Pennsylvania Fights Court Ruling to Keep Its Mercury Rule

The Commonwealth Court's January 31 order blocks the Department of Environmental Protection from continued implementation and enforcement of the state-specific rule requiring controls on coal-fired power plants to remove mercury from airborne emissions. Pennsylvania's mercury regulation was finalized on February 17, 2007.

Governor Ed Rendell's administration developed the state-specific Mercury Rule after the Bush-era Environmental Protection Agency adopted a less protective federal regulation and guidelines that allowed the interstate trading of mercury emissions.

One year ago today, a federal appeals court struck down Bush administration's mercury rule, agreeing with critics that the EPA had violated the Clean Air Act when it established the rule. A coalition of environmental groups and 17 states, Pennsylvania among them, challenged the policy, which was slated to take effect in 2010.

Mercury tends to accumulate in hot spots near its source, rather than dispersing like other pollutants that have been regulated under emissions trading mechanisms. Mercury hot spots could endanger children living near power plants.

Pennsylvania's Mercury Rule, which prohibits mercury emissions trading in order to prevent toxic hot spots, achieves at least 90 percent mercury reduction at coal-fired power plants by 2015.

The two-step state-specific plan requires an 80 percent reduction in mercury emissions by 2010, and a 90 percent reduction by 2015.

In 2008, the Montour coal-fired power plant operated by PPL Generation was fitted with a new scrubber system that helps to control mercury emissions. (Photo by Mark Morey)

The DEP has already approved a number of applications for the installation of controls pursuant to the Pennsylvania Mercury Rule that reduce mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants, as well as approving a number of mercury monitoring plans for these facilities.

By appealing the lower court's decision, Environmental Protection Acting Secretary John Hanger said the state seeks to keep these important controls and monitoring plans in place and provide certainty for power plants that will invest in technologies that protect the public health and the environment.

"The Pennsylvania Mercury Rule is a well-crafted, cost-effective program designed to protect our citizens from exposure to mercury emitted by coal-fired power plants," said Hanger.

"Our rule accelerates adoption of proven technologies that would protect public health and the environment," he said.

Pennsylvania has 36 coal-fired power plants with 78 electric generating units that represent 20,000 megawatts of capacity.

The commonwealth is second, behind only Texas, both in terms of total mercury emissions from all sources and the total amount of mercury pollution coming from power plants.

Nearly 80 percent of the five tons of mercury emitted in Pennsylvania annually comes from power plants.

Exposure to mercury, usually through eating contaminated fish, can cause permanent harm neurological damage in humans and reproductive harm in wildlife. Young children whose brains are still developing, and women of childbearing age are most at risk from the toxic metal.

Click here for a copy of the Pennsylvania Mercury Rule.

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