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Solutions States Take the Lead on Mercury Pollution Find out how mercury gets into the environment. In March 2005 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized a mercury plan that lets power plants spew three times the amount of mercury pollution into our air for decades longer than strong enforcement of the Clean Air Act allows.(1) Known as the Clean Air Mercury Reduction rule (or CAMR), the plan requires states to either adopt the federal standards or propose their own standards by the end of the year. Responding to the serious shortfalls of the Clean Air Mercury Rule, many states have taken steps to avoid EPA's weak controls by enacting their own tough mercury standards. The more ambitious of these state plans will require 90% mercury reductions from coal-fired power plants and will achieve the reductions in a much shorter time than the federal plan. Studies have shown that there are commercially available and affordable technologies in use today to reach these reductions.(2) For example, in Minnesota, a locally organized campaign three plus years in the making won a huge victory in May 2006 when a stringent mercury bill was signed into law. The bill was a truly bipartisan effort, and passed unanimously in both the narrowly divided state Senate and House.(3) The bill, signed into law by Governor Pawlenty , requires mercury reductions from Minnesota's largest coal-fired power plants and will lead to a 90% reduction well before the federal deadline of 2018.(4) Several other states, including Illinois and Pennsylvania, have also passed stringent standards.Read more about the leading role states are playing in cleaning up mercury. Find out what steps your state is taking to tackle mercury pollution. References U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, "Standards of Performance for New and Existing Stationary Sources: Electric Utility Steam Generating Units." Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management (NESCAUM), "Mercury Emissions from Coal-Fired Power Plants," (October 2003) Minnesota State Legislature, HF3712 Status. Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, "Reducing Mercury Emissions from Power Plants in Minnesota," (May 2006). Up to Top HOME | Email Signup | About Us | Contact Us | Terms of Use | © 2008 Sierra Club