Indianapolis Star, Bill Ruthhart
Published October 7, 2007
Mercury emissions from Indiana's coal-fired power plants will be reduced by two-thirds over the next two decades, but environmentalists say that isn't enough.
A state board voted last week to adopt the minimum requirements of the federal Clean Air Mercury Rule, which will require the state to cut mercury emissions by 66 percent by 2018.
But environmentalists said the state needs to act more aggressively, considering Indiana ranks fourth nationwide in mercury emissions, with 23 coal-fired plants that release the chemical from their smokestacks. Mercury is a potent neurotoxin that has harmful health effects for infants, children and adults.
The Hoosier Environmental Council had pushed for a reduction of 90 percent by 2010. The group said the smaller cut wasn't enough, considering that mercury has contaminated fish in Indiana waterways.
Utility industry representatives argued deeper cuts in mercury emissions would lead to higher rates for customers. The 2018 timeline, however, will not lead to rate increases, they said.
Regardless, Indiana likely will not achieve the 66 percent reduction goal set by the Air Pollution Control Board until as late as 2025, said Dr. James Miner, chairman of the control board. That's because guidelines allow plants that stay below the maximum mercury emissions standard to bank or sell emission credits to plants exceeding the emission limits.
Nationwide, about half of the states have agreed to the minimum requirements of the Environmental Protection Agency's mercury rule.
Miner said he had hoped to adopt more stringent standards, but after more than two years of negotiations, he said, it was clear that environmentalists and energy officials couldn't reach a compromise.
"I thought maybe the rule made by the EPA was not appropriate for Indiana, and we could come up with some kind of a compromise that was above the minimum," he said. "I feel like we fell a little short for Hoosiers."
State officials had endorsed adopting the minimum requirements under the mercury rule.
In a news release, Scott Wiseman, a vice president for the coal industry advocacy group the Center for Energy and Economic Development, said the voices of consumers and ratepayers "who care about the environment and affordable electricity rates" played a key role in the decision.
About 95 percent of Indiana's electricity comes from coal-fired plants. In 2005, Indiana's mercury emissions totaled 6,435 pounds.
The mercury from those plants ends up in groundwater through precipitation. Mercury levels in Indiana waterways have led to advisories against eating certain kinds of fish. Environmentalists point to studies that have shown the children of mothers who eat mercury-tainted fish can be found to have lower intelligence.
"I feel the board is not living up to its responsibility," Janet McCabe, executive director of Improving Kids' Environment, told The Associated Press.
Although researchers are developing new ways to reduce mercury released by burning coal, filters and scrubbers available now, which also help remove other pollutants, are expected to play a key role.
Miner said the Hoosier Environmental Council's proposal to cut emissions 90 percent by 2010 was "unreasonable for Indiana." Though that standard was adopted in Illinois, Miner said that state has more nuclear power plants and does not rely as heavily on coal-fired plants.
Harmful effects
• In adults: High doses of mercury can cause tremors; impaired hearing, vision and balance; and even death.
• In developing fetuses, infants: A fetus faces a high risk of birth defects if mercury is in the mother's system. Mercury can impair infants' motor and cognitive skills.
• In wildlife: Mercury impairs animals' reproduction and behavior.
-- Star report
How mercury contamination spreads
Mercury, a harmful pollutant common in the gases vented by coal-burning power plants, falls back to Earth with precipitation and is washed into waterways, where algae and fish carry it up to humans through the food chain.
The most common sources of mercury in the air are coal-burning power plants, municipal waste combustors, medical waste incinerators and hazardous waste combustors. Mercury also can directly contaminate water or land through the discharge of industrial waste water.
Tiny particles of mercury vented from smokestacks travel through the air. Precipitation then carries them back to the surface, either onto soil or water.
From waterways, mercury can accumulate in fish and wildlife. Contaminated algae are eaten by fish, which can be eaten by people. Deposits of mercury collect in animal tissue.
People who too often eat fish caught in streams containing elevated levels of mercury can suffer a range of ill health effects.
Sources: Environmental Working Group, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
