EPA restores Obama-era legal interpretation for mercury emissions

Feb. 18 (UPI) -- The Biden administration has moved to reestablish the legal underpinnings used to enforce federal mercury emissions standards for power plants first set during the Obama administration.

EPA officials issued the announcement on Friday, in effect reversing a previous decision made by the Trump administration that weakened the legal justifications for the rules.

EPA said it has reaffirmed "the scientific, economic, and legal underpinnings" of the Obama administration's 2012 mercury and air toxics standards for power plants requiring significant reductions of mercury, acid gases and other toxins.

The finding is an interpretation of how to enforce the Clean Air Act of 1970 , which allows the EPA to establish nationwide air quality standards.

The ruling is a response to an executive order issued by President Joe Biden in January 2021 rolling back the Trump administration's May 2020 interpretation of the Clean Air Act, "which undermined the legal basis for these vital health protections," the EPA said.

The new finding reaffirms that the Trump administration's interpretation of the law "did not provide adequate protection for the health of citizens," saying it was based on a "fundamentally flawed interpretation of the Clean Air Act that improperly ignored or undervalued vital health benefits from reducing hazardous air pollution from power plants."

EPA Administrator Michael Regan said the move was made to maintain health protections for American communities, especially affecting "children, low-income communities, and communities of color who often and unjustly live near power plants."

The agency added it is exploring the feasibility of further regulations on air pollution.