Action
Alert
New York Proposes First-Ever
Rule to Limit Mercury Emissions
Your Help Needed Today to Make the Rule Better!
In May 2006, the New York State
Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) announced that
for the first time ever, New York would regulate emissions of
mercury from the state’s coal fired power plants. Now, DEC
has released the draft regulation and is accepting public comments
until October 20.
Mercury – What it is and what it does
Mercury is a toxic contaminant that travels up the food chain
and intensifies from small to large animals and humans, damaging
their nervous systems and affecting brain development. In 2005
and 2006 the NYS Department of Health issued warnings to those
fishing in the Adirondack and Catskill Parks not to consume any
of several species of fish because
of high mercury levels. The Common Loon, the signature species
of the Adirondack Park, is currently a “New York State Species
of Special Concern” because of widespread mercury contamination.
If mercury emissions are not reduced and population levels continue
to decrease, the loon could be elevated to the “Endangered”
list in the future.
The Draft Mercury Regulation
The draft regulation proposed by DEC is in response to a federal
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule called the Clean Air
Mercury Rule (CAMR). New York must either use
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federal program or create their own, which must be at least as
stringent as CAMR. The EPA proposal is very weak, with only a
70% reduction of mercury emissions by 2018 and allows trading
of credits. Since mercury travels differently in the environment
than the pollutants that cause acid rain, allowing trading could
cause “hot spots” with neighborhoods around power plants
having much higher levels of contamination. New York’s proposal
is much better than EPA’s in that it will cut mercury emissions
by 90% |
High levels of mercury threaten
the Common Loon |
and will not allow for the
trading of credits.
Although the two provisions of DEC’s draft regulation are
beneficial, the timeline that has been proposed by DEC is
still too long. While it is shorter than EPA’s, it gives
power plants until 2015 to clean up, which is longer than necessary
to achieve the desired level of cuts. Other states throughout
the nation, including New Jersey and Maryland have drafted mercury
regulations with better timelines. New York should follow their
lead and reduce the time allowed to achieve the cuts. This will
ensure that New York’s regulation helps protect human and
wildlife health as soon as possible. It can be used as a model
for other states or a national law. Since most of the mercury
pollution affecting the Adirondack Park comes from upwind states,
encouraging other states to comply with the same level of cuts
as New York will help ensure the Park’s ecological integrity
is maintained.
New York’s rule must be
strengthened before it is finalized.
DEC needs to hear from you!
Please write a letter to DEC
and tell them in your own words that:
- You appreciate their effort
to regulate toxic mercury emissions.
- Their plan is better than
the federal program because it requires a 90% reduction that
will be achieved without trading of allowances.
- The timeline for final compliance
should be moved up to 2010 to ensure the state’s environment
and public health is protected as soon as possible.
Please Send Your Letter to:
David Gardner
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
Division of Air Resources
625 Broadway, 2nd Floor
Albany, NY 12233-3254
Telephone (518) 402-9035
Email: 246CAMR@gw.dec.state.ny.us
Comments Are Due Friday, October
20, 2006
Three hearings will
also be held where public comment will be accepted.
Please consider attending a hearing in your area. They will be:
Wednesday,
October 11, 2006
1:00 pm
NYSDEC Headquarters
625 Broadway
Public Assembly Room 129
Albany, NY 12233 |
Thursday,
October 12, 2006
9:00 am
NYSDEC Region 8
Conference Room
6274 E. Avon-Lima Rd.
Avon, NY 14414 |
Friday,
October 13, 2006
9:00 am
NYSDEC Annex, Region 2
11-15 47th Avenue
Hearing Room 106
Long Island City, NY 11101 |
The regulation is available on
DEC’s website at
http://www.dec.state.ny.us/website/dar/air_regs.html#part246
Thank you for taking action to
strengthen New York’s regulation to limit emissions of mercury.
Please send or email us a copy
of your correspondence, if possible. (Address below.)
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