EPA Proposes Mercury Reductions for Taconite Plants After Decades of Urging from Tribes

WASHINGTON - After decades of advocacy by tribal nations, states and conservation groups, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is updating requirements for one of the largest sources of mercury pollution.

The changes will require taconite plants to lower their mercury emissions by at least 50 percent by the end of 2026. The proposed rules come after nearly 20 years of advocacy by conservation groups, Michigan and Minnesota, and various Tribes in the region.

"This is a step in the right direction," said Earthjustice Attorney James Pew, who filed the lawsuit on behalf of the Fond Du Lac Band of Ojibwe, in an interview with Native News Online. "We now have limits of mercury emissions from taconite plants for the first time ever."

https://nativenewsonline.net/environment/epa-proposes-mercury-reductions-for-taconite-plants-after-decades-of-urging