Trash Burner Rules Fall Short

The U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington ruled that standards on incinerator emissions are lacking, requiring the Environmental Protection Agency to rework the rules.

The rules, established in 2000 in the Clinton administration, were criticized by environmental groups who contended they weren't preventing dangerous toxins from being released into the air across the country.

"This is a huge victory for the health of our communities," Jim Pew, attorney for the Sierra Club and the New York Public Interest Research Group, told The Washington Post after Tuesday's decision.

The issue of pollution from garbage incinerators first started in the 1980s, when they began emerging throughout the country. Congress called for new rules, the 1990 Clean Air Act, which the EPA issued in 1995.

The U.S. Court of Appeals vacated those rules in 1996 following the industry's argument that large and small incinerators should fall under separate standards, forcing the agency to issue another set of rules in December 2000.

The three-judge panel wrote in Tuesday's ruling that given the emission levels coming out of incinerators, it could not uphold EPA's currently required levels as complying with the Clean Air Act.

Incinerators release nine pollutants, including cadmium, lead, hydrogen chloride, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen.

"We're still in the process of reviewing the decision and its implications," EPA spokeswoman Cynthia Bergman told the Post.