Reopening mercury pollution limits for power plants—over the objections of utilities that have already spent billions to comply—lays groundwork for the EPA to limit its own ability to require more stringent emissions standards in the future.
The Environmental Protection Agency intends to reconsider whether health benefits from reducing pollutants such as airborne particles that aren’t regulated by the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) rule can be used to justify its estimated $9.6 billion price tag. The mercury standards are up for review in 2020, and the current reconsideration may eliminate health benefits from reducing pollutants not directly covered ...