Colorado mercury emissions higher? !!!

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Colorado mercury emissions higher?

By Kim McGuire

Denver Post Staff Writer

DenverPost.com

Article Last Updated:12/10/2006 11:06:22 PM MST

http://www.denverpost.com/ci_4817066

Toxic mercury emissions from Colorado's coal-fired power plants may be two

to three times higher than estimates reported to federal environmental

regulators, according to new industry data.

The data comes from advanced monitoring systems recently installed by Xcel

Energy at its Comanche and Pawnee power plants.

Public health officials say the new data raises questions about whether

Colorado's 12 coal-fired power plants may be emitting higher levels of

mercury than thought.

" We're very concerned, " said Pam Milmoe, air/waste coordinator for Boulder

County Public Health. " If these plants are emitting higher levels of

mercury, then that certainly gives us pause about the state of the

environment in Colorado. "

Federal studies estimate about 40 percent of the mercury in the

environment comes from power plants.

The levels of mercury in the environment here are only traces, but they

can be concentrated in the food chain.

Elevated levels of mercury already have been found in fish in Colorado in

seven lakes and reservoirs, and pregnant women have been advised by the

state to limit their consumption of fish from these areas.

Very young children are more sensitive to mercury than adults, and in a

mother's body, it passes to the fetus. It also can pass to a nursing

infant through breast milk.

In adults, mercury can damage the brain and kidneys.

The new emissions data were submitted to the state air-pollution control

commission in November. The commission is considering, for the first time,

placing limits on the mercury that coal-fired power plants can release. A

decision is expected in late January.

State environmental regulators say they don't know how much mercury

coal-fired power plants are emitting and probably won't know until 2009,

when federal regulators are requiring the utility industry to install

continuous emission-monitoring systems at coal-burning plants.

" Our knowledge about mercury is evolving - it's not as straightforward as

other pollutants, " said Tourangeau, the state health department's

air-pollution control division director.

Environmentalists have criticized state and federal regulators for not

having a better grasp of coal-fired power plant mercury emissions.

" The debate now over how much mercury pollution is released in Colorado

only highlights the importance of getting effective pollution-control

strategies in place at these plants, " said Vickie Patton, a Boulder- based

attorney for Environmental Defense.

Xcel voluntarily installed monitors at its Comanche plant near Pueblo this

summer and the Pawnee plant near Brush this fall.

The monitors found that Comanche was discharging the equivalent of 3.9

pounds of mercury for a set amount of heat produced from coal and that

Pawnee was emitting 9.9 pounds.

In reports to the federal Environmental Protection Agency, Xcel had

estimated Comanche emitted 2.7 pounds and Pawnee 3.5 pounds.

Magno, Xcel's principal environmental analyst, said utility officials

have a great deal of confidence in the new monitoring systems but that the

data is varying plant to plant.

At the Comanche plant, the new monitors show mercury emissions are

actually lower than stack tests - another way to measure emissions.

The new monitors at the Pawnee plant show mercury is higher than

stack-test data.

" We believe the (continuous emission-monitoring system) data is the most

accurate, and it's how we plan on demonstrating compliance in the future, "

Magno said.

Tri-State Generation officials, however, said the new systems are " not 100

percent reliable. "

" We're still evaluating it and strategizing what will work best for us, "

said Barbara Walz, environmental services manager for Tri-State, which

serves Colorado, Nebraska and Wyoming.

The higher emission levels registered by the new monitors are one reason

the utility industry wants the state health department to adopt a higher

mercury threshold.

States are facing an EPA mandate to come up with a plan to reduce mercury

emissions from coal-fired power plants. Under the Bush administration

rule, U.S. plants must cut their emissions by 70 percent on average by

2018.

The federal program limits Colorado's emissions to 558 pounds a year in

2018. Wyoming's limit will be 752 pounds a year, and New Mexico's will be

236 pounds.

The federal rule includes a " cap and trade " provision enabling companies

to buy and sell mercury allowances.

Wyoming, Utah, and Nebraska already have submitted their plans, which

include the trading provision. Idaho and New Mexico have rejected trading.

Colorado is one of about 20 states yet to submit a plan.

Under the current state health department proposal, trading is allowed.

" It's unconscionable, " Boulder's Milmoe said. " Do you really want to look

a New Mexico mother in the eye whose child has brain damage and tell her

Colorado got a good deal by trading to a dirty plant where she lives? "

Staff writer Kim McGuire can be reached at 303-954-1240 or

kmcguire@....