House queries EPA on clear skies

A House Energy and Commerce Committee air quality panel held its first hearing on the Bush administration's Clear Skies initiative, which would use a cap-and-trade system to reduce emissions of mercury, nitrogen oxides, and sulfur dioxide by the year 2018. Chemical producers are also concerned that the plan will force more utilities to switch from coal to natural gas. The Clear Skies proposal is important to chemical firms as it eliminates or alters existing clean air rules and deadlines. The latest EPA analysis has shown that the mercury caps are going to be harder and more expensive than had been assumed when lawmakers first drafted the Clear Skies legislation. The proposal would cap mercury at 26 tons in 2010 and at 15 tons in 2018.