This Page About Fishing: Mercury is the Hot Topic

Fishing: Mercury is the Hot Topic

Pennsylvania has been given the green light from an oversight panel to develop its own regulations for power plant mercury emissions, while it sues the federal government over pollution standards it believes fail to adequately address the public health risk.

Mercury accumulates in fishing, for which there are statewide consumption advisories.

While the move has been hailed by conservation and outdoors groups, which have been pressing the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection to do something about mercury, some air quality experts question the economic and environmental benefits of a state-specific approach in the face of a global problem.

DEP received permission to craft its own rule for coal-fired power plants at a hearing before the Environmental Quality Board Tuesday in Harrisburg. Pennsylvania is second only to Texas in mercury emissions, 77 percent of which come from 39 coal-burning power plants, according to DEP spokesman Kurt Knaus. By a 17-3 vote, the board gave DEP approval to draft a plan by November 2006, instead of complying with the federal rule, which took effect in March.

That rule, an amendment to the Clean Air Act of 1990, calls for a gradual emissions reduction of 69 percent nationwide by 2018. Companies can retrofit their plants to become compliant, but also have the option of purchasing pollution allowances from other companies as part of an approach known as "cap and trade."

Pennsylvania has joined other states in suing the EPA to have the rule overturned because it believes "the federal market-driven approach just doesn't work when it comes to mercury," Knaus said.

Unlike some pollutants that quickly disperse, mercury is more prone to settle around the pollution source, Knaus said. Though so-called hot spots are a topic of debate among air quality experts, Knaus cites EPA data indicating that 50 to 80 percent of the mercury plaguing Pennsylvania waters is from plants located within the state, and that mercury deposits are typically found within a 90-mile radius of power plants.

Mercury is a highly toxic chemical emitted into the air by coal-burning plants and deposited by rain into waterways and soil, where it bio-accumulates through the food chain, beginning with plant life. It has been identified as a particular health threat to subsistence anglers and to women of childbearing age and children.

Mercury has been shown to cause developmental delays and brain and nervous system disorders in children, and heart and immune system problems in adults, said Knaus. Though there is a statewide advisory of one fish meal a week for all species, special advisories exist for certain types of fishing, such as largemouth bass and walleye, on lakes and streams where mercury levels test high. There are also advisories for PCBs, which come from paint, plastics, electrical transformers and other sources, and for chlordane, a pesticide chemical. The state and the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission have been testing fisheries for mercury and other pollutants for the past 15 years.

"Mercury is an air quality issue, but fishing are the bell-weathers, the barometers, of stream health," said Fish and Boat Commission spokesman Dan Tredinnick. "Their health impacts our constituents."

Tuesday, the Pennsylvania Game Commission Web site began advising hunters to avoid eating mergansers, a type of duck that dives for fishing. It also urges them to cut as much fat as possible from other types of waterfowl harvested in the wild and to discard the stuffing used to flavor birds in the cooking process. The advisories aren't new, said Game Commission spokesman Gerry Feaser, but putting them on line makes them more visible.

According to the EPA, humans aren't the only ones to suffer the effects of mercury consumption. Wildlife can experience reduced fertility, slower growth, abnormal behavior and death. On its Web site, the EPA reports that mercury found in the environment can alter the endocrine system of fish, which plays an important role in their development and reproduction. In crafting its proposed rule, DEP will seek input from sportsmen, the academic and scientific communities, representatives of coal and other industries, and members of its Air Quality Technical Advisory Committee, which has no authority but will be part of the process, said Knaus. Some members of that committee, including Peter Adams, a Carnegie Mellon University assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering, are questioning how cost-effective state regulations would be, given mercury's global scope. He said power plant emissions cross state lines, so some of the mercury deposited in Pennsylvania is coming from elsewhere, just as mercury from Pennsylvania-based power plants is polluting other parts of the world.

"Having a state rule would be an improvement over what we've had," Adams said, "but are all emitters sharing the cost in the same way?"

Joe Duckett, an environmental engineer who works for an air emission control system design company and serves on the technical advisory committee, also questioned a state-specific approach. "Mercury is an international problem, so the money might be better spent elsewhere," he said. "I think the federal regulations are fine."

Knaus said a cost-benefit analysis would be part of DEP's final proposal. He also said that Pennsylvania still advocates for a federal approach to ensure equity and reductions on a broad scale. "But the current federal rule isn't strong," he said. "We had the option of making a stronger one on our own and that's the one we took."

Environmental groups have applauded the move. "We'll be at the table advocating for a 90 percent reduction in emissions, and the technology is there for plants to do that," said Jan Jarrett, vice president of PennFuture, a public interest and environmental advocacy group that has led the push for state-specific regulations.

Once a draft proposal is written, DEP will need approval from the Environmental Quality Board and the Independent Regulatory Review Commission.

The proposal will be put out for public comment before a final plan is adopted. Continue to learn more about fishing, please visit Post Gazette.

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