FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 22, 2017

CONTACT
Emily Fitzmaurice, Massachusetts Democratic Party, 617-939-0808

Baker Administration Delayed Mercury Protection Rules: A Big Business Giveaway, or Just Mismanagement?

BOSTON – The Massachusetts Democratic Party today responded to a Boston Globe report that the Baker Administration has delayed regulations that would reduce the amount of toxic mercury in our environment:

“Governor Baker needs to come clean—was this delay an intentional giveaway to his big business allies, or was it just another case of his administration’s mismanagement?” said Massachusetts Democratic Party Chair Gus Bickford. “Massachusetts needs a Governor who will put our environment and the health of Massachusetts residents first, not look the other way while polluters poison our water.”

Background:

The Boston Globe today reported that three years after compromise legislation to reduce the amount of toxic mercury in our environment passed the Legislature, the Baker Administration “never issued the updated rules, leaving the law unenforced.” The Globe reported that draft regulations were submitted to the Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner a month before Baker took office, but were never put into place.

“The draft regulations went to the commissioner’s desk, and it was like they went into a black hole,” the former state official who oversaw the state’s mercury management program told the Globe.

“When Baker took office, he set new priorities,” said a spokesman for the National Electrical Manufacturers Association.

Baker recently received a “C” grade on an environmental report card produced by several leading environmental groups in Massachusetts, including several “D” grades for his record on water and a “C-“ grade for his record on “reducing the use of toxic chemicals.”

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