Approve state limit on mercury emissions
8:50 PM 6/21/04

Requiring Wisconsin's largest utilities to reduce mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants is an important step to protect public health and the state's economy. An even more important step is to persuade the Bush administration to improve its plan to limit mercury emissions nationwide. <

For both of those reasons, mercury emission regulations now before the state Natural Resources Board merit approval. <

Wisconsin has a big stake in the regulation of mercury emissions: All of the more than 15,000 lakes in the state are covered by an advisory warning people about the level of mercury in the fish caught in those lakes. The advisory is based on evidence that eating too much mercury-laden fish risks damage to kidneys and the nervous system. <

The health risk damages Wisconsin's reputation as a destination for fishing vacations. That, in turn, poses a risk to lakeside resorts and other tourism businesses that contribute to the state's economy. <

Coal-fired power plants represent a significant source of the mercury in lakes. Last year, the Natural Resources Board approved a plan to reduce those emissions, but the Legislature balked. Months of negotiation have produced a new version of the regulations, which the Natural Resources Board will consider at a two-day meeting starting today in Milwaukee. <

The new version is regrettably weaker. It would require utilities to cut mercury emissions 75 percent by 2015. Last year's version would have imposed an 80 percent reduction. <

Nonetheless, the state's plan is an improvement over a federal plan under development in the Bush administration. The state's plan is better for both public health - because it gets mercury levels reduced sooner - and for utilities - because it allows reductions to be made at less cost. <

For example, the state's 75 percent reduction target is equivalent to the Bush administration's 70 percent target, when differences in measuring methods are considered. But the state's 2015 deadline is stricter than the 2018 deadline contemplated by the Bush administration. In addition, the state plan includes an incentive for utilities to make reductions earlier in the timetable. <

Furthermore, while the administration's plan would require utilities to meet the target plant by plant, the state regulations adopt an overall target. That means utilities can decide to make reductions according to the plants where it would be most cost-effective, as long as the overall reduction is met. <

Federal regulation will be more important than state action because when mercury emissions are in the atmosphere, they do not abide by state boundaries. In addition, Wisconsin regulations would be superseded by federal regulation, if and when it takes effect. <

But with the Bush administration proposal now on hold pending further analysis, it is important for Wisconsin to act. Wisconsin needs state regulation not only to protect public health and the economy but also to create a model for federal action that improves upon the plan the Bush administration was preparing. <

It is disappointing that Wisconsin's mercury reduction proposal is not stronger. But it is a step forward - a step worth taking.