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Mercury Action Center
7-11-06
As things ended up, during compromise negotiations on a House
amendment to SB 1201, we heard Industry and the unions
split over discussions for a compromise bill, and all walked away from the
negotiating table. The legislature passed
the state budget, and has gone home for the summer. No further action can be taken until they
return in late September. Thus
allowing the DEP Hearing Process to move forward. We now need to get an overwhelming turnout
at the public hearings (July 25 in Pittsburgh, July 26 in Harrisburg, July
27 in Philadelphia) and massive numbers of written comments on the mercury
rule are needed. Click here for those details…..
Please let us know if
you’d be willing to testify at one of the hearings.
Sample Letter to DEP
6-28-06
SB 1201 was re-referred back to the House
Environmental Resources Committee.
We hope that Chairman Adolph will now allow the bill to move thru
the proper channels and allow the process of the DEP hearings to move
forward this summer.
6-22-06
Mercury Bill Alert:
SB 1201 passed in the Senate on Tuesday.
This is the bill that would stop the DEP Mercury Reduction proposal
process from moving forward with public hearings and comments.
The standard procedure would be for the
bill to be referred to the House Environmental Resources
Committee. However, House leadership referred the bill to House
Rules, which is pretty much controlled by Republican leadership. It
was possibly done because Rep. Adolph, Chairman of the Enviro
Committee, was quoted as saying he would not move the bill until the bill
was given proper scrutiny and made stronger than the federal rule.
The House Rules Committee, without advertisement that it
would be reviewed, moved the bill back out of committee this afternoon, and
to the full House for a vote. First consideration was given this
afternoon. A final vote could be taken as early as Tuesday.
This is an unbelievable
event. It is imperative that you make calls to your Representative
now, and let them know that we are watching, and we expect this bill to be
allowed to move through the proper channels, and not dealt with in some
backroom maneuver. Let them know that we support allowing the DEP
process to move forward with the public hearings and comment period.
This is especially important if your representative is in
leadership.
Find your legislator: http://www.legis.state.pa.us/
Please call
now!
Reps. Adolph &
George (Chairmen of the Enviro
Committee) need to also hear from our clubs that we want
them to make a floor motion on recommitting SB 1201 to the EREC.
Rep. Adolph:
717-787-1248
Rep. George:
717-787-7316
Please remember to thank
them both for their strong leadership on this issue.
6-20-06
Senate Passes
SB
1201
If passed by the House and signed by the
Governor, this bill would prevent the DEP mercury rule process from moving
forward, and would prevent DEP from implementing any regulations stronger
than the current federal rule.
SB 1201 White, Mary Jo (R) (PN 1735) The Clean Air Mercury Compliance
Act seeks to achieve by 2018 a reduction in mercury emissions at PA
electric generating facilities of 86% from 1999 emission levels and 94%
measured from the coal feed; and to provide PA with the opportunity to
participate in a national emissions trading program for mercury which is
similar to the cost-effective national acid rain control program enacted in
the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990. The legislation requires the
Department of Environmental Protection to incorporate by reference the provisions
of 40 CFR Pt. 60, Subpt. HHHH (relating to
emission guidelines and compliance times for coalfired
electric steam generating units) as published in the May 18, 2005, Federal
Register into the permitting program referred to in the Air Pollution Control
Act, and into other appropriate programs, if any, under the supervision and
control of the Department of Environmental Protection, and to issue
emission allowances to affected sources consistent with EPA's model
allocation method. The Environmental Quality Board would not have the power
to promulgate regulations relating to the control of mercury emissions from
coal-fired electric steam generating units which exceed or contravene 40
CFR Pt. 60 Subpt. HHHH as published in the May
18, 2005, Federal Register.
Jun 20, 2006 - S-Third
consideration and Final Passage by a vote of 40 YEAS 10 NAYS
No
Votes:
Dinniman
Costa
Ferlo
Fumo
Greenleaf
Rafferty
Tomlinson
Vance
Washington
C.
Williams
Please
take a moment to thank those Senators who voted against the bill. Senator Ferlo
gave an extremely good floor speech; he was the only one to speak against
the bill.
Senate votes
to stop Rendell's bid for tougher mercury rule
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
By Marc
Levy, The Associated Press
HARRISBURG
-- The state Senate approved legislation yesterday that would stop Gov. Ed
Rendell from forcing coal-fired power plants to reduce mercury emissions
more than federal law requires.
The 40-10 vote sends the bill to an
uncertain future in the House, where the chairman of the Environmental
Resources and Energy Committee said the measure must force deeper mercury
reductions to get out of his committee and get Mr. Rendell's signature.
