Senators Kohl and Johnson support proposal to weaken clean air standards

Wisconsin Environment

Madison, WI—Senators Kohl and Johnson have signed their names onto a bill that would block critical public health protections for Wisconsin children and families. The bill, S. 1392, introduced last week by Senators Susan Collins (ME) and Ron Wyden (OR), would delay the Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to limit mercury and air toxics from industrial facilities, meaning more dangerous pollution, and putting as many as 22,750 lives nationwide at risk.

Wisconsin Environment opposes the bill, and State Advocate Megan Severson issued the following statement in response:

“We are dismayed that Senators Kohl and Johnson have joined Senators Collins and Wyden in launching an attack on the health of Wisconsin families and children. This bill allows more toxic mercury into our air and water, puts tens of thousands of lives at risk, and sets the stage for endless delays of protections that are already many years overdue. We urge Congress to reject this free pass to polluters and instead stand up for the health of Wisconsinites.”

Background:

The Collins-Wyden bill (S. 1392) taken as a whole would push back industry compliance with EPA’s rule to limit mercury and air toxics by at least 3.5 years, meaning more than 100,000 tons of toxic air pollution, including mercury, toxic metals, and acid gases in our environment, up to 22,750 more premature deaths, 143,000 more asthma attacks, and more and 1 million days of missed work or school.

Mercury pollution is particularly dangerous for women and young children. Exposure to mercury affects a child’s ability to learn, read, write, and grow, and has been linked to developmental disorders. Industrial facilities are the second largest source of mercury pollution in the nation, just behind power plants. In the United States, mercury exposure is so widespread that an estimated one in ten women of childbearing age has enough mercury in her body to put any child she has at risk of mercury’s adverse health effects.

Below is a letter that Environment America, the federation of state environment groups including Wisconsin Environment, sent to Senators opposing S. 1392.

Dear Senator,

On behalf of our hundreds of thousands of members and activists across the United States, we strongly urge you to oppose S. 1392, introduced by Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Ron Wyden (D-OR), which blocks for at least three years the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s work to clean up mercury and other toxic air pollution from industrial boilers and incinerators.

Mercury pollution is particularly dangerous for women and young children. In the United States, one in ten women of childbearing age has enough mercury in her body to put any child she has at risk of mercury’s health effects. This bill would allow more mercury into our air, and would put as many as 22,750 lives at risk and lead to 143,000 asthma attacks by allowing hundreds of thousands of tons of toxic pollution into the air we breathe. The EPA rule updates part of the Clean Air Act, which has a successful 40-year track record of saving lives, reducing illness, and helping the economy. Congress should not issue polluters a free pass to spew toxic air pollution, and this bill sets the stage for endless delays of protections that are already many years overdue.

We urge you to oppose S. 1392 and continue supporting Americans’ right to clean and healthy air.

Sincerely,
Anna Aurilio
Director, Washington DC Office
Environment America

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Wisconsin Environment is a state-based, citizen-funded environmental advocacy group working for clean air, clean water and open spaces.