DNR rule to cut mercury rejected
10:26 PM 8/20/03
Ron Seely Environment reporter

A rule that would force utilities to reduce mercury emissions was sent back to the Department of Natural Resources Wednesday by the Assembly's Natural Resources Committee.

State Rep. DuWayne Johnsrud, R-Eastman, chairman of the committee, said the proposal was too costly. He also said the state rule would duplicate a federal mercury reduction program due to be announced in December.

"They're under a court order to have a plan by December," Johnsrud said of the federal Environmental Protection Agency. "So why are we rushing in?"

The committee voted 9-2 to send the rule back to the DNR, but made no specific suggestions for changing the proposal.

The rule would have forced major utilities to cut mercury emissions by 40 percent by 2010 and 80 percent by 2015.

Mercury comes from burning fossil fuels, such as coal, and travels through the air. It settles in lakes, where it is taken up by fish and animals and humans who eat the fish. It is a neurotoxin and even at small levels can interfere with development of the nervous system.

Backers of the rule condemned the vote. State Rep. Spencer Black, D-Madison, said he didn't buy the argument of allowing the federal government to regulate mercury.

"Waiting for the Bush administration to protect the environment is like waiting for the Brewers to win the pennant," Black said. "You can always hope but don't hold your breath."

George Meyer, executive director of the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation, said he also disagrees with letting the regulatory task fall to the federal government. It's unlikely those rules will be strict enough to make a difference, he said.

"If the committee believes that the federal government is going to adopt mercury emission rules that will effectively reduce mercury in our lakes, fish and kids, it is whistling past the graveyard," Meyer said.

Bob Miller, chairman of the fisheries committee of the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation, said a state rule is necessary because every stream and lake in the state is listed by the DNR as having fish that may be contaminated by mercury.

Wisconsin utilities, he said, are the single largest contributor of the mercury.

But Johnsrud said the proposal would penalize Wisconsin utilities for mercury pollution that comes from power plants in nearby states.