EPA's relaxed emissions rule struck down

[cal04]

Source: Associated Press

A federal appeals court struck down a Bush administration policy exempting power plants from certain environmental regulations. The court said the policy was unlawful.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit negated 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.

The court struck down the cap-and-trade policy and the Environmental Protection Administration's plan to exempt coal- and oil-fired power plants from regulations requiring strict emissions control technology to block emissions.

New Jersey and many other states challenged the policy in federal court. The agency defended the rule, saying it represented the nation's first attempt to control such emissions and would reduce mercury emissions by 70 percent.


Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080208/ap_on_bi_ge/epa_mercury_pollution

[NC_Nurse]

1. Ha! F*CK those assholes.

They have tried to ditch or circumvent every decent environmental policy.
Glad they lost this one.

[ladywnch]

2. face it, they'll just appeal it somewhere else where they will have

a favorable judge or two to rule their way. They've lost rulings before and had them overturned in their favor.

[cal04]

3. Court KOs administration's emissions policy

Federal appeals court rules policy on exempting power plants is unlawful

(snip)
Danger to children
The states argued that the cap-and-trade system would endanger children near some power plants that pollute but which also use credits to do it legally.

"This means the EPA is going to have to go back and do a real job of regulating all the toxics coming out of these plants," said attorney James S. Pew, who argued on behalf of several environmental organizations that filed documents in the case.

The EPA had no immediate comment.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23068517/

:grr: