[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 821 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 821

   To amend the Clean Air Act to require that mercury emissions from 
electric utility steam generating units be subject to the MACT standard 
         for hazardous air pollutants, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            February 3, 2009

   Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas (for herself and Mr. Grijalva) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                          Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend the Clean Air Act to require that mercury emissions from 
electric utility steam generating units be subject to the MACT standard 
         for hazardous air pollutants, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Mercury Emissions Reduction Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) Mercury is a potent neurotoxin that can cause adverse 
        health effects at very low concentrations.
            (2) Coal-fired electric powerplants, or electric generating 
        units, are the leading source of United States air emissions of 
        mercury. When released into the atmosphere, mercury a potent 
        neurotoxin that can have adverse health effects at low 
        concentrations.
            (3) Concerns about public exposure to mercury have grown in 
        recent years as research has indicated its presence at 
        significant levels in numerous species of fish, and as analyses 
        of dietary intake and resulting blood levels have pointed to 
        potential health risks from mercury ingestion, particularly for 
        women of child-bearing age and developing fetuses.
            (4) According to the Environmental Protection Agency's 
        (EPA) National Listing of Fish Advisories, there are 
        approximately 3,852 advisories in 48 of the 50 States, the 
        District of Columbia, 2 of the 4 territories, and 5 Indian 
        tribes. Forty-four States have issued fish consumption 
        advisories due to mercury.
            (5) With the exception of electric utilities, section 112 
        of the Clean Air Act regulates all major sources of mercury 
        emissions through Maximum Achievable Control Technology (MACT).
            (6) The EPA was required by the terms of the Clean Air Act 
        Amendments of 1990 and a 1998 consent agreement to determine 
        whether regulation of mercury from powerplants under section 
        112 of the Clean Air Act was appropriate and necessary.
            (7) In a December 2000 regulatory finding, the EPA 
        concluded that regulation of mercury from powerplants was 
        appropriate and necessary. The finding triggered other 
        provisions of the consent agreement: That the agency propose 
        Maximum Achievable Control Technology (MACT) standards for 
        electric powerplants by December 15, 2003, and finalize them by 
        March 15, 2005.
            (8) In 2005, the EPA discarded its 2000 regulatory finding 
        for a national cap-and-trade system for mercury emissions from 
        powerplants, the Clean Air Mercury Rule (CAMR).
            (9) The CAMR rule was immediately challenged in petitions 
        for review filed by New Jersey and 16 other States as well as 
        other petitioners. The DC Circuit, in a 3-0 decision handed 
        down February 8, 2008, vacated the rule. The court found that 
        once the EPA had listed electric generating units as a source 
        of hazardous air pollutants, it had to proceed with MACT 
        regulations under section 112 of the Act unless it delisted the 
        source category, under procedures the Act sets forth in section 
        112(c)(9).
    (b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to require the 
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to promulgate a 
rule for mercury emissions from electric utility steam generating units 
be subject to MACT standards under section 112 of the Clean Air Act for 
hazardous air pollutants.

SEC. 3. MERCURY FROM ELECTRIC UTILITY STEAM GENERATING UNITS.

    Section 112(c)(6) of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7412(c)(6)) is 
amended by inserting ``(A)'' after ``(6)'', by striking the last 
sentence, and by adding the following new subparagraph at the end 
thereof:
            ``(B) The Administrator shall promulgate standards under 
        this section for mercury emissions from electric utility steam 
        generating units to take effect one year after the enactment of 
        this subparagraph.''.
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