Dina Cappiello of The Associated Press is reporting  that the Obama administration will seek more stringent controls on mercury pollution from the nation’s coal-fired power plant, “abandoning a Bush administration approach that the industry supported.”

The news is also being reported by Reuters, and  is making the rounds of environmental-issue blogs.

David Baron, an attorney with Earthjustice, issued this statement about Obama’s decision:

“Today’s news signals an end to years of attempts by the Bush administration to undermine Clean Air Act protections against mercury  and comes not a moment too soon. The Bush policies have allowed coal plants to release more than 700,000 pounds of mercury pollution during the past eight years.”