Nevada Rebuffed, Oklahoma Dawdles & Michigan Boldly Moves Forward

As the country awaits the decision of the Federal Appeals Court in D.C. on the legality and thus the future of the CAMR, different States are taking different tacks. Nevada sent its plan to comply with CAMR to the EPA back in November of 2006. The plan was recently rejected and sent back for rework. The EPAs decision to reject the plan is open for comment now and has been extended until March 13, 2008.

Oklahoma officials used the pending federal court case as an excuse to delay action altogether. From a recent NewsOK article;

Members of the Department of Environmental Quality's Air Quality Advisory Council voted to delay adopting proposed rules seeking to implement limits within the Sooner State until at least April.

They opted to wait because of an ongoing lawsuit seeking to void the federal rules.
[...]
The advisory council's decision Thursday didn't appear to surprise environmentalists who attended the meeting.

Still, they told council members Thursday stricter standards need to be adopted now.

"When it comes to that decision on the federal lawsuit, whichever way it goes, what is the risk of going ahead with something stricter?” asked Montelle Clark, a member of the Oklahoma Sustainability Network's board of directors.

"You are still allowed to do that” regardless of the lawsuit's outcome, Clark said. "If you went ahead and did it now, you would be ahead of the game.”

Meanwhile, Michigan has all but declared war on mercury in all its forms and releases. A bold 67 point plan, if completely enacted and seen through, would position Michigan as a model for the rest of the country. Some of it requires future legislation but a lot of it is a "call for partnerships with local governments and private groups."

An excerpt from All American Patriots follows;

January 30, 2008 -- The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality has released a comprehensive strategy to eliminate the use and release of mercury to Michigan's environment. The DEQ's Mercury Strategy Staff Report contains specific recommendations to ensure the protection of Michigan's wildlife and citizens from this persistent toxic pollutant by proposing a comprehensive approach to controlling mercury, including environmental monitoring, inventory development, collaborations and partnerships, information and outreach, and regulatory controls.

Different strokes...