Department of Law 120 Broadway New York, NY 10271 212-416-8060 For Immediate Release:	Department of Law The State Capitol Albany, NY 12224 518-473-5525 February 20, 2007
NEW YORK AND 8 OTHER STATES CHALLENGE EPA OVER HARMFUL CEMENT FACTORY EMISSIONS
EPA fails to protect Americans from mercury by refusing to set pollution limits for portland cement plants, despite the requirements of the Clean Air Act

NEW YORK (February 20, 2007) — Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo today announced a multi-state legal challenge to the federal government for adopting a rule that refuses to regulate mercury and other pollutants from existing portland cement plants.  The states seek to have a federal court overturn the rule by finding that the agency’s rule violates the Clean Air Act.  A petition, signed by nine states, was filed today in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.   Portland cement is the primary cement used in building projects and road construction; it is produced throughout the United States.

The federal Clean Air Act requires the EPA to set standards for various hazardous air pollutants, including mercury, based on the performance of the cleanest 12 percent of existing plants.  The EPA’s rule would exempt existing portland cement plants from having to do anything to lower their emissions of mercury and other hazardous air pollutants. 

The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) refusal to set emission standards for portland cement plants leaves a significant source of mercury pollution in the United States unregulated.  Collectively, these cement plants are a major source of mercury emissions nationwide.  Mercury in the environment is blamed for neurological disorders, learning disabilities, and, in certain high dosage cases, even death.  Recent studies suggest that mercury exposure may also contribute to adult cardiovascular problems.  In addition, mercury contamination in many water bodies has led to the issuance of fish consumption advisories across New York State.

“It is shameful that the Bush Administration’s EPA continues to abdicate its responsibility to protect public health and the environment.  This coalition of states is resorting to the federal courts in an effort to compel the EPA to follow the law and establish limits for the most dangerous pollutants,” said Cuomo.  “This is just another instance in a long line of examples of the Bush Administration caving to industry lobbyists at the expense of the health concerns of ordinary citizens.”

This will be the second time that the EPA has been challenged over its failure to set mercury pollution standards for the portland cement industry.  In 2000, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit directed the EPA to set mercury standards.  The EPA has since ignored the court’s ruling.

The states joining New York in the petition are Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.