How utilities plan to continue evading toxic air pollution controls

http://www.grist.org/article/2010-05-27-power-poisons-how-utilities-plan-to-continue-evading-toxic-air/

How utilities plan to continue evading toxic air pollution controls

by Frank O'Donnell
27 May 2010 12:14 PM


As federal authorities struggle to deal with the BP oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, it is probably useful to remember that power companies continue poisoning water bodies throughout the nation. The power industry's successful campaign to sidestep toxic pollution controls has left a legacy of poisoned rivers and lakes. As ugly as this legacy seems, the power industry appears to be maneuvering once again for further delays, trying to use pending Senate climate legislation as an escape hatch.

A draft version of the Kerry-Lieberman American Power Act would create a new task force to examine pending EPA air pollution rules for the power industry, and make recommendations about weakening or eliminating public health safeguards in the name of electricity generation reliability. The American Lung Association has warned that this provision could undermine EPA's efforts to tackle toxic emissions from power plants. That concern was echoed by NRDC, long a leader in the effort to clean up toxic mercury:

Specifically, the draft bill establishes a highly objectionable task force to examine utility industry calls for exemptions from federal environmental laws and regulations that utilities allege are impeding power plant retirements or transitions to cleaner energy. The provision's language is suffused with utility industry complaints and rhetoric and pleas for payment, making clear the design for a biased exercise. Polluter lobbyists deliver a deregulatory wish list to Congress and federal agencies. The agencies then are authorized by this bill to propose regulatory changes to carry out those wishes.

A spokesman for the utility industry said it welcomed the provision.

The language of the American Power Act is the latest in a long history of compromises. When Congress passed sweeping and generally positive revisions to the Clean Air Act in 1990, the legislation compromised on toxic air pollution. Frustrated with the generally slow pace in cleaning up hazardous air emissions, Congress ordered the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to take action to clean up industrial sources of mercury and other hazardous pollutants. But, in one fateful last minute compromise, Congress caved to pressure and gave a special deal to the powerful electric power industry: EPA was told it could not set toxic air pollution standards for electric power plants until it had completed a special study of the industry.


..more..