EPA cracking down on water pollution

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is formalizing new water pollution rules.

The water pollution rules announced in September will be published in Tuesday’s edition of the Federal Register, officially kicking off the 60-day period before they go into effect.

Power plants are the largest contributors to surface water pollution, according to the EPA. The new rules will limit the amount of toxic chemicals released by power plants that are known to cause cancer and other health issues.

This is part of a larger climate push by the Obama administration. The EPA recently issued a couple of rules that target air pollution from coal plants and ozone emissions.

The water pollution rules will reduce the discharge of toxic pollutants by 1.4 billion pounds annually, according to the EPA.

Currently, power plants discharge 79,200 pounds of arsenic, 65,000 pounds of lead and 3,000 pounds of mercury each year, according to the EPA. About 23,600 miles of rivers and streams are effected by the discharges, it says.

“The pollutants discharged by this industry can cause severe health and environmental problems in the form of cancer and non-cancer risks in humans, lowered IQ among children, and deformities and reproductive harm in fish and wildlife,” the agency writes.