World Water Crisis (LIFE)

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EPA: Will Revise Rules For Power-Plant Wastewater Discharges
http://www.nasdaq.com/aspx/stock-market-news-story.aspx?storyid=200909151106dowjonesdjonline000378&title=epa-will-revise-rules-for-power-plant-wastewater-discharges


By Siobhan Hughes, Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday said that it plans to upgrade rules requiring coal-fired power plants to clean up wastewater before the fluid is discharged into rivers and streams, a move that would require investments in treatment systems.

The action would mark the first time since 1982 that the EPA has updated the guidelines. The agency is already facing a potential lawsuit over what environmentalists say is the agency's failure to limit the spread of toxins into waterways.

The decision comes as efforts to clean up the air by reducing power-plant emissions appear to have created new problems in the form of contaminated wastewater. Air-pollution controls such as scrubbers work by scrubbing the power-plant exhaust with water, which if left untreated can send contaminants into waterways, the EPA said.

The EPA did not set a deadline for action. The agency said that it plans to incorporate the new standards into wastewater-discharge permits once the rule is finalized.

-By Siobhan Hughes, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-6654; Siobhan.Hughes@ dowjones.com