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Administrator Zeldin Fact-Checks Rep. Josh Harder on Mercury Standards

April 29, 2026 · U.S. Environmental Protection Agency · 0:02:33

Embedded from the source channel — never re-uploaded. Watch on YouTube

What happened

At a hearing exchange shared by the EPA, Rep. Josh Harder said, as he stated it, that an EPA decision would add up to 1,500 pounds of mercury to the air with about $1.5 billion in health impacts. Administrator Lee Zeldin replied, as he stated it, that Harder’s numbers were not accurate.

Zeldin said, as he stated it, that 2021 mercury and air toxics emissions from coal-fired units — the last year for which the agency had data — were 90% lower than pre-MATS levels, and pressed Harder on when the 2024 Mercury and Air Toxics Standards had gone into effect, stating that the Biden-era rule Harder was defending had not yet taken effect.

Why it matters

The exchange records the EPA’s defense of its mercury-rule posture against a quantified congressional challenge, with both sides’ figures preserved as stated for this chronicle’s regulatory record.

Scoreboard watch

Flagged for the scoreboard editor: the competing figures as stated in the hearing — Harder’s up-to-1,500-pounds and $1.5 billion claims, and Zeldin’s 90%-below-pre-MATS 2021 figure — for checking against the EPA rulemaking record.

Sources: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, “Administrator Zeldin Fact Checks Rep. Josh Harder”, 2026-04-29 (official upload, embedded above; published 2026-04-29). Transcript via Supadata (private research store, paraphrased and attributed, not republished). All figures and characterizations as stated by the speakers.