PORTLAND- As the Senate
prepares to vote on whether to overturn an EPA rule on power plant
mercury emissions, a new Environment Maine Research & Policy Center
report shows that states in the Gulf Coast, Midwest, and Mid-Atlantic
regions led the nation in power plant mercury emissions.
The
report—“Made in the U.S.A.”—identifies which states and localities
nationwide have the most mercury emissions from power plants and which
power plants emit the most mercury. In 2003, power plants in the U.S.
emitted more than 90,000 pounds of mercury into the air.
“Here
in Maine, we know that mercury is a problem. We have the ‘hot spots’
and widespread conatmination to prove it,” said Environment Maine
Research & Policy Center Advocate Matthew Davis. “But most of the
mercury pollution we’re dealing with isn’t made here in Maine. Upwind
power plants have to reduce their mercury emissions in order to solve
the problem.”
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 45 states have posted mercury-related fish consumption
advisories, half of the states for every lake or river. In Maine,
mercury-related fish consumption advisories cover every lake and river,
and our entire coastline. These advisories warn people to avoid or
limit their consumption of certain types of fish
Environment
Maine’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 Maine, now-closed Mason Station power plant emitted less than 1
pound of mercury in 2003. Texas, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana, and
Alabama were the states with the most mercury emissions from power
plants in 2003.
• Counties with the highest mercury emissions from
power plants were concentrated in states in the Gulf Coast, Midwest,
and Mid-Atlantic regions, with 56% of the top 50 counties in just seven
states: Texas, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Alabama, West Virginia, Indiana, and
Florida.
• The most polluting 100 facilities emitted more than
57,000 pounds of power plant mercury emissions. Nearly 60% of these
facilities were located in just nine states: Ohio, Texas, Pennsylvania,
West Virginia, Alabama, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, and North Dakota.
•
The most polluting 15 companies in the U.S. emitted more than 48,000
pounds of mercury in 2003, 54% of power plant mercury emissions
nationwide.
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.
“EPA is essentially saying that mercury from power
plants isn’t toxic,” Davis said. “That not only defies law and logic,
but it’s outrageous.”
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
(Senate Joint Resolution 20) 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 in the
Senate is expected at the end of this week or early next week.
“We
applaud Senators Collins and Snowe for taking the lead to protect
public health by cosponsoring the Leahy-Collins-Snowe resolution,”
Davis 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.”
