Moreover, EPA has indicated that one reason for the delay is the desire to await the results of mercury studies being conducted in the Faeroe Islands and the Seychelles Islands, neither of which is on the verge of completion. We also are concerned that transmission of the interim final Utility Study to Congress without fully acknowledging that the report did not respond to the peer reviewers' and others' concerns may give the erroneous impression that this work, which was to have been the basis of a regulatory determination, is more complete than it is. These include a lack of resources devoted to a technical assessment of HAP emissions from electric utilities. We believe it is absolutely essential to address emissions of mercury and other HAPs from utilities immediately. The need for HAP controls on electric utilities is an equity issue as well.
Electric utilities represent a large portion of the toxics emission inventory.
It seems incongruous, then, that EPA is requiring stringent limits on mercury from municipal waste combustors and medical waste incinerators, while not requiring a minimum level of control from electric utilities, a much larger polluting industry. Furthermore, it also seems inequitable that the federal MACT program would not call for adequate HAPs controls from electric utilities, while requiring small sources, including dry cleaners and other small businesses, to limit their emissions. Such a regulatory policy, which essentially exempts utilities from HAP controls, could seriously undermine our nation's efforts to develop equitable and responsible HAP control programs. In conclusion, we recommend that EPA make every possible effort to ensure that HAP emissions from electric utilities are controlled to at least a level consistent with the provisions of the Clean Air Act relating to other sources of HAPs. Whether this is done through improvements to the interim final Utility Study or another mechanism, such as the Clean Air Power Initiative or regulating electric utilities with a MACT standard, does not matter, as long as public health is adequately protected.