skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

SD public defense duties shift from counties to state; SCOTUS appears skeptical of restricting government communications with social media companies; Trump lawyers say he can't make bond; new scholarships aim to connect class of 2024 to high-demand jobs.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The SCOTUS weighs government influence on social media, and who groups like the NRA can do business with. Biden signs an executive order to advance women's health research and the White House tells Israel it's responsible for the Gaza humanitarian crisis.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Midwest regenerative farmers are rethinking chicken production, Medicare Advantage is squeezing the finances of rural hospitals and California's extreme swing from floods to drought has some thinking it's time to turn rural farm parcels into floodplains.

Groups Testify Against EPA Rollback of Mercury Regulations

play audio
Play

Monday, March 18, 2019   

RICHMOND, Va. — Environmental groups plan to speak out against the Trump administration's rollback of regulations that have cut mercury emissions at coal-fired power plants by 85 percent in the last decade.

The Environmental Protection Agency's daylong public hearing tackles proposed changes to an Obama administration rule, known as the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards. Utility companies say the rule has cost them $18 billion so far to reduce emissions from coal-plant smokestacks.

Despite those cleanup efforts, Shenandoah Riverkeeper Mark Frondorf said more work is necessary at chemical plants like the former DuPont facility - now known as Invista - in Waynesboro, which stopped its mercury contamination in the 1950s.

"Sixty-nine years later, we still have fish consumption advisories in the Shenandoah River, we have fish consumption advisories in the South River, and it's impacted the environment,” Frondorf said.

The Trump administration argues it is "providing regulatory certainty" by accurately estimating the costs of the rule. Frondorf will testify against the rule changes during today's public hearing at EPA headquarters in Washington. The hearing will run from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Mercury causes brain damage, learning disabilities and other birth defects in children, among other problems. Frondorf said the mercury levels are so high in the South River, government officials have issued warnings saying no fish, with the exception of trout, should be consumed from the river.

"If you have an 8-year-old boy that you want to take fishing, are you really going to take them to the South River and let him eat trout, or let her eat trout, just because they say they're the only fish safe to eat?” Frondorf questioned. “So, it’s also impacted not just the environment, but also the economy of that area down there."

Frondorf added changing the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards now would also affect all the plants that have already invested in upgrades over the years to reduce their pollution output.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
Iowa families can apply for up to $7,600 a year for private school costs. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

An ethics committee in the Republican-led Iowa House has dismissed a complaint filed by a group of community activists against a state lawmaker for hi…


play sound

Each spring, hundreds of thousands of California high school seniors have to figure out if they can afford to go to college in the fall - and two new …

Health and Wellness

play sound

A health care workforce shortage in New Hampshire is leaving Alzheimer's patients and their families with few options for treatment. Patients facing …


South Dakota ranks 49th in the country for its contribution to indigent legal defense costs, according to a 2023 report from the Indigent Legal Services Task Force. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

South Dakota is creating an Office of Indigent Legal Services after House Bill 1057 passed the Legislature with nearly unanimous support this month…

Environment

play sound

A Knoxville-based environmental group is voicing concerns over what it sees as an increasing financial strain imposed on taxpayers by nuclear weapons …

Environment

play sound

A bipartisan law set to take effect this summer prohibits foreign adversaries from buying Hoosier farmland. The signature of Gov. Eric Holcomb was …

Social Issues

play sound

Today, people across Arizona are voting in the Presidential Preference Election, a chance for registered Democrats and Republicans to choose their …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021