No More Mercury: Latest News

Senate Bid to Reject Bush Mercury Rule Narrowly Fails, 9/13/05
Today the U.S. Senate fell just shy of invoking the rarely-used Congressional Review Act to overturn a Bush administration rule that gives power plants an additional 10-20 years to reduce their mercury pollution. The Congressional Review Act, which allows Congress to void federal agency rules, has been used successfully only once since the law was enacted. The resolution failed 47-51. Just yesterday, the White House issued a rare veto threat. More.

Data Show American Electric Power Is Nation’s Worst Mercury Polluter, 9/8/05
As the Senate prepares to vote on whether to overturn a Bush administration rule on power plant mercury emissions, a new U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) report, “Made in the U.S.A.,” identifies the companies, places, and facilities with the most power plant mercury emissions and finds that the three worst mercury polluters—American Electric Power, Southern Company, and Reliant Energy—were responsible for nearly one quarter of the nation’s total mercury emissions from power plants. More.

Court Declines Immediate Freeze of EPA Mercury Rule, 8/5/05
The District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals yesterday declined a request by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (U.S. PIRG) and other environmental groups to immediately stay an EPA rule that scuttles strict controls for mercury and other toxic air pollution from power plants. The rule, known as the “delisting rule,” removes power plants from the list of sources subject to the most protective controls for their emissions of mercury and other air toxics. More.

Resolution to Disapprove EPA Mercury Rule Introduced in Senate 6/29/05
Senators Patrick Leahy (VT), Susan Collins (ME), and James Jeffords (VT) introduced a bipartisan joint resolution today to disapprove an EPA rule that scuttles strict controls for toxic mercury pollution from power plants. The rule, known as the “delisting rule,” removes power plants from the list of sources subject to strict controls for their emissions of mercury and other hazardous air pollutants and is also the subject of numerous court challenges. More.

U.S. PIRG Files Two Lawsuits Challenging EPA Mercury Rules 5/18/05
The U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) filed two lawsuits today in the District of Columbia Court of Appeals challenging two EPA rules that allow power plants to continue to emit high levels of mercury. The first rule (the “delisting” rule) tries to remove power plants from the sources subject to strict controls for their emissions of mercury and other hazardous air pollutants. The second rule (the “cap-and-trade” rule), published just today, allows power plants to buy and trade the right to pollute and delays even modest mercury reductions until after 2018. A coalition of states also challenged EPA’s “cap-and-trade” rule today; 12 states had previously sued EPA over the “delisting” rule. More.

Loophole in 'Clear Skies' Bill Lets Nearly 40 Percent of Nation's Power Plant Units Escape Mercury Reductions 4/6/05
On the same day that Steven Johnson, President Bush's nominee to head the Environmental Protection Agency, testifies for the first time before the Senate, a new U.S. Public Interest Research Group (U.S. PIRG) report finds that a loophole in the fine print of the Bush administration's "Clear Skies" (S.131) bill could exempt 39 percent of the nation's coal-fired power plant units from regulation, allowing them to emit toxic mercury indefinitely. Alexandria's Mirant Potomac River power plant, built in 1949, would be entirely exempt from reducing its mercury pollution under the bill. The plant emits 83.5 pounds of mercury into the air each year - the second highest of any plant in the U.S. that would be entirely exempt. More.