COMMISSION ADOPTS RULES FOR CURBING MERCURY EMISSIONS

RALEIGH - North Carolina's power plants must cut their mercury emissions substantially over the next 12 years or face shutting them down, under rules the state Environmental Management Commission adopted today.

The rules require 14 coal-fired power plants operated by Duke and Progress Energy to install controls for reducing mercury emissions that may have contributed to elevated levels of mercury in some fish from North Carolina waters. Ultimately, the rules could lead to nearly a 90 percent reduction in mercury emissions based on the levels of mercury contained in coal.

"We are looking at an 88 percent (emissions) reduction compared to the amount of mercury in the coal by 2018," EMC Chairman David Moreau said while emphasizing uncertainties due to differences in the mercury content of coal, the development of new control technologies, and other factors.

Mercury is a metal that can be toxic to breathe at high concentrations, but the primary source of human exposure is from eating certain fish rather than breathing it in the air.

Power plants are the largest source of mercury in North Carolina due to the sheer volume of coal they burn. Coal contains small amounts of mercury that is released into the air when it is burned to produce electricity. Some of that mercury falls into streams, lakes and coastal waters, where it can accumulate to harmful levels in some fish.

The N.C. Division of Public Health has issued advisories about limiting consumption of certain fish that can have elevated levels of mercury. The advisories apply to largemouth bass from waters throughout North Carolina and a number of other predatory fish from streams, lakes and coastal waters across the state. Eating mercury-contaminated fish is particularly a problem for children, pregnant and nursing women, and people who eat a lot of fish from affected water bodies.

The EMC mercury rule goes beyond the federal Clean Air Mercury Rule that takes effect this month. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates the federal rule will reduce mercury emissions by about 20 percent in 2010 and 70 percent in 2018.

Under the state rule, reductions in mercury emissions will meet or exceed the federal requirements on a faster timetable. That is due in part to the Clean Smokestacks Act adopted by the N.C. General Assembly in 2002. The act requires power companies to install scrubbers and other equipment for removing ozone-, haze- and particle-forming emissions. As an added benefit, the scrubbers and other equipment will reduce mercury emissions.

The N.C. Division of Air Quality (DAQ) estimates that mercury emissions will drop by 74 percent when the Clean Smokestacks Act is fully implemented in 2013. Further reductions will occur by 2018, as facilities not covered by the Clean Smokestacks Act add controls under the new mercury rule.

Reductions must be made at all coal-fired electric utility boilers in North Carolina by 2018 or they must cease operations. In addition, any new power plants must contain the best-available controls for reducing mercury.

Under the federal rule, all facilities are not required to control mercury emissions. Instead, facilities can avoid controls by purchasing emissions credits from other facilities that exceed the requirements. The EMC rules allows facilities to trade credits, but requires all coal-fired power plants to have some sort of mercury controls by 2018 or shut down.

"What we tried to do is develop a system where the North Carolina companies are much less likely to use the federal trading system," EMC member Stephen T. Smith said.

The rule also requires utilities to begin measuring mercury emissions from each unit in 2009. In 2008 and 2012, the rule requires the DAQ to submit reports summarizing monitoring results, developments in control technology, sampling of fish tissue, and other issues to the EMC. In 2013, it requires utilities to submit progress reports with detailed plans and timetables for achieving the maximum mercury reductions that are technically and economically feasible at each unit.

More information about the mercury rule and other air issues in North Carolina can be found at the Division of Air Quality's web site, www.ncair.org. For more information about fish consumption advisories, go to the Division of Public Health's web site at: http://www.epi.state.nc.us/epi/fish/mercuryhealthfacts.html.

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