"Biden Begins Crackdown On Power Plant Pollution"

"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.

SEE ALSO:

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

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

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

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

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