration has promised a thorough review of the MATS rule this year. The EPA must prioritize our children and communities that face the greatest risk from these pollutants by strengthening the 2012 standards to ensure that coal plants are consistently using available cost-effective technologies to reduce toxic pollution. We’re counting on President Biden to finish the job and ensure clean air and water for all.”
BACKGROUND
In the first days of his administration, President Biden signed an executive order requiring EPA to reverse an unlawful Trump Administration rule that withdrew EPA’s long standing determination underpinning the life saving Mercury and Air Toxics Standards.
Last year, the EPA proposed to reaffirm the determination, first made over 20 years ago, that it is “appropriate and necessary” to substantially reduce toxic power plant emissions that are especially harmful to some of our most vulnerable communities, including children and the elderly. Today’s announcement finalizes that proposal, and confirms that MATS’ costs are reasonable in light of their massive public health benefits.
The 2012 MATS rule has led to huge reductions in hazardous pollutants like mercury, arsenic, and hydrochloric acid that would otherwise expose communities to mercury-contaminated fish as well as dirtier air and water. Since the MATS rule was implemented, mercury emissions from power plants have declined by 91 percent between 2010 and 2020.
Exposure to mercury and other toxics causes serious health harms, such as cardiovascular disease, neurological injury and cancer, and devastates wildlife and aquatic ecosystems. The EPA estimates the current standards save as many as 11,000 lives each year.
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.