June 15, 2012, Fairfax, VA–Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today issued the following statement urging Senate adoption next week of S.J. Res. 37 that would overturn an Environmental Protection Agency regulation that would require coal-fired power plants to significantly reduce mercury emissions:
“The EPA’s mercury emission regulations require power plants be retrofitted with new technologies that cost billions of dollars to implement. Rather than going through that trouble, however, all the regulation is accomplishing is older coal-fired plants are being shut down, leading to a drop in demand, which then hurts miners who depend on coal for their livelihoods.
“The worst part is this regulation is completely unnecessary. Mercury is a natural part of the Earth’s environment. Thousands of tons of mercury are emitted annually through natural forces like volcanoes, deep-sea hydrothermal vents, geysers, and forest fires.
“The EPA is not regulating natural mercury emissions, because it cannot, but it is focused on the relatively low amount of mercury that is emitted by coal-fired plants in the U.S. Meanwhile, its rules prevent more than 99 percent of mercury from being emitted into the environment. This may be one of the costliest and yet least effective regulations ever.
“Every single senator who wants to stand with the miners, and with the American people who need power for their homes, should vote to rescind this tyrannical imposition by the EPA. Senator Inhofe is to be commended for his efforts to rein in this out-of-control agency.”
Attachments:
“The Myth of Killer Mercury,” By Willie Soon and Paul Driesson, Wall Street Journal, May 25, 2011 at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703421204576329420414284558.html
Interview Availability: Please contact Rebekah Rast at (703) 383-0880 or at rrast@getliberty.org to arrange an interview with ALG President Bill Wilson
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