"We must do better than the
federal regulation," said Rep. William F. Adolph Jr., R-Delaware.
The House will be up against a ticking
clock: A regulatory review of the Rendell administration's proposed mercury
rule is expected to conclude in the fall and does not need approval from
the Legislature to become official.
The legislation's passage in the
Senate came after months of intense lobbying in the Capitol by the Rendell
administration, power companies, business groups and environmental
advocates.
Supporters of the legislation said there
is no proof that a tougher mercury rule would provide any health benefits.
In addition, they said, the cost of complying with Mr. Rendell's proposed
rule would force some smaller coal-fired power plants out of business,
drive up electricity bills and send power plant jobs to neighboring states.
Opponents said a tougher mercury rule
would better protect public health in a state that has the second-highest
mercury emissions in the United States
and make Pennsylvania
a more attractive place for people to visit and live.
Under the federal rule, Pennsylvania is
projected to reduce its mercury emissions by 86 percent by approximately
2026, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. The exact year is
not clear because power plants can extend the reduction deadline, for
instance, by buying "credits" from power plants in other states
that have reduced their mercury emissions below required levels.
Capitolwire: Senate passes mercury emissions
reduction bill.
By Cate McKissick
Correspondent
Capitolwire
HARRISBURG (June 20) - The state
Senate voted 40-10 Tuesday for legislation requiring coal-fired power
plants to reduce their 1999 mercury emissions by 86 percent over the next
12 years.
Sen. Mary Jo White, R-Venango, who
sponsored Senate Bill 1201, said on the Senate floor that this legislation
would protect not only those affected by mercury pollution – specifically,
babies and pregnant women – but Pennsylvania
jobs, as well.
“This bill had a strong bipartisan
vote out of committee,” she said.
But Sen. Jim Ferlo,
D-Allegheny, said that approval of the bill “would be a vote that would act
against the health and well-being of those who are most vulnerable in our
society – quite frankly, babies and their mothers.”
Senate Bill 1201 follows the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency’s plan to use a system of capping and
trading mercury emissions allowances to reduce 1999 emissions levels by 86
percent by 2018.
Emissions trading, a controversial
method of pollution control, allows plants that exceed federal standards to
accumulate credits that can be sold to industries that are not able to meet
their standards. In essence, clean industries are financially rewarded,
while polluting industries must pay a premium.
The federal Clean Air Mercury Rule, adopted by the EPA, calls for a 70-percent
reduction from 1999 mercury emissions levels by 2018.
Mercury, which is primarily ingested
by humans from eating fish, can cause brain defects in children, when
pregnant women consume too much fish contaminated with mercury.
Ferlo
contended – as the state Department of Environmental Protection has – that
Senate Bill 1201 does not go far enough to reduce mercury emissions,
putting young children at risk.
“A vote in favor [of Senate Bill 1201]
is a vote for toxic polluters,” Ferlo said. He
also claimed the legislation would “further the toothless federal rules and
regulations” for protecting the environment and “condemn the most delicate
with birth defects.”
“This legislation is not about hurting
babies and children,” White retorted after Ferlo
spoke. “I think that’s insulting to members of the [Senate] Environmental
Committee, who sat through these hearings, listened to toxicologists,
reviewed reports and were given this anecdotal evidence.”
White, who chairs the Senate
Environmental Resources and Energy Committee, cited a nationwide study of
women of childbearing age, infant and children, conducted by the U.S.
Centers for Disease Control, that she said “found
not a single case where mercury levels approach the level that might have
adverse health effects.”
White also noted that people do not
absorb mercury in the environment by breathing it in or touching it, but by
eating fish.
White, a former corporate officer for
the Quaker State oil company, recalled how the
regulation of oil refineries doomed almost all small oil refineries in the
state.
“Let’s not make the same mistake,” she
said. “… This is about protecting Pennsylvanians, our children, our women
and our jobs.”
During an April 25 hearing before the
Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee, Department of
Environmental Protection Secretary Kathleen McGinty
said the federal mercury rule set too slow a timeline and did too little to
cut mercury emissions.
The EPA plan would adversely impact Pennsylvania’s
economy, forcing jobs and energy dollars to leave the state, she said.
McGinty also
said it would be impossible to determine real reductions in mercury emissions,
since the federal plan called for emissions-trading credits.
Spokesmen for DEP could not be reached
for comment after Senate Bill 1201 was passed Tuesday afternoon.
On Monday, New Jersey Attorney General
Zulima Farber filed a petition in federal court
challenging the EPA's new mercury pollution rules on behalf of New Jersey, Pennsylvania
and 14 other states, The Associated Press reported.
