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State representative, environmentalists worry energy industry will fight plans to cut pollution

By Steve Mocarsky smocarsky@timesleader.com
Staff Writer
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SCRANTON – New data shows that Pennsylvania ranks among the worst in the nation for mercury pollution from coal-fired power plants, and some fear the energy industry will try to influence legislators to derail proposed federal rules to drastically cut that pollution.

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Lackawanna River Corridor Association Executive Director Bernie McGurl, right, talks about mercury pollution emissions as state Rep. Kevin Murphy and PennEnvironment preservation associate Meredith Meisenheimer look on at Scranton City Hall on Wednesday afternoon.

BILL TARUTIS/FOR THE TIMES LEADER

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Hunlock Creek Energy Center along Route 11 in Hunlock Township once burned coal, but has been converted to natural gas.

PETE G. WILCOX/THE TIMES LEADER

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State Rep. Kevin Murphy, D-Scranton, joined representatives of two environmental groups Wednesday to discuss the data and how mercury pollution is affecting people, bodies of water such as the Susquehanna River and aquatic life.

During a press conference at City Hall, PennEnvironment Research & Policy Center released the report “Pennsylvania’s Biggest Mercury Polluters: How Cleaning Up Power Plants in the State and Across the Nation Will Protect Our Health.”

“Mercury is a dangerous neurotoxin that harms growing children and pollutes our environment, said Meredith Meisenheimer, preservation associate with PennEnvironment. “Parents in Pennsylvania shouldn’t have to worry that their children’s bodies are toxic dumping grounds.”

Mercury exposure can lead to irreversible deficits in verbal skills, damage to attention and motor control and reduced IQ. Estimates show 1 in 10 women of child-bearing age has enough mercury in her bloodstream to put her child at risk if she were pregnant, Meisenheimer said.

He said the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is moving forward new rules “to protect children’s health from toxic mercury pollution, and we can’t let big polluters stand in the way.”

The rules would require power plants to cut mercury emissions by more than 90 percent using widely available technologies. Companies would have three years to comply.

Murphy said data showing that Pennsylvania’s coal-fired power plants were the third most polluting in the country in terms of mercury were “alarming.”

The worst polluters in Pennsylvania were in western counties. UGI’s Hunlock Creek Energy Center – the only Luzerne County plant listed in the report – was ranked 17th out of 33 plants in Pennsylvania and 288th out of 457 in the nation, releasing 32 pounds. That plant has since been converted to natural gas.

Bernie McGurl, of the Lackawanna River Corridor Association, said anthracite co-generation plants in the northeast emit the least mercury, and older bituminous-fired plants release the most. He said utility companies must reduce mercury pollution by 300 to 500 pounds per year.

Murphy said even a small drop of mercury in a 25-acre lake is enough to make the fish in it unsafe to eat.

Coal-fired power plants emit mercury into the air, which then falls into waterways in rain or snow, where it builds up in fish and enters the food chain.

As a result of mercury contamination, every state in the country has issued an advisory against the consumption of species of fish that tend to have dangerous levels of mercury. In Luzerne County, there are mercury advisories on fish from Lily Lake and the Susquehanna River.

The EPA is reviewing 960,000 comments it received on the rules as it works to finalize them by Dec. 16. The agency will respond to the comments in the final rules issued next month.

Industry lobbyists and some in Congress are working to block these rules and others that limit air pollution, Meisenheimer said.

Sen. Bob Casey, D-Scranton, said through a spokeswoman that he is “concerned about the effects of mercury on children” and “believes that we can address this issue in a way that protects public health while fostering economic recovery and jobs.”

The office of Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Zionsville, did not return a request for comment.

According to the EPA, every dollar spent to reduce pollution from power plants will deliver up to $13 in economic and health benefits for businesses and the public. In total, the rules could provide as much as $140 billion worth of benefits annually.