|
State regulators unveiled a proposal in March to cut mercury pollution from the state’s coal-fired power plants by 90 percent by 2015. While the proposed mercury rule fell short of what many in the environmental and public health communities had requested, it did represent a significant improvement over the Bush administration’s rollback of federal mercury protections.
PennEnvironment’s Nathan Willcox served on the state Department of Environmental Protection’s Mercury Rule Workgroup, which assisted in crafting the final proposal, and PennEnvironment staff went door-to-door in 2005 on the issue to educate and mobilize public support for a strong mercury rule.
A public comment period is expected this summer on the proposed rule, and PennEnvironment will work to generate thousands of comments from citizens across Pennsylvania in support of the state moving forward.
Multiple studies have shown that existing technologies can achieve 90 percent cuts in mercury pollution from power plants, and such cuts are urgently needed given the public health threat posed by mercury pollution—especially to young children and women of child-bearing age—due to mercury contamination in fish. Pennsylvania powerplants emit more mercury each year than powerplants in all but two other states.
UPDATE: Unfortunately, the state Legislature recently introduced legislation that would block state regulators from adopting state-level mercury regulations stronger than the Bush administration's weak standards. PennEnvironment is working hard in Harrisburg to stop this legislative effort, but we need your help. Click here to send your state Representative an email on this issue. |