The petition asks a U.S. District
Court judge in Washington,
D.C., to reactivate a lawsuit
filed last year on behalf of the states challenging the cap and trade
system.
During the Senate floor debate on
Senate Bill 1201, Ferlo said that efforts to
address health concerns are often obstructed by concerns about the economic
impact of taking action. He said he was “tired of always pitting one
against the other. I want my cake and eat it, too.”
But Sen. Raphael Musto,
D-Luzerne, the minority chairman of the Environmental Resources and Energy
Committee, said that Senate Bill 1201 was intended to bring Pennsylvania in
compliance with the federal mercury reduction rules. He said it was “being
misunderstood that Senate Bill 1201 actually will reduce environmental
standards here in Pennsylvania.
It does not.”
Rather, he said, it will cut mercury
emissions by 86 percent by 2018.
“Senate Bill 1201 provides flexibility
to achieve significant mercury emission reductions in a cost-effective
manner that preserves jobs, limits energy cost increases, and, most
importantly, protects the public health,” Musto
said.
Voting against the bill were Ferlo; Democrats Jay Costa of Allegheny County, Andy Dinniman of Chester County, Vince Fumo
and Leanna Washington of Philadelphia, and Connie
Williams of Montgomery County; and Republicans Stewart Greenleaf and John
Rafferty of Montgomery County, Robert “Tommy” Tomlinson of Bucks County,
and Patricia Vance of Cumberland County.
(Capitolwire
staff reporter Christopher Lilienthal contributed to this report.)
From Senator
White:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 20, 2006
White:
Reducing Mercury Emissions Better Protects Public Health
(Harrisburg) - State
Senator Mary Jo White (R-Venango), chair of the Senate Environmental
Resources and Energy Committee, today announced that the state Senate has
approved Senate Bill 1201, a bill she introduced along with State Senator
Raphael J. Musto (D-14) to reduce mercury
emissions from coal-fired power plants.
Musto serves as the Democratic chairman
of the Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee. Senate
Bill 1201 now goes to the House of Representatives for consideration.
Similar legislation (HB 2610) has been introduced in the House by State
Representative Dave Reed (R-Indiana).
Senate
Bill 1201 will require mercury emission reductions of 86 percent over 1999
levels no later than 2018. It also directs use of the emissions
trading program authorized under the federal Clean Air Act. Emission
trading has proven to be a highly successful means of reducing pollutant
discharges quickly and cost-efficiently, while also encouraging some
facilities to over-comply with air quality standards.
“Today’s
vote demonstrates the Senate’s commitment to protecting the public’s health
-- especially among our most vulnerable citizens and the unborn -- in a
balanced manner that protects jobs, minimizes the impact on electric bills,
and preserves our generating capacity,” said White. The legislation
also rejects a flawed regulatory approach adopted by the Department of
Environmental Protection (DEP), which would have provided no added public
health benefit above the reductions to be achieved under Senate Bill
1201. Legal experts also advised legislators that the DEP proposal
was unconstitutional.
Mercury,
a naturally occurring element, can affect the development of fetuses and
young children if ingested in significant quantities over a sustained
period of time. The primary pathway to humans of methylmercury
– the specific form of mercury regulated under Senate Bill 1201 – is
through eating fish. Methylmercury poses no
danger from inhalation or physical contact.
The
Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee recently concluded
three public hearings on efforts to reduce mercury emissions. The
committee heard testimony from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, PA
Department of Environmental Protection, PA Department of Health, coal,
business, sportsmen, as well as public health experts, toxicologists and
environmental organizations.
“We
have a responsibility to take steps to reduce mercury emissions and protect
the health of every Pennsylvanian,” said White. White noted that data
indicates mercury emissions from Pennsylvania
power plants have already been reduced by 33 percent since 1999.
Complete
information on the Senate committee’s public hearings on mercury emission reductions
is available online at www.senatormjwhite.com (choose “Senate Environmental Resources
and Energy Committee”).
Additional information on Senate Bill 1201 is also attached.
#
# #
Contact:
Patrick Henderson (717) 787-9684
From
Senator White:
Reducing Mercury Emissions from
Coal-Fired Power Plants
·
SB 1201 implements the Clean Air Mercury Rule. By 2018 power plants
are required to reduce mercury emissions by 86% compared to 1999 emission
levels.
·
The Senate Environmental Resources & Energy Committee has held three
public hearings on reducing mercury emissions from coal-fired power
plants. Representatives from US EPA, DEP, Department of Health,
environmental, business and industry, power generator, sportsmen, public
health, coal operator and mine worker organizations have testified.
