New England Votes to Protect the Health of Children & Families

CONTACT:
Seth Kaplan, CLF: 617-850-1721
Ben Carmichael, CLF: 617-850-1743

BOSTON, MA June 20, 2012 — In response to today’s vote on a resolution proposed by Senator Inhofe (R-OK), Conservation Law Foundation issued the following statement from Seth Kaplan, VP for Policy & Climate Advocacy:

“Today, the entire New England delegation in the United States Senate voted against the resolution proposed by Senator Inhofe (R-OK) that would have permanently prevented EPA from implementing standards protecting the health of children and families from toxic pollutants like mercury, arsenic, acid gases, and formaldehyde,” said Seth Kaplan, VP for Policy & Climate Advocacy. “Their votes reflect the lesson we have learned here in New England: that it is very possible to clean up our power plants and system while moving forward towards a thriving economy and society. As the ‘tailpipe of America’, downwind states subject to pollution sweeping in from the west, we here in New England have an especially intense interest in national implementation of these long overdue Mercury and Air Toxics Standards.”

Voting against the proposal were Senators Blumenthal and Lieberman of Connecticut, Senators Collins and Snowe of Maine, Senators Brown and Kerry of Massachusetts, Senators Ayotte and Shaheen of New Hampshire, Senators Reed and Whitehouse of Rhode Island and Senators Leahy and Sanders of Vermont who stood united across party lines.

EPA has set emissions standards for mercury and other toxic air pollutants mirroring levels achieved by the best-performing sources already in operation, making use of practical experience to reduce dangerous emissions from oil and coal fired power plants. These standards became final earlier this year and simply implement laws enacted by Congress more than twenty years ago. These national standards build upon very similar rules adopted by the New England states, extending the protection of our children from neurotoxic mercury and other pollutants across the U.S.

EPA analysis shows that these standards will prevent 130,000 childhood asthma attacks; more than 6,000 cases of acute bronchitis among children; as many as 11,000 avoidable premature deaths; and 4,700 heart attacks, annually across the nation.

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 non-profit, member-supported organization with offices in New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

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