(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 tomorrow.

"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 his 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 600 pounds of mercury emitted every year” said David Gahl
     of Environmental Advocates of New York. “That adds up to approximately
     3,000 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  wwwww.nypirg.org/energy/mercury.html

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