Testimony and transcripts from the hearings is available online at www.senatormjwhite.com/environmental.html.
·
Mercury deposition comes from local, regional and global sources.
Approximately 1% of mercury emissions come from U.S. coal-fired power plants;
about 50% of mercury emissions come from natural sources, such as volcanoes
and geysers.
·
The pathway for methylmercury – the specific type
of mercury under discussion – into humans is through ingestion of
fish. According to the Department of Health and other public health
experts, mercury is a toxicant that can impact the neurological and
developmental behaviors of humans, primarily affecting the brain, spinal
cord, kidneys and liver if ingested and accumulated in sufficient
quantities.
·
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control conducted a nationwide study of women
of childbearing age, infants, young children and
found no evidence that mercury blood levels among the population approached
that required to cause adverse health effects.
·
To the extent that mercury exposure could pose an adverse health risk, it
is incumbent on policymakers to take reasonable precautions to protect the
public health.
·
Testimony indicates DEP’s proposed mercury rule is unconstitutional, and
will lead to lost jobs, higher energy costs, a potential reduction in the
Commonwealth’s electric generating capacity and provide no added health
benefit above those achieved in SB 1201.
·
Mercury emissions from PA coal-fired power plants have already decreased
33% since 1999, a result of co-benefits from installing multi-pollutant
control technology.
·
No connection has been established between purported “hotspots” of mercury
deposition and increased health risk to local residents. Enhanced
exposure to mercury “hotspots” requires local bodies of water and a
population which eats significant quantities of locally-caught fish – a
cause and effect not established by either DEP or public health experts.
·
DEP and EPA data indicates that, by 2015, 90% of the generating capacity in
Pennsylvania
will have installed advanced pollution control technologies to further
reduce mercury emissions, NOx, and SO2.
·
SB 1201 provides flexibility to achieve significant mercury emission
reductions in a cost-effective manner that preserves jobs, limits energy
cost increases and protects the public’s health.
·
SB 1201 is supported by broad coalition of labor, business and coal
associations, including:
§
United Mine Workers of America
§
PA Conference of Teamsters
§
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
§
PA Coal Association
§
Electric Power Generation Association
§
PA Chamber of Business & Industry
§
PA Chemical Industry Council
§
Associated Petroleum Industries of PA
§
PA Manufacturers’ Association
From PennFuture:
PennFuture Calls State Senate’s Passage
of Toxic Mercury Bill a Tragic Mistake;
Defeat for Pennsylvania’s
Families and Victory for Polluters
Must Not Be Repeated by House
Vote out of Step with Four out of Five
Pennsylvanians Who Want Strong Mercury Rules
Harrisburg, PA – Citizens for Pennsylvania’s
Future (PennFuture) today urged members of the
Pennsylvania House of Representatives to reject all bills that would block
the state’s Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) proposed rules
requiring coal-fired power plants to reduce their toxic mercury pollution
by 90 percent by 2015. This call came after the State Senate’s passage of
one such bill, SB 1201, by a vote of 40 to 10, despite the fact that 80
percent of Pennsylvanians support DEP’s proposal.
“This debate now goes to the House of
Representatives where a critical decision about Pennsylvania’s future will be made,”
said John Hanger, president and CEO of PennFuture.
“The House can support the state rule and by doing so, keep Pennsylvania moving
forward, or it can side with those who would drag us back.”
Mercury is a powerful neurotoxin that can
interfere with the proper development of babies’ brains and lead to
learning disabilities, attention deficit disorder and delays in speaking
and motor development. Pennsylvania
power plants are the nation’s second largest source of toxic mercury
pollution and fish in lakes, rivers and streams statewide are contaminated
with mercury.
SB 1201 would stop the DEP mercury rulemaking and
force Pennsylvania to fall back on an illegal federal rule that allows
power plants to buy pollution allowances instead of installing pollution
control equipment to actually clean up. Proponents of SB 1201 incorrectly
claim that the federal rule will create nearly as much in mercury
reductions as the state plan. But a Congressional Research Service study
found that mercury emissions would be reduced by at most only 70 percent by
2030 because of the banking and trading scheme of the federal rule.
A poll recently conducted by Madonna Opinion
Research shows that 80 percent of Pennsylvanians want mercury pollution cut
at every power plant and do not want a system that allows plants to buy
pollution allowances rather than cleaning up, as the federal rule would do.
