NAFTA PANEL MOVES CLOSER TO INQUIRY INTO EPA MERCURY CONTROL RULES

A North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) panel is moving one step closer to launching an in-depth investigation into whether EPA is taking sufficient steps to cut mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants, a move that could help environmentalists argue that upcoming EPA clean air rules violate the Clean Water Act (CWA). The North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC), an investigative body created in a side-accord to NAFTA, issued a determination Feb. 24 calling on the Bush administration to...