Mats Mercury Emission Limits

The updates only apply to future power plants.

Mats mercury emission limits.

Protecting our children and communities by limiting emissions of mercury and other air toxics from power plants. In issuing the mats in 2012 the epa estimated that the rule would produce annual benefits of between 37 billion to 90 billion at an annual compliance. Recent actions july 17 2020 epa finalized minor revisions to the electronic reporting requirements for mats. The mats rule has been in effect for years and the power sector has largely complied with its limits on mercury emissions and other harmful pollutants.

Under section 112 the epa reviews the risks of hap emissions from categories of sources that emit haps and if it finds that it is a n sets emissions limits for those haps for each category. Signed by epa administrator lisa jackson in december 2011 mats required coal and oil fired power plants to reduce their emissions of mercury and a range of heavy metals and acid gases. Mercury regulation in the united states limit the maximum concentrations of mercury hg that is permitted in air water soil food and drugs. The mercury and air toxics standards reduces mercury and other toxic air pollutants from coal and oil fired power plants.

The environmental protection agency epa finalized new standards for emission limits on new power plants known as the mercury and air toxics standard mats. The rule in question known as the mercury and air toxics standards mats targets a powerful neurotoxin that can affect the iq and motor skills of children even in utero. March 28 2013 epa updated emission limits for new power plants under the mercury and air toxics standards mats. As part of the rule epa reinstated the 2000 appropriate and necessary finding.

This includes emission limits for mercury particulate matter sulfur dioxide acid gases and certain individual metals. The mats rule establishes numeric emission limits for mercury hg particulate matter pm and hydrochloric acid hcl for existing source under the national emissions standards for hazardous air pollutants neshap and sets numeric emission limits for pm sulfur dioxide so2 and nitrogen oxide nox for new sources under the new source performance standards nsps provisions of the clean. Epa published the mercury and air toxics standards mats.