Washington, D.C.—Fourteen states and dozens of Native American tribes,
public health and environmental groups, and organizations representing
registered nurses and physicians appeared in the U.S. Court of Appeals
for the District of Columbia today seeking to overturn Bush
administration proposals that evade legally required cuts in mercury
pollution from coal- and oil-fired power plants. The broad coalition
called for the complete reversal of a suite of Environmental Protection
Agency rules, including the so-called "Clean Air Mercury Rule," which
allows dangerously high levels of mercury pollution to persist under a
weak cap-and-trade program that would not take full effect until well
beyond 2020.
The
states challenging this EPA rule are: California, Connecticut,
Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New
Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont and Wisconsin.
The
following joint statement can be attributed to the American Nurses
Association; the American Public Health Association; Chesapeake Bay
Foundation; Clean Air Task Force; Conservation Law Foundation;
Earthjustice; Environment America (the new home of US PIRG’s
environmental work); Environmental Defense; National Wildlife
Federation; Natural Resources Council of Maine; Natural Resources
Defense Council; Ohio Environmental Council; Physicians for Social
Responsibility; Sierra Club; and Waterkeeper Alliance:
"These
rules are simply illegal. Despite mercury pollution's significant
impacts on human health and the environment, EPA has ignored science,
law and human health in allowing coal-fired power plants to churn out
dangerous mercury levels. Rather than applying the toughest standards
of the Clean Air Act, EPA has proposed an ineffective mercury trading
scheme that delays implementation of modern pollution controls for
years. EPA has created an illegal loophole for the power generating
industry that allows for dangerous emissions of mercury and other toxic
air pollutants now and into the future.
"Power plants spew 48
tons of mercury into the air each year, yet a mere 1/70th of a teaspoon
of mercury per year is enough to contaminate a 25-acre lake to the
point that fish are unsafe to eat. EPA estimates that as many as
600,000 babies may be born annually with irreversible brain damage
because pregnant mothers ate mercury-contaminated fish. Mercury risks
also include delayed developmental milestones, reduced neurological
test scores, and cardiovascular disease. Nearly one-third (32 percent)
of America's lakes and nearly one-fourth (24 percent) of our rivers
were subject to advisories for mercury contamination in 2003.
"Congress
recognized the importance of cleaning up the nation's polluting
coal-fired power plants when it passed clean air protections, but the
EPA has repeatedly failed to carry out the law and follow the science
in protecting human health and the environment from mercury pollution.
In this instance, EPA has finalized a plan first drafted by industry
attorneys that violates the law and fails to protect human health. We
are grateful to have had our day in court to demonstrate
EPA's failure to adopt protective mercury emission standards for coal plants as required by law."
Oral arguments begin promptly at 9:30 a.m. Eastern
D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals
333 Constitution Ave. NW
Washington, DC
Courtroom 22 Annex
Judges Rogers, Tatel & Brown
Case No.: 05-1097
Contact:
Mary McNamara, American Nurses Association (301) 628-5198
Bithiah LaFontant, American Public Health Association (202) 777-2509
John Surrick, Chesapeake Bay Foundation (443) 482-2045
Ann B. Weeks, Clean Air Task Force (617) 359-4077
Melissa Hoffer, Conservation Law Foundation (603) 225-3060
Jared Saylor, Earthjustice (202) 667-4500
Sean Crowley, Environmental Defense (202) 572-3331
Lisa Swann, National Wildlife Federation (703) 438-6083
Matthew Prindiville, Natural Resources Council of Maine (207) 622-3101
John Walke, Natural Resources Defense Council (202) 289-2406
Jack Shaner, Ohio Environmental Council (614) 487-7506
Will Calloway, Physicians for Social Responsibility (202) 667-4260 x224
Virginia Cramer, Sierra Club (202) 675-6279
John Suttles, Southern Environmental Law Center (919) 967-1450
Nathan Willcox, Environment America (the new home of U.S. PIRG’s environmental work) (202) 683-1250
Scott Edwards, Waterkeeper Alliance (914) 674-0622 x13
