"Move reaffirming EPA’s right to curb mercury from smokestacks starts push to shift power sector toward cleaner energy".

"Biden administration officials are kicking off a crackdown on power plant pollution, aiming to shift the nation’s electricity supply to cleaner energy in the face of congressional resistance and a Supreme Court that could limit the federal government’s ability to tighten public health standards.

On Monday, the Environmental Protection Agency affirmed its authority to curb mercury from smokestacks, reversing a 2020 Trump administration policy. The move signals a broader effort by the administration to cut greenhouse gases and other pollutants from U.S. power plants, which rank as the nation’s second-biggest contributor to global warming.

President Biden has pledged to make the U.S. electricity sector carbon-neutral by 2035, but his deputies may have to rely on their existing federal authority now that Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.) has blocked the president’s plan to provide utilities with incentives to transition faster to clean energy. And in late February, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in a case brought by West Virginia that may undercut the EPA’s ability to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from coal-fired power plants in the future."

Dino Grandoni reports for the Washington Post January 31, 2022. [2]

SEE ALSO:

"Biden Administration to Reinstate Mercury Pollution Rules Weakened Under Trump" (New York Times) [3]

"U.S. EPA Moves To Advance Mercury And Air Toxics Rule" (Reuters) [4]

"Biden Admin Moves To Slash Air Toxics, Boost Clean Energy" (E&E News) [5]

"Power Plant Mercury Limits Get Legal Underpinnings Restored" (Bloomberg Environment) [6]

"EPA Restores Rule To Limit Power-Plant Mercury Emissions" (AP) [7]