Mercury Emissions Reductions Act will restrict mercury emissions of coal-fired electric power plants

Washington, DC – Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson today introduced the Mercury Emissions Reduction Act, which will amend the Clean Air Act to make coal-fired electric power plants subject to the most rigorous mercury emissions standard under the Clean Air Act, commonly referred to as the Maximum Achievable Control Technology (MACT) standard. 

“Mercury is a neurotoxin that, once emitted, can circulate for up to a year before being deposited on land or in bodies of water,” Congresswoman Johnson said.  “Even at low levels, mercury can have adverse health effects, particularly on women of child-bearing age and on developing fetuses.  This legislation is a basic, common-sense effort to promote public health, and I am confident it will become law during the Obama administration.”

Mercury emissions from coal-fired electric power plants are currently covered by a patchwork of regulations; standards depend on where the plant is located, when it was constructed, whether it has been modified and other factors. The MACT standard would provide a more stringent—and less confusing—regulatory framework.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) determined that the MACT standard was warranted for all major sources of mercury emissions in 2000.

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U.S. Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson is the highest-ranking Texan on the House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure and a senior member of the Science Committee. She represents the 30th Congressional District of Texas, which, includes Downtown Dallas, Fair Park, Oak Lawn, Old East Dallas, Pleasant Grove, & South Oak Cliff; all of Balch Springs, DeSoto, Hutchins, Lancaster & Wilmer and parts of Cedar Hill, Duncanville, Ferris, Glenn Heights and Ovilla.