NPCA Applauds EPA for Acting to Protect National Parks and Public Health in Minnesota and Michigan by Requiring Long-Awaited Controls for Mining Plants
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PRESS RELEASE
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| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | |
| Date: | January 17, 2013 |
| Contact: | Christine Goepfert, Upper Midwest Program Manager, National Parks Conservation Association, 612-270-8564, cgoepfert@npca.org Jeff Billington, Senior Media Relations Manager, National Parks Conservation Association, 202-419-3717, jbillington@npca.org |
NPCA Applauds EPA for Acting to Protect National Parks and Public Health in Minnesota and Michigan by Requiring Long-Awaited Controls for Mining Plants
STATEMENT BY: Christine Goepfert, Upper Midwest Program Manager, National Parks Conservation Association
“This is a terrific first step at regulating an industry that for too long has been allowed to escape pollution controls, thus negatively impacting treasured places like Voyageurs and Isle Royale national parks and the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. The final implementation plan the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released this week directs taconite plants in Minnesota and Michigan to install basic controls that will help cut down the amount of pollution the facilities are currently pumping into the air. Cleaner air will benefit the health of the people in this region as well as the health and beauty of its national park units and wilderness areas. These wild places attract hundreds of thousands of visitors each year, helping spur the nearly $22 billion that tourism contributes to local economies.
“This rule by the EPA, to require pollution controls on these dated plants is a victory for both the health of these special places and for the health and well-being of the people who live near them or visit them each year. The upgrades being required of these plants are simply common sense when it comes to protecting the health and character of beloved places like Voyageurs and Isle Royale national parks and safe guarding the air quality there for visitors. These same pollution controls are already standard in many industrial settings, and the time has come to bring northern Minnesota’s and Michigan’s plants into the 21st century.”
To see the EPA Announcement go to: http://www.epa.gov/region5/air/taconite/
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