No More Mercury

What's New

In an important victory for environmental and public health organizations, a federal appeals court ruled on February 8 that the Bush Administration'­s rules allowing coal-and oil-fired power plants to continue emitting dangerous levels of mercury violates the law. The court's decision invalidates the so-called "Clean Air Mercury Rule," which would have allowed high levels of mercury air pollution and would not have taken full effect until well beyond 2020.

Environment North Carolina, one of the groups to challenge the inadequate mercury rules in court, along with fourteen states, dozens of Native American tribes, and public health and other and organizations representing registered nurses and physicians, applauded the decision.

The court ruling could impact the controversial, recently-issued permit for a new power plant at Duke Power's Cliffside station, west of Charlotte.  It may also impact North Carolina's own mercury rule, which allows unhealthy mercury emissions to persist from existing power plants across the state.

 

How You Can Help

Send an e-mail to North Carolina's air quality regulators, asking them to re-open the permit to construct a new, mercury-emitting power plant, and to go back to the drawing board on their mercury rule covering all plant statewide.

Brief Summary

Every mother wants her child to grow up happy and healthy, but scientists estimate that one in eight women has enough mercury in her body to put her child at risk should she become pregnant.

North Carolina’s power plants emit up to 70 percent of the mercury that ends up in our state’s waterways. That pollution has resulted in mercury-related fish consumption advisories that, for some types of fish, cover the entire state.

What's more, regulators have just approved the construction of a new coal-fired power plant west of Charlotte, emitting even more mercury pollution that will end up in our state's waters. 

Environment North Carolina is asking state officials to revise their mercury rule and the Cliffside permit to ensure strictest possible limts on the dangerous neurotoxin.