Groups file suit, demand mercury-emission deadline

A group of conservation and public health groups sued the US Environmental Protection Agency yesterday, asking a federal judge to set a strict deadline for the agency to require coal-fired power plants to reduce their emissions of mercury and other toxic pollutants.

The Conservation Law Foundation, a New England-based advocacy group; Environment America, based in Boston; and the Natural Resources Council of Maine were among the 12 organizations that filed the complaint in federal court in Washington, D.C.

Coal-fired power plants are the largest source of mercury pollution that remains unregulated by the agency and one of the largest sources of industrial mercury pollution, said Martha Keating, an associate in research at Duke University who was an environmental scientist at the EPA for 10 years.

"What we're left with is a situation where more and more coal-fired power plants are being proposed," she said. "The agency does need to move forward quickly with this."

Mercury pollution in the air settles into rivers, lakes, and streams. It accumulates in fish tissue, magnifying its toxicity, and can cause brain damage when children or pregnant women eat contaminated fish. Some research suggests it can also harm fish and other wildlife populations.

"We are seeing virtually the entire country with a contamination problem in fish," said Keating, noting that nearly all states have advisories warning the public not to eat fish from certain rivers, streams, lakes, and oceans at various times of year because of mercury and other toxic metal contamination from coal-fired power plants.

Cathy Milbourn of the EPA said the agency "will review the suit and respond accordingly."

The Clean Air Act required that the EPA regulate mercury and other toxic air pollutants from coal-fired power plants by the end of 2002. The Bush administration responded in 2005 with the Clean Air Mercury Rule, which allowed some large power plants to keep emitting pollutants while buying pollution credits from cleaner plants. A federal court struck down the rule in February as unlawful because it did not impose mandatory, strict controls on mercury pollution for large power plants as the Clean Air Act requires.

The EPA has filed a petition for judicial review of the decision to the Supreme Court, and a response is due by Jan. 21.

The coalition that filed the suit would like to see the incoming Obama administration fulfill the Clean Air Act by controlling mercury pollution from coal-fired power plants within two years of taking office.

Bina Venkataraman can be reached at bvenkataraman@globe.com.