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US court overturns coal pollution ruling
August 23, 2012
US court overturns coal pollution ruling
A US appeals court overturned a key Obama administration rule to reduce harmful emissions from coal-fired power plants last Tuesday.
Columbia district circuit appeals court said in a 2-1 decision that the Environmental Protection Agency has exceeded its mandate with the rule to limit sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions from power plants. The EPA’ s rule was designed to reduce sulphur dioxide emissions by 73% and nitrogen oxide by 54% at coal-fired power plants from 2005 levels, improving health for over 240 million people, the agency said.
The court sent the cross-state air pollution rule for revision, telling the agency to administer its existing clean air interstate rule ? in the interim. Power groups welcomed the court’s decision as they argued that they could not meet the deadline or bear the financial burden of installing costly new equipment.
Read more at Guardian Environment Network.
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