INFORMATION ON MERCURY PROPOSAL

[Guest guest]

Tuesday, November 30, 2004

 

 

TIERNEY PRESSES ADMINISTRATION FOR MORE INFORMATION ON MERCURY PROPOSAL

"It is our shared responsibility to protect the hundreds of thousands of children being poisoned each year by unsafe levels of mercury."

 

Coal-fired power plants emit tons of mercury pollution into our air each year that pollutes our waters and contaminates the fish we eat. According to EPA scientists, approximately 630,000 infants are born in the United States each year with blood-mercury levels at unsafe levels. The FDA and EPA have issued advisories warning pregnant women, women of childbearing age, nursing mothers and young children to avoid certain fish, including tuna, because of high mercury levels. Forty-five states have issued advisories against eating fish from rivers, lakes, and coastal waters because of mercury contamination. Under the Clean Air Act, enacted and strengthened with bipartisan support, EPA must issue regulations to sharply cut mercury emissions from power plants, the major source of mercury emissions, by 2008. However, on January 30, 2004, EPA proposed a rule that would let power companies off the hook for ten years and then would still allow some power plants to emit uncontrolled levels of mercury into the next decade. Scientists, doctors and health professionals, parents and others have sent in comments opposing the plan and urging greater reductions in emissions by up to 90%. Unfortunately, the Bush Administration has refused to issue a meaningful proposal that would significantly reduce mercury emissions in the next decade. As the ranking Democrat on the Government Reform Subcommittee on Energy Policy, Natural Resources and Regulatory Affairs, I recently called for the Subcommittee to exercise its oversight jurisdiction and hold a hearing on EPA's proposal for controlling mercury pollution. Subcommittee Chairman Doug Ose agreed to address mercury at the Subcommittee's last hearing of the 108th Congress held on November 17, 2004. At the hearing, I questioned EPA Deputy Administrator Stephen Johnson and John Graham, Director of the White House's Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, on whether EPA plans to implement a strong rule on mercury emissions. Their answers, while clearly trying to avoid a direct response, left the clear impression that the Administration is moving toward adoption of a standard far weaker than most experts would recommend, and, in fact, even weaker than the EPA's own working group advising on the issue recommended. It should be troubling that the proposal by EPA recommends protections less stringent than those proposed by industry representatives on the advisory panel. Two experts expressed strong concerns with EPA's proposal. One of these witnesses, John Paul from the Regional Air Pollution Control Agency in Dayton, Ohio, shared his experiences as the co-chair of EPA's mercury working group that was abruptly disbanded by EPA months before issuing its proposal. Catherine O'Neill, representing the Center for Progressive Regulation, shared her research on the health risks presented by EPA's current approach to regulating mercury. I will continue to closely press this important issue. It is our shared responsibility to protect the hundreds of thousands of children being poisoned each year by unsafe levels of mercury. This Administration must implement a strong mercury emissions rule to protect the health and well-being of all Americans.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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