EPA set to impose stricter limits on power-plant mercury emissions

Los Angeles Times : The US Environmental Protection Agency is poised to approve more stringent limits on power-plant emissions, writes Neela Banerjee for the Los Angeles Times. Companies will have three years to clean up their emissions of mercury and about 70 other toxic substances, with the possibility of appealing for an additional year. First proposed in March, the new rule is expected to be approved today and formally announced on Monday. However, utility companies claim the emissions limits are too strict and the timetable too tight; their opposition could delay approval and implementation. “In the history of the Clean Air Act, there has never been a greater intervention into the power sector than with this regulation,” said Scott Segal, director of the Electric Reliability Coordinating Council, an industry lobbying group. “So it stands to reason that we will likely see a substantial amount of litigation around this.”