Court Upholds EPA Mercury Regulation

The D.C Court of Appeals upheld a EPA regulation requiring power plants to curb mercury emissions yesterday.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit rejected a challenge to the rule, which was completed by the Environmental Protection Agency in 2011 and set the first national limits on air pollution emitted by coal and oil-fired power plants, specifically mercury, arsenic and acid gases. . .

The rule is expected to prevent 11,000 premature deaths, 4,700 heart attacks and 130,000 asthma attacks every year, the agency said in its brief.

By: Stuart Shapiro

Stuart is a professor and the Director of the Public Policy
program at the Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers
University. He teaches economics and cost-benefit analysis and studies
regulation in the United States at both the federal and state levels.
Prior to coming to Rutgers, Stuart worked for five years at the Office
of Management and Budget in Washington under Presidents Clinton and
George W. Bush.