HARRISBURG – Environmental Protection acting Secretary John Hanger said the commonwealth has filed an appeal with the Pennsylvania Supreme Court seeking to overturn a recent state court opinion that declared Pennsylvania’s Mercury Rule “unlawful, invalid and unenforceable.”
The Commonwealth Court’s Jan. 31 order blocks the Department of Environmental Protection from continued implementation and enforcement of the state-specific mercury rule.
“The Pennsylvania Mercury Rule is a well-crafted, cost-effective program designed to protect our citizens from exposure to mercury emitted by coal-fired power plants,” said Hanger. “Our rule accelerates adoption of proven technologies that would protect public health and the environment.”
Gov. Edward G. Rendell’s administration developed the state-specific mercury rule in 2006 following the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s adoption of a less protective regulation and emission guidelines that allowed the interstate trading of mercury emissions. Pennsylvania’s Mercury Rule, which prohibits mercury emissions trading in order to prevent toxic “hotspots,” achieves at least 90 percent mercury reduction at coal-fired power plants by 2015.
The DEP has already approved a number of applications for the installation of controls pursuant to the Pennsylvania Mercury Rule that reduce mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants, as well as approving a number of mercury monitoring plans for these facilities. By appealing the lower court’s decision, Hanger said the state seeks to keep these important controls and monitoring plans in place and provide certainty for power plants that will invest in technologies that protect the public health and the environment.