New York Public Interest
Research Group ~ Adirondack Council
Environmental Advocates of New York ~ Sierra Club-Atlantic Chapter
National Wildlife Federation ~ Citizens Campaign for the Environment
Citizens' Environmental Coalition ~ Kids Against Pollution
Learning Disabilities Association of New York State
GROUPS URGE MERCURY
CUTS SIMILAR TO NEIGHBORING STATES
Point to Governor Pataki's Environmental Legacy
For more information:
| John
F. Sheehan (Council) 518-432-1770 |
Jason
K. Babbie (NYPIRG), 518.461.8817 |
Released: Tuesday, October 10, 2006
(Albany, NY) Groups gathered today to demand cuts in mercury
emissions that protect New Yorkers and wildlife from mercury
poisoning, as well as to encourage the public to participate
in the Department of Environmental Conservation's (DEC) comment
period on the proposed power plant rule. The DEC is holding its
first public hearing on a draft regulation today.
"New Yorkers are standing
up and demanding substantial reduction of mercury pollution from
power plants by the end of this decade," said Adrienne Esposito
of Citizens Campaign for the Environment. "Future generations
depend on getting this regulation right the first time."
Mercury affects cognitive and
motor skill development in wildlife and children. On September
6th, the DEC proposed a draft regulation that requires each coal-fired
power plants reduce its mercury pollution in two phases. In 2010,
DEC will cap mercury emissions of 13 coal-fired power plants,
limiting total emissions at 746 pounds. In 2015, every unit at
coal plants must reduce their pollution by about 90 percent (0.6lbs/tBtu).
This will likely be the last
power plant rule finalized by the Pataki administration.
"The strength of this rule
will frame Governor Pataki's pollution control legacy and this
is not the timeframe of a leader," said Jason K. Babbie
of the New York Public Interest Research Group. "Why is
New York lagging behind neighboring states on this when the Governor
has called himself a national leader on power plant pollution?"
New York groups praised the governor for require about 90 percent
reductions at each plant, but urged him to improve the state's
final rule by requiring the reductions in 2010 more closely aligned
with mercury standards in New Jersey, Connecticut and Massachusetts.
"Adjusting the rule to require
90 percent cuts at each plant by 2010 is the kind of legacy we
would expect from Governor Pataki," said Scott Lorey of
the Adirondack Council. "The Governor took many steps to
protect the Adirondacks, but other Governors are doing more to
protect their natural resources and citizens from mercury pollution."
"If New York mandated a
90 percent reduction starting in 2010, we could avoid another
800 pounds of mercury emitted every year" said David Gahl
of Environmental Advocates of New York. "That adds up to
approximately 3,000 unnecessary pounds mercury that ends up in
our rivers, lakes, fish and wildlife."
An EPA-funded study, recently
published in Environmental Science & Technology, found that
up to 70 percent of the mercury from Ohio's coal plants fell
within 60 miles of the facilities. A Massachusetts study found
that mercury in wildlife near incinerators dropped more than
30 percent within a decade after regulating their mercury pollution.
"The recent studies provide
yet more proof that New York must limit power plant's mercury
pollution stringently and quickly to combat our growing problem
of mercury," said John Stouffer of the Sierra Club-Atlantic
Chapter. "New York has a serious mercury contamination issue
that requires a serious mercury reduction regulation."
The state Department of Health
warns women of childbearing age and children to not eat most
fish caught in the Catskills and Adirondacks because of mercury,
and lists 87 specific water bodies across the state have unsafe
fish due to mercury contamination. In addition, a recently released
report by the National Wildlife Federation, Poisoning Wildlife:
The Reality of Mercury Pollution, demonstrated that elevated
levels of mercury have been found in fish, mammal and bird species
that inhabit the state.
"The discovery of harmful
levels of mercury in so many different species and so many different
places is a wake-up call," said Catherine Bowes of the National
Wildlife Federation. "Luckily, studies also demonstrate
that a stringent and swift limit on mercury from smokestacks
significantly reduces mercury in fish and wildlife."
"Mercury is highly toxic
and must be addressed as stringently as possible," said
Laura McCarthy of the Citizens Environmental Coalition. "New
Yorkers deserve a plan that is in keeping with the reductions
laid out in the federal Clean Air Act."
Federal law requires hazardous
air pollutants, such as mercury, be regulated with a Maximum
Achievable Control Technology standard, which would require 90%
reductions at every plant within three years. New York and other
states sued the EPA to control mercury using this standard.
"Mercury poisoning can present
challenges throughout a person's lifespan, from fetal development
to adulthood. By quickly reducing mercury in our environment
today, we can potentially reduce the incidence of learning disabilities
in future generations," said Heather Loukmas of the Learning
Disabilities Association of New York State.
"We need the Pataki administration
to regulate mercury in a manner that is consistent with their
legal argument against the Environmental Protection Agency,"
said Babbie.
Poisoning Wildlife: The Reality
of Mercury Pollution
is available online at www.nwf.org/news
or by contacting Catherine Bowes at 802-229-0650.
Information of DEC's proposal
and commenting can be found at http://www.nypirg.org/energy/mercury.html
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