EPA: New Limits Proposed for Mercury Emissions

The Environmental Protection Agency is seeking tighter standards for airborne emissions of mercury from new and existing sewage-sludge incineration units. Such units often are located at wastewater-treatment facilities.

The proposal, announced on Sept. 30, would cut mercury emissions by 75%, EPA says. The agency plan would require many wastewater-treatment facilities to install controls such as high-efficiency scrubbers and fabric filters. The proposal would not apply to incinerators at commercial, industrial and institutional facilities.

The proposed rule would take effect in 2015. EPA estimates complying with the requirements would cost $105 million per year for all currently operating units. The agency says it expects to issue a final rule in 2011.

Pam Hunter McFarland was a Senior Editor of ENR and her expertise was: Sourcebooks, Environment, Labor

Tom Ichniowski has been writing about the federal government as ENR’s Washington Bureau Chief since the George H.W. Bush administration, and he has covered at least five major highway bills. A recognized expert on government policy on infrastructure and regulation, Tom is also a Baltimore native and Orioles fan who grew up rooting for Brooks and Frank Robinson. He is a graduate of Columbia College and Columbia’s graduate school of journalism, where he once used “unrelentless” in a headline.

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