CLF Statement on EPA’s Proposed ‘Air Toxics Rule’

CONTACT:
Karen Wood, CLF, (617) 850-1722

BOSTON, MA  MARCH 16, 2011 – In response to the EPA’s announcement today proposing the first national standard for emissions of mercury and other toxic pollutants from coal-fired power plants, Conservation Law Foundation (CLF) issued the following statement from Jonathan Peress, director of Clean Energy and Climate Change:

“Right now, coal-fired power plants are allowed to poison the air we breathe with toxic pollutants like mercury, arsenic and lead,” said Jonathan Peress, director of Clean Energy and Climate Change at Conservation Law Foundation. “The EPA’s proposed “Air Toxics Rule” will provide critical protection from major health impacts, including cancer, brain damage and birth defects, associated with this deadly brew of as yet unregulated pollutants. When implemented, this long-overdue rule will provide immediate health benefits to everyone, but particularly the most vulnerable among us – especially children – and prevent the thousands of premature deaths attributed to these power plants annually. Moreover, the benefits will be widely shared, importantly among low-income and minority communities, which bear a disproportionate burden of the effects of air pollution because of their proximity to dirty power plants.

In New England, which bears the brunt of hazardous emissions blowing in from the Midwest, the proposed rule will provide welcome and long overdue protection.

“Toxic pollutants from coal-fired power plants in the Midwest are being deposited in the forests, lakes and rivers in New England due to the prevailing winds carrying them east. Finally, the laws adopted by Congress in 1990 will be able to do their job of protecting Americans here and across the country. With everything we have to gain from enforcing standards like these, it is staggering that our leaders in Congress are fighting tooth and nail to allow these polluters to continue sickening our children.”

The Conservation Law Foundation (CLF) protects New England’s environment for the benefit of all people. Using the law, science and the market, CLF creates solutions that preserve natural resources, build healthy communities, and sustain a vibrant economy region-wide. Founded in 1966, CLF is a nonprofit, member-supported organization with offices in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont.