The Adirondack Council has been on record in support of the need for new rules regulating mercury emissions for a number of years. The Council supported legislation by the late Senator Patrick Moynihan, who, with his colleague Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont, urged the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) to develop new mercury emission standards. More recently, the Adirondack Council endorsed legislation by Adirondack Congressmen John Sweeny and John McHugh, which also would have required USEPA to issue new mercury regulations.

The Adirondack Council is pleased that USEPA moved to regulate mercury emissions from power plants and is especially pleased that they issued a separate rule on sulfur and nitrogen emissions, the Clean Air Interstate Rule. Acid precipitation and acidic soils are known to be aggravating factors that increase mercury contamination in adjacent water bodies and their fish.

Testing of Adirondack lakes for fish contamination from mercury has recently expanded and the results are not encouraging. Already, twenty lakes in the region have health warnings to children and women of child-bearing age instructing them to avoid all consumption of select species of fish found in those waters. Elevated levels of mercury in the signature bird of the Adirondacks, the common loon, have also been recorded.

While we commend the USEPA for moving forward on mercury controls, the Adirondack Council does not support the Clean Air Mercury Rule for two reasons:

First, the Council does not support the trading of hazardous air pollutants, such as mercury, between regions. The aforementioned Sweeney/McHugh legislation, which we endorse, would prohibit such trading.

Second, the USEPA rule depends heavily on the co-benefit of new regulations on sulfur and nitrogen emissions to meet the targeted mercury reductions of 40% projected for 2010. The most commonly used pollution controls for sulfur and nitrogen control also capture a significant percentage of fugitive mercury emissions. USEPA estimates this could be as high as 40% presuming new pollution controls are installed to comply with what USEPA calls its companion rule on sulfur and nitrogen.

This is not an ambitious goal. USEPA should seek to build on the reductions accomplished by sulfur and nitrogen controls, and not be content with this passive accomplishment. Mercury is a neurotoxin, with the potential to cause great harm to human beings and wildlife. The reduction of mercury in power plant emissions should be pursued with vigor.