On Tuesday, the Environmental Protection Agency will host a public hearing in Chicago. It’ll focus on new proposed federal rules to curb dangerous air toxins, such as mercury and arsenic. If adopted, these would be the first federal limits to regulate these emissions under the Clean Air Act.

The so-called toxins rule would apply to coal and oil fired power plants, including some located here in Illinois.

To find out more, Eight Forty-Eight spoke to Janet McCabe, the Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator for the administrator with the EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation.

And to get a sense for what the new rules would mean for local coal-fired power plants in and around Chicago, host Alison Cuddy also spoke to Doug McFarlan, the Senior Vice President of Public Affairs and Communications for Midwest Generation.

Midwest runs a number of power plants in Illinois, including the Fisk and Crawford coal plants in Chicago.

Music Button: Bird Show, “Two Organs and Dumbek”, from the CD Bird Show, (Kranky)