Richmond Leader

Washington, D.C. – On July 7, Congresswoman Jennifer McClellan (VA-04) led more than 50 House Democrats in calling on Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael Regan to swiftly finalize a protective Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) Rule to limit harmful air pollution, achieve better health outcomes for vulnerable Americans, and advance environmental justice.

Initially established in 2012, MATS required power plants to bring their hazardous air pollution under control, yielding significant public health benefits. However, the protections were severely undermined by former EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler during the Trump administration. These rollbacks were reversed under the Biden administration and, earlier this year, the EPA took additional action to strengthen MATS protections and further reduce toxic emissions.

“Air toxics from power plants—including mercury, hydrogen chloride, arsenic, chromium, cadmium, nickel, and others—can cause or contribute to neurological damage in developing fetuses, chronic respiratory diseases, various cancers, and other severe damage to human health and ecosystems,” wrote the lawmakers. Since the now-implemented 2012 MATS went into effect, the power sector has significantly reduced air toxics emissions, providing major public health benefits at costs far lower than expected, and without adverse effects on electric system reliability or the economy. However, power plants are still the nation’s largest emitter of mercury and other hazardous air pollutants.”

By 2035, the new standard could protect Americans annually from:

-       82 pounds of mercury;

-       800 tons of fine particulate matter (PM2.5);

-       8,800 tons of sulfur dioxide (SO2);

-       8,700 tons of nitrogen oxides (NOx); and

-       5 million tons of carbon pollution (CO2).

According to the EPA, reducing mercury and other air toxics emissions is estimated to lead to $170 million to $220 million in annualized health benefits and another $170 million in annualized climate co-benefits.

“More hazardous air pollutant reductions are achievable at reasonable cost and will achieve important public health improvements for all, but particularly for those communities that bear the greatest pollution burden or are subsistence or recreational fishers,” continued the lawmakers. “We, therefore, strongly encourage EPA to finalize these critical safeguards in an expeditious timeframe, no later than April 2024.”

The letter was cosigned by Reps. Nanette Barragán, Donald Beyer, Julia Brownley, Salud Carbajal, Tony Cárdenas, Troy Carter, Greg Casar, Sean Casten, Kathy Castor, Yvette Clark, Steve Cohen, Danny Davis, Mark DeSaulnier, Debbie Dingell, Lloyd Doggett, Dwight Evans, Robert Garcia, Josh Gottheimer, Raúl Grijalva, Glenn Ivey, Jeff Jackson, Sheila Jackson Lee, Sara Jacobs, Henry Johnson, Ro Khanna, Barbara Lee, Summer Lee, Mike Levin, Doris Matsui, Betty McCollum, James McGovern, Grace Meng, Jerrold Nadler, Joe Neguse, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Donald Payne, Brittany Pettersen, Katie Porter, Jamie Raskin, Deborah Ross, C. A. Dutch Ruppersberger, John Sarbanes, Mary Gay Scanlon, Janice Schakowsky, Adam Schiff, Kim Schrier, Robert C. “Bobby” Scott, Shri Thanedar, Dina Titus, Rashida Tlaib, Jill Tokuda, David Trone, Juan Vargas, Nydia Velásquz, and Frederica Wilson.

“There is no safe level of mercury exposure, yet coal plants around the country continue to endanger communities with harmful emissions,” said Patrick Drupp, Director of Climate Policy, Sierra Club. “By strengthening MATS, EPA can deliver billions in public health benefits while keeping mercury and other heavy metals out of the air we breathe, the food we eat, and the waters we enjoy. We appreciate the continued commitment of Congresswoman McClellan and every co-signer to protecting communities from harmful pollution, and we urge EPA to swiftly finalize a strong mercury standard.” 

“These lifesaving standards have cut toxic air pollution from power plants dramatically and Americans – particularly babies – are much healthier as a result,” said American Lung Association National President and CEO, Harold Wimmer. “However, power plants do still emit dangerous air toxics with serious health implications, and EPA’s data shows that these emissions are on the rise. There is still more work to do to clean up dangerous pollution from power plants. Thank you to the members of Congress for calling on EPA to finalize stronger standards for toxic air pollution.”

“Big polluters need to be held accountable for cleaning up the toxic air, water, and climate pollution that their fossil-fueled power plants dumped into our communities,” said LCV Deputy Legislative Director Madeleine Foote. We urge Administrator Regan to build on the EPA’s progress and finalize the strongest possible Mercury and Air Toxics Standards Rule to save billions of dollars in public health costs by 2035 and ensure that people across the country, especially our children, are protected from this hazardous pollution.”

Read the full letter here.

Original source can be found here.