The federal government issued the first-ever rule to regulate electric utility mercury emissions.

In 1990, the Clean Air Act was amended to give the Environmental Protection Agency broad discretion in determining how to regulate mercury emissions from power plants if necessary to protect against specific threats to public health caused by these emissions.

In a 2000 regulatory determination, EPA deemed it "appropriate and necessary" to control mercury emissions from coal- and oil-based utility generators. On December 15, 2003, EPA issued a proposed rule targeting both mercury emissions from coal-based electricity steam generating units and nickel emissions from oil-based units.

On March 15, 2005, EPA issued the final Clean Air Mercury Rule (CAMR) for coal-based power plants. The CAMR utilizes a market-based cap-and-trade approach under section 111 of the Clean Air Act (CAA) that requires emission reductions in two phases: a cap of 38 tons in 2010, and 15 tons after 2018, for a total reduction of 70 percent from current levels. Facilities demonstrate compliance with the standard by holding one "allowance" for each ounce of mercury emitted in any given year. In the final rule, EPA has stated that regulation of nickel emissions from oil-fired plants is not "appropriate and necessary."

In addition to the CAMR, EPA published a final Agency action which reversed the regulatory finding that it issued in December 2000. In this action EPA states that it is not appropriate or necessary to regulate coal- and oil-based power plants under section 112 of the CAA.

Are electric utilities required to report their mercury emissions?

How are electric utility mercury emissions regulated by the federal government?

Will emissions trading cause mercury hotspots?

Are electric utilities required to report their mercury emissions?

Yes.

The electric utility industry routinely discloses its mercury emissions under the Clean Air Act. Section 114 of the Act requires that all electric utility steam-generating units provide information that allows EPA to calculate the annual mercury emissions from each unit.

Furthermore, under the agency's Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) program, electric utilities are required annually to report their chemical releases for the public's general knowledge.

Since 2001, electric utilities, along with all other reporting industries, have been reporting mercury emissions as part of their annual TRI reporting. For more information on the TRI program, visit www.epa.gov/tri.

How are electric utility mercury emissions regulated by the federal government?

The Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 authorize EPA to regulate mercury emissions and other air toxics from electric utilities if necessary to protect against specific threats to public health caused by these emissions. On December 14, 2000, EPA announced it would regulate mercury emissions from certain electric power plants.
In its 2000 regulatory determination, EPA deemed it "appropriate and necessary" to control mercury emissions from coal- and oil-based utility generators, although it acknowledged "there is no quantification of how much of the methylmercury in fish consumed by the U.S. population is due to electric utility emissions."

On December 15, 2003, EPA issued proposed mercury rules for coal- and oil-based power plants. The proposed mercury rules primarily focus on coal-based power plants, and include two alternative control plans:

• A proven, market-based cap-and-trade approach that would require emissions reductions from new and existing facilities in two phases, or
• A Maximum Achievable Control Technology (MACT) standard.

Will emissions trading cause mercury hotspots?

Emissions trading is a system of establishing a cap on emissions and allowing sources (e.g., power plants) the flexibility to choose the emissions reduction plan that works best for their situation. Trading allows a source that can over-control its emissions to sell extra reduction credits to another source for which controls would be prohibitively expensive or technologically difficult to install.

A number of scientists and others have expressed the concern that local "hotspots" would occur where emissions could increase as a result of emissions trading. There is no evidence that hotspots currently exist near coal-based power plants.
Based on many years of real-world experience, studies of the existing SO₂ allowance-trading program demonstrate that trading did not significantly change where emissions reductions actually occurred when compared to a command-and-control approach for reducing emissions.

Although some sources would purchase credits instead of using controls to reduce mercury, overall mercury emissions would still decline due to the national cap on emissions, which needs to be met. Also, emissions trading creates economic incentives, which bring about the greatest reductions from the highest-emitting sources. A national cap on mercury emissions would, therefore, work to ensure hotspots do not occur.

Based on these reasons and comprehensive analysis, EPA has stated that the regulations to control mercury emissions from power plants will not result in local hotspots.

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