How and Why the U.S. EPA Is Changing its Policy on Mercury /

This paper examines the importance of regulating mercury emissions, details a typical rule-making process in the United States, and discusses the original MATS regulation and the potential implications of the proposed methodological changes to regulating mercury and other pollutants. [...] For the regulations addressing air pollution, the U. S. EPA must follow the requirements of CCA Section 112(n)(1)(A) and demonstrate that the regulation is “appropriate and necessary.” This includes considering the results of the study detailing the emissions’ rate and mass, health and environmental effects, available abatement technologies and the costs of such technologies (Section 112(n)(1)(B)) [...] Executive Order 12866, Regulatory Planning and Review issued in 1993 by President Clinton sets forth the requirement for all significant regulatory actions to “assess both the costs and the benefits of the intended regulation” (Section 1(6)) and to acknowledge unquantifiable costs in determining that the benefits of the intended regulation justify its costs. [...] In summer 2018, the U. S. EPA issued an Advance NPRM: Increasing Consistency and Transparency in Considering Costs and Benefits in the Rulemaking Process (2018).3 The notice stated that variations existed across divisions and offices “regarding the nature and scope of the cost and benefit considerations” (p. [...] The rule also proposes the results of the Residual Risk and Technology Review6 that the agency is required to compete in accordance with Section 112 of the CAA.