Court Strikes Down EPA's Emissions Rule

[Hand]

Source: NYT

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A federal appeals court struck down the Bush administration approach to limiting mercury emissions by power plants Friday, ruling that the government failed to adequately consider the policy's effect on public health and the environment.

More than a dozen states sued to block the regulation, saying it would allow dangerous levels of mercury into the environment. The toxic metal is known to contaminate seafood that can damage the developing brains of fetuses and young children.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit threw out a rule known as cap-and-trade. That policy allows power plants that fail to meet emission targets to buy credits from plants that did, rather than having to install their own mercury emissions controls. The rule was to go into effect in 2010.

''This three-judge panel has done the world a favor and helped save lives,'' said Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, one of many attorneys general who joined a lawsuit originally brought by New Jersey.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/business/AP-EPA-Mercury-Pollution.html

[MarkInLA]

1. Call me bitter, but I'm happy whenever the Bush administration loses something (n/t)

[Hand]

2. Bitter? No, you're normal. nt

[diane in sf]

9. Since the bushites always do the wrong thing its appropriate to celebrate their defeats

[Deny and Shred]

3. E P(rotection) A ???

To quote the Princess Bride, I don't think that word means what you think it means. Th EPA fights to LET them pollute.
Where does it end? It better be next January.

[mcg]

10. To Bush, it means the Environmental Polluters Association,

at the beck and call of Big Business.

[Miss Chybil]

4. Can you believe they picked fetus and children brains over corporations?

What's going on?

/sarcasm

[sellitman]

5. They will figure out a way to over ride this court

Maybe a signing statement or something like that.

[terryg11]

6. one small step in the fight

but still a long way to go. It would be nice if people were more aware of this. In Waterloo, IA they have been arguing the past year or so about building a new coal power plant, which even with the "cleaner burning" coal tech. still puts out mercury. I couldn't believe there was even a debate over this. Drives me nuts, I just wanted to tell people to go ahead and do it but they have to bottle up the emissions and then pump it into the houses of those in favor of it or something similar.

[Arctic Dave]

7. take a hit then

I always tell people that say the exhaust emissions are over-hyped "if the emissions don't matter, then why don't we vent them into our houses and not out of them". I have yet to meet someone stupid enough to argue this point.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

8. Scalia will pen his overriding decision in Mercury.

[orleans]

11. too late to recommend. kick! good news! n/t

[Sam Ervin jret]

12. The EPA? are they still alive? It's nice to know the states are picking up where the Feds have

sold out.

I thought it was the extinct protection agency? Maybe there are some life signs at the state level?