The state House delivered a victory for the state's environment and public health this June, blocking polluter-backed legislation that would stop Pennsylvania offcials from implementing stronger mercury pollution protections.

This dangerous legislation (Senate Bill 1201 and House Bill 2610) would have derailed the Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) mercury reduction proposal, which will require 90 percent mercury reductions from Pennsylvania’s coal-fired power plants by 2015. The DEP proposal is a significant improvement over federal mercury regulations since it will bar Pennsylvania power plants from trading pollution ‘credits’ with cleaner plants in other states. This dangerous trading program would allow Pennsylvania’s power plants to avoid making substantial mercury reductions.

However, soon after DEP unveiled its proposal, SB 1201 and HB 2610 were introduced to block DEP’s mercury reduction proposal and force Pennsylvania to follow the weaker federal regulations. Intensive lobbying by the utility and coal industries resulted in a disappointing vote against Pennsylvania’s environment and public health on June 20, when the state Senate voted 40-10 in support of SB 1201, sending the dangerous legislation to the House for consideration. Thankfully, with the ongoing advocacy of PennEnvironment and other groups, this public health rollback was stopped.

“By stalling this dangerous legislation, our state representatives moved Pennsylvania one giant step forward in our report to reduce mercury pollution in the state,” said Nathan Willcox, advocate for PennEnvironment.

Like lead, even small levels of mercury exposure can affect the way kids learn, think, memorize and behave. Coal-fired power plants are responsible for at least 40 percent of the nation’s mercury emissions, and Pennsylvania’s power plants have the second highest mercury emissions in the country. This mercury accumulates in lakes and rivers, working its way up the food chain and contaminating fish that end up on our dinner table.

PennEnvironment played a critical roll in stopping SB 1201 and HB 2610, testifying before the House and Senate Environmental Resources Committees on the mercury issue this spring and speaking out in support of DEP’s much-needed mercury reduction proposal.

Then, dozens of PennEnvironment members participated in a statewide Environmental Lobby Day on June 6, where citizens came to Harrisburg and met with their legislators on the mercury issue. PennEnvironment also generated editorial support for DEP’s proposal in newspapers across Pennsylvania, and collected thousands of e-mails and phone calls from PennEnvironment members which helped convince many legislators to oppose the bills.

With the dangerous legislation stalled for the summer, attention turned to a 60 day public comment period held in July and August to gauge public opinion on DEP’s mercury reduction proposal. This public comment period included public hearings in Pittsburgh, Harrisburg and the Philadelphia area, to which PennEnvironment helped turn out dozens of citizens. PennEnvironment also generated over 4,000 of the 10,000 total public comments submitted into DEP in support of its stronger state-level proposal.

Throughout the fall, PennEnvironment will continue working to educate and mobilize the public in support of DEP’s mercury reduction plan, and to ensure that SB 1201 and HB 2610 don’t come up for a vote when the state Legislature returns to Harrisburg in September. The rule is expected to be finalized in November.