New Energy Future Program News

CONCORD – In response to a new legislative proposal unveiled today for reduction of mercury pollution from power plants, the New Hampshire Clean Power Coalition has restated and emphasized their vision of smart policy decisions for future generations and a strong economy without relaxing mercury reductions. The Coalition’s vision is consistent with SB128, a mercury bill that was approved by the state Senate last spring but has since lost steam in the House.

“The people of New Hampshire shouldn’t have to wait any longer for relief from mercury pollution,” said Doug Bogen, representing the NH Clean Power Coaltion. “New Hampshire has the opportunity to get it right, without pollution trading or putting undue burden on ratepayers – this proposal as written is simply the wrong approach.”

The legislation, proposed by Representative Larry Ross of Peterborough, Chair of the NH House Committee on Science, Technology and Energy, was released to the public in the Legislative Office Building in Concord. It will be taken up for hearings and debate by the legislature in 2006.

“This bill makes PSNH look good by coupling mercury control with sulfur reductions, but in fact, New Hampshire law already requires strong sulfur reductions, said Carl Paulsen of the NH Rivers Council. “Given the age and condition of these plants, the company is likely to have to install sulfur scrubbers in the near future because of federal law anyway. This proposal is simply sugar coated with sulfur controls to make the weaker mercury controls more palatable.”

All other New England states that have coal burning power plants have already enacted strong laws to regulate mercury emissions, along with New Jersey and Wisconsin. In June 2002, Connecticut approved a 90 percent reduction of mercury emissions from the state’s coal fired power plants, to be applied by July, 2008.

The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection released final rules in May 2004 that call for an 85 percent reduction of mercury emissions by 2008, followed by a 95 percent reduction by 2012. Emissions trading is prohibited, and limited alternative local mitigation is allowed for just two plants until 2012, when the exempted plants will be required to meet the standard.

“All we want is for New Hampshire to achieve some consistency with our neighboring states’ mercury regulations,” said Erika Staaf of the New Hampshire Public Interest Research Group. “We’d like to see equal if not greater mercury reduction commitments and comparable timelines to other states, so that we can eventually eliminate our mercury hotspots in the state, as well as breathe a bit easier.”

“New Hampshire has a serious mercury contamination problem that requires bold action by this Legislature,” said Catherine Bowes, Mercury Program Manager for the National Wildlife Federation. We will not see relief from the high levels of mercury in our fish an wildlife until the state’s major sources of emissions are required to reduce their pollution as much as possible using cost-effective, available technology.

The Clean Power Coalition:
• Supports the adoption of mercury reduction technology in advance of this bill’s 2013 deadline. Four other neighboring states have enacted laws to reduce mercury in a timely and sensible manner, instead of complicating the process with loopholes that will delay reductions of mercury emissions.
• Urges the use of existing or emerging technology to control 90 percent of the mercury from the largest unregulated sources of mercury in our state. The current proposal adopts an 80 percent reduction requirement, allowing higher mercury emissions than the bill passed last session by the Senate.
• Does not support inter-pollutant trading. The proposal that was announced today allows mercury reduction credits to be exchanged for sulfur dioxide credits, which will specifically weaken current law by increasing the existing state cap for sulfur dioxide, another harmful pollutant.
• Supports real mercury pollution reductions to be required by law. New Hampshire can and should pass legislation that will set the standard for the rest of the nation, rather than setting an uncertain course that bolsters the very federal mercury rule that New Hampshire is currently suing to overturn.

The Clean Power Coalition is a diverse group of statewide public interest, consumer, conservation, public health, faith-based and recreation organizations representing over 24,000 New Hampshire citizens who care about healthy children, safe communities and continued protection of our environment and wildlife.