“The senators who voted no despite the enormous
pressure put on them by the polluters and their supporters should be proud
that they stood tall,” continued Hanger. “And DEP Secretary Kathleen McGinty should be extremely proud of her leadership for
Pennsylvania’s
public health, environment and economy. History will show her as a
courageous and visionary public servant.”
PennFuture is a statewide public interest membership
organization with offices in Harrisburg, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia,
and the newly opened Center for Energy, Enterprise
and the Environment in West Chester. PennFuture has been called “Pennsylvania’s leading environmental
organization” by the Philadelphia
Inquirer.
From Labor
& Business:
Labor,
business coalition applauds senate passage of bill to reduce mercury
emissions.
Text of June 20 press release.
Senate Approves Bill Requiring an
86% Reduction in Mercury Emissions From Power Plants
HARRISBURG (June 20) -- A labor,
business and coal industry coalition today applauded action by the Senate
of Pennsylvania which overwhelmingly approved bipartisan legislation
requiring an 86 percent reduction in mercury emissions from coal-fired
power plants in a way that protects Pennsylvania’s environment, public
health and economy.
The proposal is contained in Senate
Bill 1201, the Clean Air Mercury Compliance Act, which was approved by a 40 to 10 vote of the Senate.
The coalition includes: the United
Mine Workers of America, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers,
Pennsylvania Coal Association, Electric Power Generation Association,
Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry, Pennsylvania Manufacturers
Association, Pennsylvania Chemical Industry Council, Associated Petroleum
Industries of Pennsylvania, and the newest member, the Pennsylvania
Conference of Teamsters.
“We support this common sense
legislation because it will not only significantly reduce mercury
emissions, but also gives power plants incentives for early reductions of
mercury in a cost-effective way that protects jobs and electric customers
in Pennsylvania,” said Douglas L. Biden, President, Electric Power
Generation Association. “We look forward to discussing this issue further
with the House of Representatives and the Rendell Administration.”
“This bill will require power plant
owners to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in advanced clean air
controls to reduce mercury emissions, covering 90 percent of the power
plants in Pennsylvania,
according to DEP” said Edward D. Yankovich,
International Vice President, United Mine Workers
of America. “Installing these controls means these plants could continue to
burn Pennsylvania
coal and help protect mine worker jobs.”
“The risk of power plants switching to
coal mined in other states is very real, because Pennsylvania coal has
twice the mercury content of coal from other states,” according to George
L. Ellis, President of the Pennsylvania Coal Association. “If this
legislation is not adopted, power generators will have no choice but to
consider switching to out-of-state coal with a much
lower mercury content and our jobs will go with it.”
In contrast to the bipartisan Senate
proposal, a mercury rule proposed by the Department of Environmental
Protection puts at risk of premature retirement a significant amount of our
coal-fired electric generating capacity. Smaller, older plants would be at
risk because it would be cost-prohibitive to put on the most expensive air
pollution controls.
“Studies show there is virtually no
difference between adopting this legislation and zeroing out all mercury
emissions from all power plants in the U.S.,” said Donald Siegel,
International Vice President, International
Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. “80 percent of the mercury consumed by
Americans comes from ocean and saltwater fish that would not be affected by
reducing U.S.
utility mercury emissions.”
In fact, power plants in Pennsylvania already
have reduced mercury emissions by 33 percent from 1999 to 2004, according
to the federal Toxics Release Inventory and yet this significant reduction
did not even register on the state’s Mercury Monitoring Network, according
to DEP.
This demonstrates clearly that mercury
is coming from a variety of sources, not just local power plants, and
Senate Bill 1201 is the only proposal that facilitates Pennsylvania’s participation in a
national program to reduce mercury emissions.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control
also conducted a nationwide study of women of childbearing age, infants and
young children and found not a single case where mercury levels approached
the level that might cause adverse health effects.
“Without the incentives to install
cost-effective air pollution control equipment contained in this
legislation, power companies will have no choice but to raise electricity
prices on homeowners and businesses,” said Gene Barr, Vice President for
Political and Regulatory Affairs for the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business
and Industry. “That’s bad news for families and businesses who are already
coping with higher energy costs in other areas.”
For more background on proposals to
reduce mercury emissions from power plants, visit the www.PaEnergyNews.com
website.
Contacts: Douglas L. Biden, President
Electric Power Generation Association, 717-909-3742; Edward D. Yankovich, International Vice President, United Mine
Workers of America, 412-582-9608; Donald Siegel, International Vice
President 3rd District, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers,
412-269-4963; George L. Ellis, President Pennsylvania Coal Association,
717-236-5901; Eugene Barr, Vice President Political and Regulatory Affairs,
Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry, 717-720-5469
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