The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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Cuts urged in state mercury emissions

By MEG JONES
December 6, 2000

Wisconsin would be the first state in the nation to force utilities and industries to cut mercury emissions, under a proposal that the Natural Resources Board approved Wednesday.

The board listened to lengthy testimony from environmental groups and anglers worried about the high level of mercury in fish in state lakes and streams. Then it gave the Department of Natural Resources the go-ahead to write rules that would limit mercury emissions from coal-powered plants.

DNR staff members are to return to the board in March with recommendations on how much power companies will have to reduce mercury released into the air, as well as on the deadline for complying. A petition from several environmental and sportsmen's groups requested a 90% reduction by 2010.

DNR staff could come back with different recommendations, such as a lower percentage in reductions or a longer or shorter compliance time. The agency also wants the flexibility to grant utilities and incinerator operators deadline extensions or alternative emission limits.

Should utilities be forced to cut back mercury emissions, power users will pay the costs. No cost estimates were available Wednesday.

Mercury is a neurotoxin that stays in the body a long time, and eating contaminated fish can lead to problems such as dementia and weight loss. The effects are more severe for children whose mothers ate mercury-tainted fish while pregnant. In some cases, children have suffered reduced memory capacity and motor skills, learning disabilities, mental retardation and physical impairments.

Health officials estimate that 1,200 children in Wisconsin are exposed to mercury through fish each year, said Ann Behrmann, a Madison pediatrician and member of Physicians for Social Responsibility.

Animals that feed on the fish, such as eagles and loons, also have been affected.

Aside from the health issue, DNR Secretary George Meyer said mercury emissions are affecting the lucrative Wisconsin sport fishing industry, as well as Indian tribes whose members rely on fish as a major food source.

Kathleen Standen of Wisconsin Electric Power Co. said the company is committed to reducing mercury emissions from its plants but believes the 90% reduction isn't achievable.

"Utilities are wanting to come up with some sort of a workable program that balances mercury reductions with maintaining low-cost, reliable electricity in the state," said Standen, manager of environmental regulatory advocacy for the utility.

In a proposal to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency covering mercury and other emissions from power plants, the utility and the DNR proposed that the company be permitted to reduce mercury emissions 10% by 2005 and 40% by 2010.

A New England-based utility company that is attempting to build a gas-fired power plant in Kenosha County is backing the proposal offered here Wednesday. Stephen Brick, director of external relations and environmental affairs for PG&E National Energy Group, said the proposal could set a model for the national debate over mercury emissions.

Brick, who is based in Madison, admitted that it could be expensive to switch to technology that would reduce mercury emissions by such a large margin. "We recognize there are costs involved, but we think it's good business strategy to be out in front on this," Brick said.

The EPA is expected to release its decision this month on whether mercury emissions from coal plants should be regulated. But Meyer encouraged the board to make a decision Wednesday so Wisconsin would be the leader in reducing those emissions.

Because of high mercury levels, state health officials and the DNR warn anglers not to eat fish from 341 lakes and rivers, a figure that grows each year. The DNR, which has been monitoring mercury levels since the 1970s, tests about 60 water bodies each year, and an average of one-third are found to have fish and wildlife with unsafe levels of mercury.

Many of the lakes and streams with mercury-contaminated fish are in northern Wisconsin, far from power plants, said Keith Reopelle, program director for Wisconsin's Environmental Decade, one of the groups that petitioned the board to cut mercury emissions.

Many anglers are unaware of the health advisory or don't know which water bodies are on the list, said William Kordus, vice president of the Twin City Rod & Gun Club in the Neenah-Menasha area.

Club members often give fish to their friends, which means the people who end up eating walleye or muskies often don't know whether they came from a lake or river where fish shouldn't be eaten. Then there are anglers who simply ignore the advisory.

"The problem is people are eating this fish, and they're saying, 'I'll stop when I get sick,' " Kordus said.

EPA and DNR officials have identified coal-fired power plants as the largest source of mercury emissions, with incinerators the next major source. No one knows exactly how much Wisconsin industries are responsible for the mercury found in Wisconsin fish. The EPA estimates that up to half of all the mercury could come from state utilities, although it could be as little as 7%, Meyer said.

Board member Stephen Willett asked whether Wisconsin utilities can be blamed for all the contaminated fish in state lakes. But Meyer said that regardless of how much mercury comes from state industries, the state should "set the tempo" for the nation and require utilities to cut emissions, with the hope that other states will follow.

There are no federal or state laws that regulate mercury emissions from coal-powered electric utilities.

Legislation was introduced in the last session that would have required power plants to cut mercury emissions 15% by 2005, 30% by 2010 and 50% by 2015. Utilities opposed the legislation and it was not passed.

Among the things the DNR will consider from the petition are:

·  Capping emissions from all sources at 1999 levels.

·  Requiring a 90% reduction in mercury emissions by 2010 from utilities, government-owned boilers and municipal and medical waste incinerators.

·  Fining those that don't comply with mercury emission reductions.

·  Creating a program that would include monitoring, research, public education and long-term storage of mercury.