WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. environmental regulators issued rules on Wednesday that will halve the cost for industrial polluters to cut toxic air emissions, a sign the Obama administration is willing to compromise on cutting pollution.
The Environmental Protection Agency issued rules limiting emissions of toxic pollutants, including mercury and soot, from boilers and some incinerators that would cut the cost of installing pollution control on industry to about $1.8 billion. That is about half the amount a proposed rule the agency issued last year would have cost polluters.
The EPA had asked for more time to issue a final rule but a federal judge declined the request.
The rules on boilers which are basically on-site power plants at factories, paper mills and other industrial facilities aim to reduce emissions from boilers with so-called "maximum achievable control technology" or MACT.
They are expected to be followed later this year by an EPA proposal on toxic emissions rules on power plants. Those will likely be opposed by some power companies and lawmakers from states with economies that are heavily dependent on fossil fuels.
With Republicans taking control of the House of Representatives this year, many stakeholders will be looking at both sets of EPA rules to see if the Obama administration goes a little easier on polluters or takes a tougher stance.
Fred Upton, who heads the House Energy and Commerce Committee has said the boiler rules will hurt jobs. Meanwhile Democrats who control the Senate have said they expect the rules could add jobs in emissions controls.
The EPA also plans to issue rules to emissions of greenhouse gases from oil refineries and power plants later this year.
Analysts have said the power plant MACT rules on toxic pollutants could force old, inefficient coal-fired electricity generators into early retirement.
Environmentalists were cautiously optimistic about the rules as many realizing some compromise was necessary. "Though the announcement today is modest by comparison to the proposals put forth by the EPA last June, we urge Administrator Lisa Jackson to forge ahead to protect our children and families' health," the Sierra Club's executive director said in a release.
(Reporting by Timothy Gardner; Editing by Marguerita Choy)
