The Environmental Protection Agency will propose standards for mercury emissions from existing cement kilns in March as part of a settlement with states and industry and environmental groups (Portland Cement Ass'n v. EPA, D.C. Cir., No. 07-1046, settlement announced 1/16/09).rnUnder the settlement announced Jan. 16, EPA will issue a proposed mercury emissions rule in March and a final rule no later than March 2010.rnEPA has faced numerous legal challenges since publishing a hazardous air pollutant rule for the Portland cement manufacturing industry in 2006 (71 Fed. Reg. 76,518; 38 ER 405, 2/23/07).rnThe 2006 rule set "mercury emissions standards for new cement kilns but not for existing units. EPA had said it could not establish an emissions limit for all plants because emissions are highly variable from plant to plant. The rule was anticipated to reduce total emissions from an anticipated 20 new plants by between 1,300 pounds to 3,000 pounds annually but did not address the estimated 6.6 tons per year of emissions from 94 existing plants.rn"Cement plants are among the worst mercury polluters in this country," Earthjustice attorney Jim Pew, who represented the Sierra Club and various community groups in the lawsuit, said in a statement. "We're relieved to see that at long last EPA is taking this issue seriously."
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