Mercury Pollution From Power Plants Cracks Down Under Biden's EPA

As a result of Wednesday's announcement, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has tightened limits on the number and types of toxic air pollutants emitted by power plants as well as mercury, a neurotoxin that harms the development of children's brains and can have adverse effects on adults' cardiovascular systems.

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This proposal comes in the wake of the Biden administration restoring an Obama-era mercury control regulation earlier this year, giving the EPA the opportunity to enforce stricter pollution controls. In the past few years, the Obama administration has set stricter mercury emissions regulations. As a result, the agency's Mercury and Air Toxics Standards rule is the toughest update on mercury emissions regulations to date.

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A proposal such as this is the latest effort by the Biden administration to deal with environmental justice, air pollution, and climate change emissions while also reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Additionally, the Environmental Protection Agency recently released tougher limits on the deadly soot pollution and is expected to announce in the coming weeks that power plants will be required to comply with updated greenhouse gas emission rules.

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EPA officials said Wednesday that the new standards would drastically reduce mercury and fine particulate matter emissions across the U.S., as well as sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and carbon dioxide emissions. What's more, they would further accelerate the country's transition away from coal-burning power plants.

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According to the Trump administration, mercury limits are no longer enforced. The administration argued that the regulatory cost to industry to enforce the mercury limits was higher than the benefit to the public resulting in many diseases being prevented and premature deaths being reduced.

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“We can reduce hazardous pollution from coal-fired power plants, protect the planet and improve public health for all people, by utilizing proven, emissions-reduction measures that can be accessed at reasonable cost, along with encouraging the use of new, advanced control technologies,” said EPA Administrator Michael Regan.

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Using the new rule, remaining mercury emissions will be reduced by 70%, while other pollution-causing metals like nickel, arsenic and lead will be regulated as well. Due to new advanced control technologies that can monitor and control emissions, power plant operators do not have to worry about mercury limits being costly for them.

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The agency estimates the cost for the industry to comply with the rule will be between $230 million and $330 million over the next decade. In addition, it estimates that the public health benefits of the proposal would be between $2.4 billion and $3 billion from 2028 to 2037.

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Despite the fact that these proposed new standards would be a much-needed upgrade, the National Resources Defense Council’s director of the clean air project, John Walke, believes that the agency should strengthen these standards even more to protect public health and take advantage of modern air pollution control technologies.

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As part of the proposal, the White House also announced on Monday that it is making $450 million available for a variety of clean energy demonstration projects on former mining lands as part of a new clean energy demonstration program.

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For 60 days after publication in the Federal Register, the agency is accepting comments from the public regarding the proposed rule.