"EPA is poised to move ahead as early as next week with a formal proposal to reconsider its 2012 power plant mercury rule, according to agency air chief Bill Wehrum.
Agency officials have been "working very hard" on the draft rule to revisit what are officially known as the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards; they hope to send a proposal to the White House Office of Management and Budget for review within the next few days, Wehrum told reporters yesterday after speaking at an afternoon meeting of the agency's Clean Air Act Advisory Committee.
While the agency is still working on the exact contours, the proposal could address EPA's 2000 determination that it was "appropriate and necessary" under the Clean Air Act to regulate releases of mercury and other hazardous pollutants from coal-fired power plants, along with some implementation aspects, Wehrum indicated."