E.P.A. Plans to Loosen Mercury Rules for Coal Plants, Documents Show

The Environmental Protection Agency plans this week to loosen restrictions on coal-burning power plants, allowing them to emit more hazardous pollutants including mercury, internal agency documents show. Senior agency officials are expected to announce the change during a trip to Louisville, Ky., on Friday.

The E.P.A. says the adjustment would reduce "unwarranted costs" for utilities and estimates it could save companies as much as $670 million between 2028 and 2037, though the documents do not explain how that figure was calculated. The agency has already exempted 47 companies from regulations meant to curb mercury and other toxic pollutants for two years.

When coal is burned it releases mercury into the atmosphere; rain, snow and fog can carry it to the ground, where it settles in soil and in lakes and streams and accumulates in fish and shellfish — the primary route of exposure for most people.

United States, Louisville, Kentucky

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