Energy and Environment

EPA scraps mercury rule math in effort critics say will hamper regulation of pollution

By Abby Smith

Published April 16, 2020 4:23pm ET

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EPA scraps mercury rule math in effort critics say will hamper regulation of pollution — In this Dec. 4, 2017 file photo, a large field of coal is stored on the property of Dominon Energy's Chesterfield Power station along the James River in Chester, Va. One of the biggest fights at the General Assembly this year is over electric rates and whether most Virginians are paying too much on their monthly bills. | (Steve Helber/AP)

The Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday scrapped the justification underpinning its mercury limits for power plants, in a repudiation of Obama administration efforts to account more comprehensively for the costs of pollution.

The EPA concluded the Obama administration relied too heavily on so-called co-benefits or secondary benefits that arise from reductions in pollutants other than the one targeted by the regulation.

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Air Pollution Environmental Protection Agency