MiSBF Statement on EPA MATS Rule

Executive Director Daniel Schoonmaker recently provided testimony at the EPA’s virtual public hearing for the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Coal- and Oil-Fired Electric Utility Steam Generating Units (EGUs), also known as the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards or MATS. EPA set technology-based emissions standards for mercury and other hazardous air pollutants (HAP) emitted by units with a capacity of more than 25 megawatts.

At the hearing on July 10, Schoonmaker spoke as a representative of the Forum and Climate Action Campaign:

My name is Daniel Schoonmaker and I am the executive director of Michigan Sustainable Business Forum. For 30 years our organization has worked to support businesses and institutions in the development of sustainability programs that among other things, improve public health and protect natural resources in the Great Lakes.

I am not here to provide technical input, but to speak to the lost opportunity to protect Michigan’s economy and way of life that will come from the EPA proposal to repeal certain amendments finalized in 2024 to the MATS Rule.

The  Michigan Department of Health & Human Services recently announced that new information about the toxicity of exotic pollutants had led to changes in its Eat Safe Fish Guides.  If you are unfamiliar, the guide lists species of fish and highlights chemicals of concern associated with each (including mercury) by location, and recommendations for how many servings per month are safe for most people.

We often forget that the environmental movement in Michigan started with sportsmen and business leaders concerned about our food supply. Our state is currently experiencing a mysterious reduction in whitefish and other species that are important to not just our economy and biodiversity, but our shared understanding of what it means to be a Michigander.  The investments we are making in Michigan should be demonstrating improvements over time.  

In the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Coal- and Oil-Fired Electric Utility Steam Generating Units, also known as the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards or MATS, EPA set technology-based emissions standards for mercury and other hazardous air pollutants emitted by units with a capacity of more than 25 megawatts. MATS, along with significant changes in the power sector, has achieved significant health and environmental benefits by reducing a broad range of hazardous air pollutants.  The expansion of the MATS Rule proposed and enacted last year would have taken meaningful steps to reduce the toxins in our environment that are impacting the safety of our natural resources.

U.S. coal-fired power plants are a major source of U.S. mercury pollution to our air and finds its way into our lungs, our water, and our food.  Mercury is a potent neurotoxin that causes permanent damage to the brains of babies and fetuses, leading to developmental delays, learning disabilities, and birth defects. Air pollution from coal- and oil-fired power plants contains more than 80 hazardous air pollutants identified by the Clean Air Act for control.

The rule was projected to produce a variety of health benefits by reducing 1,000 pounds of mercury and at least seven tons of non-mercury metals from coal plants per year and 770 tons of fine particulate matter and 280 tons of nitrogen oxides per year.  It was expected to create $300 million in health benefits over 10 years.

From a business and policy perspective, the proposal negatively impacts Michigan, a state that is well on its way to eliminating coal-fired power plants.  The rule that should be going into effect benefits states and power companies that are making the appropriate and necessary steps to reduce air pollution.