EPA’s New Clean Air Rule Means a Healthier Montana

(Helena) – Montanans can breathe easier now that the nation’s power plants will be required to install toxic chemical removal technology to clean up their emissions from the burning of coal. The EPA today released the final Mercury and Air Toxics Standards rule, or Utility MACT, which will significantly reduce emissions of mercury, acid gasses and other toxic pollutants from the nation’s power plants. According to the EPA, the rule could prevent 4,700 heart attacks and 130,000 asthma attacks among children – and save 11,000 lives.

Montana limited mercury emissions from our power plants in 2006, and we’ve seen a drastic reduction in mercury pollution levels since then. These new standards will ensure the rest of the country is doing the same and not exporting their mercury to Montana and elsewhere. Additionally, the previous Montana standards do not address other toxics that will be reduced under these new federal standards, like arsenic and acid gasses.

“This is a common sense action, based on solid science, which will have dramatic benefits to both our health and economy. The coal and oil power plants are releasing unreasonable amounts of pollutants into our air,” said Dr. Robert Merchant of Billings. “Establishing appropriate standards will prevent brain damage and learning disabilities in our children. It will prevent up to 17,000 premature deaths, 11,000 heart attacks, 120,000 asthma attacks, 12,200 hospital and emergency room visits, 4,500 cases of chronic bronchitis, and 850,000 "sick" days. The health benefits will pay for the implementation costs approximately 10 times over. Currently our health, lives, and brains are paying the cost of allowing outdated coal and oil plants to continue polluting our air.”

The air toxics that will be reduced by the Utility MACT standards are linked to numerous health problems, including asthma, heart disease, and damage to kidneys, lungs, nervous system, liver and the brain. Mercury is a dangerous neurotoxin that affects hundreds of thousands of newborn babies each year and can cause brain damage and harm memory, attention, language, and motor skills. Chromium and nickel are carcinogens that can cause lung, bladder, kidney, and skin cancer. Hydrochloric acid can cause lung damage and contribute to asthma, bronchitis and other chronic respiratory disease, especially in children and the elderly.

Mercury and other toxics also severely affect our lakes, streams, wildlife and fish. Montana currently has over 1,200 miles of mercury impaired streams and 400,000 acres of mercury impaired lakes, impacting large predator fish like walleye, lake trout and pike as well as wildlife species such as loons and otters. Mercury is a neurotoxin that accumulates rapidly in fish muscle tissues, even in isolated regions of the State, due to atmospheric deposition from anthropogenic sources. Currently in Montana there are 56 water-bodies with species- and size-specific fish consumption advisories for mercury. The proposed rules would help reduce the amount of toxicity in these areas and protect Montana waters from further contamination.

“Mercury contamination in Montana’s fisheries is not a trivial issue, and is more than a byproduct of centuries of mining in the west,” said Trevor Selch, Fisheries Pollution Control Biologist, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks in Helena. “Consumption of fish is the primary method humans are exposed to mercury, however because of the health benefits of eating fish, working to reduce mercury concentrations in fish instead of replacing fish in the human diet needs to be the long term goal.”

The new standards will also be a net creator of jobs, according to EPA, every dollar spent to cut toxics from power plants will result in $5 to $13 in health benefits. Additionally, the Economic Policy Institute reports that the Mercury and Air Toxics safeguards will provide a net creation of 92,000 jobs building, installing, and operating the necessary pollution-control equipment.

"Recently, the Montana Public Service Commission held a round table seeking input on the proposed EPA rules. Participants overwhelmingly supported them, particularly MACT," says Commissioner Gail Gutsche, Missoula. "These rules are good for public health and for the economy."

The new standards will take effect in 2015.