EPA Chief Goes to Bat for Bush Policy

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Mike Leavitt on Thursday defended the Bush administration’s handling of a proposed rule to limit mercury emissions from power plants, despite a request from 45 senators and 10 state attorneys general that he scrap the proposal and start over.

“There are a number of fictions that have crept into our discussion of mercury regulation,” Leavitt told the Senate Environment and Public Works subcommittee on clean air, climate change and nuclear safety.

“We produce a small percentage of the mercury in the world, but we need to lead the world” in developing new technology to clean it up, Leavitt said.

“I want to do it in the most effective way we can and do it in ways that protect our economy.”

The senators’ letter -- signed by seven Republicans and 38 Democrats, including Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein of California -- said the EPA’s mercury proposals “fail to protect the health of our children and our environment.” The attorneys general of 10 Northeastern states made a similar point in their letter, also sent Thursday.

Mercury has been linked to a number of health problems, including neurological damage and developmental delays.

The 1,100 or so coal-fired power plants in the United States are the largest single source of mercury emissions nationwide. Mercury particles can end up in waterways, accumulating in fish and entering the human food chain.

Leavitt asked to appear before the subcommittee, knowing that he would be peppered with questions about the administration’s commitment to regulate pollution -- a sensitive topic this election year.

His prepared testimony emphasized his commitment to implementing ozone and “fine particles” compliance rules, which by April 15 will identify regions of the country -- including Southern California -- that fail to reduce these pollutants to federal standards. To help those areas achieve compliance, Leavitt noted the EPA was moving forward with its proposed Interstate Air Quality Rule, which mandates pollution reduction while acknowledging that pollutants can blow into one state from another. He said also that new diesel and power plant rules would aid compliance.

California officials have been preparing for the new ozone standard, said Gennet Paauwe, spokeswoman for the California Air Resources Board.

While the state has a long history of battling air pollution, she said, the new EPA standard “should ultimately mean that emissions reductions would be greater over the long term.” The ozone and soot compliance rule has drawn protests in other regions of the country, where local officials fear that being out of compliance could limit economic growth.

In response to persistent questioning from Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) about the mercury rule, Leavitt offered a list of “fictions” that he said have distorted discussion of mercury.

While critics have suggested that the EPA under Bush is rolling back Clean Air Act protections with the proposal, Leavitt pointed out that no administration had previously regulated mercury emissions.

To those who proposed scrapping the rule, Leavitt made clear that, after years of litigation and delay, “we can’t afford to wait any longer. We are on track to issue a final control rule by the end of this year. We will reduce mercury emissions by 70%.”

The administration had previously promised to reduce emissions by that amount by 2018 but has now backed away from a certain date.