Pa. Mercury Limits May Outdo Government's

[jpak]

http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/nat-gen/2006/feb/21/022106714.html

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Pennsylvania's coal-fired power plants would have to cut mercury emissions by 90 percent within a decade under a plan that would make the state the first major coal producer with stricter mercury regulations than the federal government.

The proposal, which the administration of Gov. Ed Rendell was expected to unveil in detail this week, would require approval from state and federal regulators.

Four other states regulate mercury emissions, but none of them produces more coal than Pennsylvania, the nation's fourth-largest coal producer after Wyoming, West Virginia and Kentucky.

"The hope is that we very substantially take a bite out of a pollutant that is a very serious problem, especially in terms of infants and unborn children and pregnant women," state Environmental Protection Secretary Kathleen McGinty said Tuesday.

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