The move comes after the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards’ legal justification was undermined by the Trump administration.
Mercury can cause brain and nervous system damage with in-utero exposure, as well as cause kidney problems in both adults and children. Meanwhile, exposure to other substances limited by the rule, such as arsenic, chromium and nickel, can cause cancer.
The Trump administration made the regulation in question more susceptible to court challenges, though it did not change the substance of the rule. The Biden administration reversed that decision, finding the regulation to be “appropriate and necessary.”
In 2020, coal company Westmoreland Mining Holdings sued in an attempt to knock out pollution regulation after the Trump administration undercut its legal basis.
Mark DeLaquil, outside litigation counsel for Westmoreland, told The Hill on Friday that the case had already been halted.
DeLaquil added, in an interview prior to the EPA’s announcement, that the company would evaluate whether or not it is appropriate to continue its lawsuit once the EPA reestablished the “appropriate and necessary” finding.
The agency said in a fact sheet that the rule has been “extremely effective” at keeping power plant pollution out of the air. Their mercury emissions dropped by 86 percent between 2010 and 2017.
Read the full report at TheHill.com.
