Mercury a mystery

By Rob Golub

Tuesday, June 10, 2003 11:52 AM CDT

When the state studied what a proposed coal-fired power plant expansion might do to the environment, it didn't say much about what mercury might do.

That's because the state doesn't know much about what mercury might do, said Jon Heinrich, policy analyst with the Department of Natural Resources and its Bureau of Air Management.

"We know a lot. We just don't have predictive tools," he said. "A lot of the basic research, basic science, is being conducted now."

He said mercury from smokestacks can get into lakes, rivers and fish, and that mercury is considered harmful, but science has not yet settled on a reliable way to measure its impact.

We Energies has proposed expanding the Oak Creek Power Plant, which emits pollutants, including mercury. The state Public Service Commission and the Department of Natural Resources issued a 500-page draft environmental impact statement on the proposal. The state report discusses the impact of the proposed expansion of the Oak Creek Power Plant on the environment.

Officials in Madison are expected to issue a final environmental impact statement in late July. The final version is expected to have more information on mercury.

"I think at minimum, it will be a summary of the new rules that are right now being proposed, and then maybe some discussion of mercury control," said Lauren Hambrook, a DNR engineer.

The DNR has proposed new rules for the control of mercury. The rules would require existing plants to reduce mercury by 40 percent initially, followed by a move towards 80 percent starting in 2015.

The DNR has reported that utilities didn't want rules requiring a 90 percent reduction, since that would mean a greater reliance on natural gas. Utilities say natural gas is not as reliable or as price-stable as coal.

The proposed mercury rules would not apply to new construction. Environmentalists failed to convince the DNR to restrict mercury at new plants, said Marc Looze, spokesman for Clean Wisconsin, a Madison environmental group.

But federal standards are rigorous, and We Energies has voluntarily been working to reduce emissions, said Kathleen Standen, environmental regulatory manager for We Energies.

She said the proposed expansion uses newer, less-polluting technology.

The proposed mercury rules will be reviewed by the state Natural Resources Board on June 25.

Mercury comes from both natural sources and man-made pollution. Mercury becomes dangerous when it is transformed by bacteria and when it accumulates in fish.

Mercury can travel to other regions. Science has yet to determine exactly how much mercury emitted from a coal-fired smokestack will remain in Wisconsin waterways. This "local deposition" could be anywhere from 5 to 40 percent, and even that's a rough estimate, Heinrich said.

Looze said mercury at Oak Creek will double, roughly, if We Energies' expansion plan is approved. His estimate assumes none of the currently operating generators will close under the utility's "Power the Future" plan. Standen said emissions will fall by more than 80 percent.

"Under Power the Future, there is no specific plan to install mercury pollution controls at Oak Creek," Looze said.

But, Standen said, that's due to their being no technology available to control just mercury. She said some of the pollution control technologies We Energies will use can have a secondary impact on mercury.

Meanwhile, there's some question as to whether the proposed plant expansion can be rejected by the PSC on the basis of mercury pollution. It has already been reported that the three commissioners on the Public Service Commission may not consider air quality, as long as the proposed plant meets DNR standards.

Nevertheless, Clean Wisconsin attorney Pam McGillivray said she believes the PSC can make a decision that takes mercury pollution into account.

In an interview, Linda Barth, spokeswoman for the Public Service Commission, seemed to agree.

When asked about mercury, she said commissioners, by law, can consider "the cost of health impacts and ecological balance." But, she added, mercury is just one factor for the commissioners to consider.

She said: "I think the key is that this is a much broader picture and there are many factors that they consider."

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