Rhode Island Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse last week asked 17 utilities to hand over information about their requests for presidential exemptions from EPA’s mercury rule.
Although Whitehouse, as ranking member of the Environment and Public Works Committee, cannot compel the companies to comply, the letters could preview a line of inquiry should Democrats take the Senate and Whitehouse the gavel next year.
The exemptions issued to dozens of coal-fired power plants by President Donald Trump means “the American public is forced to pay for these exemptions and this additional risk, with their health and with their wallets,” wrote Whitehouse.
The Trump administration worked quickly to repeal the rule, issuing a final rule in February that returned to the prior limits set by the Obama administration in 2012. That meant no plant ever had to comply with the Biden update, although Trump’s exemptions gave the recipients peace of mind in the meantime.
