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EPA OKs Mercury Plan for New England States

January 22, 2008 - AUGUSTA -- The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved a mercury cleanup plan submitted in October by the six New England states and New York. The plan calls for reducing levels of mercury in more than 10,000 lakes and streams and more than 46,000 miles of rivers.

Although the plan spells out actions to be taken on the regional level and specifies that EPA must do more to limit mercury emissions trom coal-fired power plants, EPA did not indicate that it would take any actions to enforce out-of-region clean up.

The plan not only identified for the first time how much mercury must be taken out ofthe environment to make fish safe to eat, but also established the total amount of pollutants that a body of water can receive and still meet water quality standards.

SOURCE: MOUNT DESERT ISLANDER

DATE: 01-03-2008

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