MADISON, Wis -- Gov. Jim Doyle says the Bush administration has caved in to big business and is putting the health of Wisconsin residents at risk with new rules on mercury emissions.

Speaking next to Lake Michigan in Milwaukee Monday, the governor announced the state's approval of a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency.

Nine other states have already filed suit, accusing the EPA of failing to follow the Clean Air Act.

The new federal rules for cutting mercury from coal-fired power plants are less stringent than the ones Wisconsin already adopted.

"Mercury has a devastating cumulative effect on our environment and represents a clear threat to public health. Every year, thousands of pounds of mercury are released into the air and are then deposited into our soil and bodies of water. Most frightening is that our children are among the most vulnerable to its damage," Doyle said in a news release.

Currently, all of Wisconsin's fresh water bodies are under a mercury advisory to limit the consumption of fish. Many of the 49 million fish that will be harvested from Wisconsin waters this year are not safe for people to eat.

Women of child-bearing age and children under the age of 15 are advised not to eat large sport fish -- walleye, northern pike, and bass -- more than once a month and panfish -- bluegill and crappie -- more than once a week. Men are warned not to eat walleye and northern pike more than once a week.