Subject: EPA Mercury Determination
From: [email-masked]
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Date: Thu, 14 Dec 2000 08:02:00 -0800 (PST)

EPA's Mercury determination was released today.  It can be accessed at 
www.epa.gov/mercury

It will likely take some time for EPA to develop these regulations -- the 
time frame is proposed rule by 2003 and final rule by 2004 -- but this is a 
significant step in that it now formally puts mercury on the radar screen for 
power generators, in terms of planning for emissions controls.

It is a positive step that EPA included in its determination an intent to 
develop "flexible" compliance measures -- i.e. trading -- for mercury.  It 
also means that mercury will most likely be included in any efforts to 
develop "multi-pollutant" legislation in the next Congress.

Please call me if you have any questions.

_________________

THURSDAY, DEC. 14, 2000

EPA DECIDES MERCURY EMISSIONS FROM
POWER PLANTS MUST BE REDUCED

To protect public health and the environment, EPA Administrator Carol M. 
Browner today announced that the Clinton Administration will require 
reductions, for the first time ever, of  harmful mercury emissions from 
coal-fired power plants -- the largest source of such emissions in America.  
After extensive study, EPA determined mercury emissions from power plants 
pose significant hazards to public health and must be reduced.  The agency 
will propose regulations by 2003 and issue final rules by 2004.

"Mercury from power plants settles over waterways, polluting rivers and 
lakes, and contaminating fish. Exposure to mercury poses real risks to public 
health, especially to children and developing fetuses," Browner said.  "The 
greatest source of mercury emissions is power plants, and they have never 
been required to control these emissions before now.  Today's decision to 
address this problem marks a major step forward in the Clinton 
Administration's ongoing efforts to protect public health and the 
environment."

Exposure to mercury has been associated with both neurological and 
developmental damage in humans. The developing fetus is the most sensitive to 
mercury's effects, which include damage to nervous system development. People 
are exposed to mercury primarily through eating fish that have been 
contaminated when mercury from power plants and other sources is deposited to 
water bodies.  Once mercury enters water, biological processes can transform 
it into methylmercury, a highly toxic form of mercury that builds up in 
animal and human tissues.  EPA recommends that subsistence fisherman, 
pregnant women, and others should always heed state fishing advisories.

Under the Clean Air Act, EPA is required to study toxic air pollution from 
power plants in order to determine if additional regulations are necessary in 
order to protect public health.  EPA reported its study to Congress in 
February 1998.  That study concluded that of all toxic pollution examined, 
mercury posed the greatest concern to public health.  An earlier study 
concluded that the largest source of human-made mercury pollution in
America was coal-fired power plants.

After completion of the study, the Clean Air Act required EPA to determine 
whether to proceed with the development of regulations.  Today, EPA is 
announcing that it has affirmatively decided that mercury air emissions from 
power plants should be regulated, because mercury poses the greatest hazards 
to public health.

EPA will propose regulations by December 2003 and will begin developing those 
regulations shortly.  Industry, the public, and state, local and tribal 
governments will have an opportunity to participate in the process.  Then, 
EPA will issue final regulations by December 2004.

The Clinton Administration already has taken a number of aggressive actions 
to reduce mercury air pollution, including significantly reducing allowable 
emissions from municipal waste combustors, medical waste incinerators and 
hazardous waste combustors.  When fully implemented in 2005, the existing 
rules will reduce total human-caused mercury emissions by nearly 50 percent 
from 1990 levels nationwide.

On November 11, 2000 President Clinton called for a dramatic new approach to 
reduce air pollution from America's power plants.  The President highlighted 
the benefits of adopting a combined strategy to address all of the major 
pollutants emitted by power plants, including mercury, sulfur dioxide, 
nitrogen oxides and carbon dioxide.  A comprehensive strategy that addresses 
all of these pollutants together will provide more certainty and flexibility 
to industry, making it the most cost-effective way to control the emissions 
that threaten public health and the environment.  As the Clean Air Act 
requires, the regulatory process to control mercury will proceed under 
current law.  However, at the same time, the Administration encourages the 
Executive Branch and the Congress to work toward legislating a comprehensive 
four pollutant approach, which will benefit the public health, the 
environment, and the economy.

Today's decision will appear soon in the Federal Register, but is accessible 
immediately on EPA's mercury web site at: www.epa.gov/mercury   Also, today 
EPA is posting, on its website, mercury emissions from every coal-fired power 
plant in the country.  This is consistent with EPA's strong commitment to 
provide citizens with information about pollution in their communities.

Jeffrey Keeler
Director, Environmental Strategies
Enron
1775 Eye Street, N.W.  Suite 800
Washington, D.C.  20006
(202) 466-9157 - phone
(202) 331-4717 - fax
(888) 502-6856 or [email-masked] - pager