DENVER—As
the U.S. Senate prepares to vote Monday on whether to overturn an EPA
rule on power plant mercury emissions, a new Environment Colorado
report shows that while states in the Gulf Coast, Midwest, and
Mid-Atlantic regions currently lead the nation in power plant mercury
emissions, Colorado has been given the go-ahead to join them.
Projections
illustrating the state-by-state increase in mercury emissions as a
result of the new mercury rule are staggering. By 2017 Colorado can
expect to have 176.6% increase in power plant emissions and be blowing
close to 1412 pounds of mercury into the air. Even as regulations
“tighten” in 2018 and beyond, the state will still be polluting at
levels 9.3% higher than today.
Under
the Clean Air Act, sources of hazardous air pollutants, including
mercury, are required to install pollution control technology to reduce
these toxic emissions by the maximum achievable amount. EPA
acknowledged in 2001 that compliance with the law would require
reducing power plant mercury emissions by about 90 percent.
In
March 2005, however, the EPA issued regulations that allow power plants
to avoid the Clean Air Act’s maximum achievable control technology
(MACT) requirement. One of these rules, the “delisting rule,” removed
power plants from the list of sources subject to MACT standards. This
paved the way for a second, industry-favored “cap-and-trade rule” that
allows power plants to buy and trade the right to pollute and delays
even modest mercury reductions until at least 2018. This new proposal
would allow Colorado’s facilities to actually increase their mercury
emissions.
“Mercury
pollution from power plants is serious business,” said Environment
Colorado Associate Pam Kiely. “Scientists have found that just a gram
of mercury, about a drop, deposited over the course of a year was
enough to contaminate the fish in a Wisconsin lake.”
Mercury
is a potent neurotoxin that can affect the brain, heart, and immune
system. Developing fetuses and children are especially at risk; even
low-level exposure to mercury can cause learning disabilities,
developmental delays, lowered IQ, and problems with attention and
memory. EPA scientists estimate that one in six women has enough
mercury in her body to put her child at risk should she become
pregnant. Studies also indicate that mercury exposure is associated
with an increased risk of heart attacks in adults.
Power
plants are the largest industrial source of U.S. mercury emissions. EPA
data show that about one-third of the mercury deposited in the U.S.
comes from U.S. power plants alone, and deposition can be much higher
near individual plants, since local sources can account for 50-80
percent of mercury deposition at hot spots. Mercury pollution is so
pervasive that 44 states have posted mercury-related fish consumption
advisories, half of the states for every lake or river. In Colorado,
mercury-related fish consumption advisories already cover 17,105 acres
of lake in the state. These advisories warn people to avoid or limit
their consumption of certain types of fish.
“With
this new rule, the EPA is essentially saying that mercury from power
plants isn’t toxic,” Kiely said. “That not only defies law and logic,
but it’s outrageous.”
Environment Colorado’s “Made in the U.S.A.”
uses 2003 data from EPA’s Toxics Release Inventory, the most recent
available, to rank power plant mercury emissions by state, county, zip
code, facility, and company. Key findings include:
• In Colorado, power plants emitted 343 pounds of mercury in 2003.
• Moffat County led the state in power plant mercury emissions, with
120 pounds, 35 percent of the state’s total power plant mercury
emissions, in 2003.
• Tri-State Generation and Transmission’s Craig Station was the largest
power plant mercury emitter in the state, with 120 pounds.
At
least 16 states have challenged one or both of the rules in court or
have petitioned EPA for reconsideration of the delisting rule.
Moreover, in June, Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Susan Collins
(R-ME) introduced a bipartisan joint resolution against the delisting
rule pursuant to the Congressional Review Act, a law that enables
Congress to disapprove of federal agency rules using special, expedited
procedures. Disapproval of a rule voids the rule, meaning it has no
effect. A vote is expected in early September, after the Senate returns
from its August recess.
“We
urge Senators Allard and Salazar to take action to protect public
health by supporting the Leahy-Collins resolution,” Kiely said. “It is
long past time for power plants to comply with the law and join other
industries in reducing their mercury pollution by 90 percent.”
