Plants along Ohio River may exceed new mercury limits

James Bruggers, The (Louisville, Ky.) Courier-Journal | USATODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Ohio River mercury pollution An Ohio River commission warns that dozens of industrial plants may not meet new mercury standards

Mercury can affect the nervous system%2C build up in people%27s bodies

Tougher air-quality rules for mercury may mean more of the toxin discharged into water

New rules don%27t allow for discharge to be mixed with river water

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Dozens of industrial plants along the Ohio River may not comply with a tougher mercury pollution standard that goes into effect in October, a regional water quality commission has warned.

A list of roughly 60 wastewater treatment plants, coal-fired power plants and other industrial facilities has been sent to state regulators by the eight-state Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission, which sets water quality standards for the Ohio River.

The commission, often called ORSANCO, is warning the sites, which are in Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Ohio and West Virginia, that effluent monitoring indicates they may have a problem meeting the tougher mercury standard.

The resulting regulatory crunch created with the tougher standard could force the commission to delay or alter enforcement. That could mean more mercury in a river already so tainted that it carries health warnings for eating its fish because of dangerous mercury levels.

"This shouldn't have occurred in the first place," said Tim Joice, water policy program director at Kentucky Waterways Alliance. The group that tracks water quality issues in Kentucky. "From our perspective, ORSANCO should not be granting variances, and they should be enforcing what they put on the books 10 years ago."

Mercury is especially a concern at elevated levels in the blood of unborn babies and young children, where it can harm developing nervous systems, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. It also can harm wildlife.

Here, the sewer district's wastewater treatment plant is on the list.

But officials already require industries to pretreat their effluent for a variety of pollutants, including mercury, before sending it into the sewer system, said Brian Bingham, senior engineer with the Metropolitan Sewer District. They've also been working with dental offices to make sure they don't dump the toxic heavy metal down their drains.

Industrial facilities that fail to meet the tougher mercury standard potentially could be fined as much as $25,000 per violation per day in Kentucky, but regulators normally settle cases for less than that.

While the commission typically does not enforce water-quality rules — that's left to member states — the commission's board still would need to approve any variances of the mercury standard, said Peter Tennant, the commission's executive director.

"Do we grant a blanket continuance to allow us to sort our way through this? Or do we defer some and concentrate on the big ones? he asked. "Anything we do is going to be less than ideal."

Power plants and factories may need to find new ways of doing business, and sewage-treatment facilities will need to get customers to cut down on mercury dumped into sewer systems.

At issue are commission rules adopted in 2003 that after 10 years phased out so-called "mixing zones" for pollutants such as mercury, a neurotoxin that becomes more concentrated as it moves through the food chain, building up in fish and the people and animals that eat them.

For facilities with a mercury limit in their permits, measurements will be taken at the end of the discharge pipe instead of farther downriver after the effluent has become diluted.

"This is a big concern," said Judy Petersen, executive director of the waterways alliance. "We are recognizing more and more the dangers of mercury in the environment and mercury in our bodies."

The list included numbers from only five states, from West Virginia to Illinois, where the Ohio River flows into the Mississippi River. Eleven West Virginia plants were reported to have mercury pollution levels that potentially would exceed the standard of 12 parts per trillion. Ohio has 27, Kentucky has five, Indiana has 10, and Illinois has two.

Pennsylvania, where the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers meet in Pittsburgh to form the Ohio River; New York; and Virginia also are part of the commission.

State regulators said information the commission used may be out of date or inaccurate. But they said they are going through their files, checking permit requirements, and trying to determine whether any variances may be needed.

"For those ones we find, looking at updated data, we will be in contact with them to make them aware of the situation," said Paul Higginbotham, the permitting branch chief with the Indiana Department for Environmental Protection's Office of Water Quality. "We will work with that company or municipality, and coordinate with ORSANCO, to make sure Indiana's rules are complied with."

Peter Goodmann, assistant director of the Kentucky Division of Water, said Kentucky is doing the same thing.

Ironically, as tougher air-quality rules limit mercury emissions from smokestacks, mercury discharges into water may increase.

Duke spokesman Lou Middleton said the company's Zimmer electric power plant about 30 miles upriver from Cincinnati near Moscow, Ohio, is getting new water pollution controls in time to meet the mercury deadline.

Four other company plants along the river won't need new controls to meet the standard, he said.

The Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission already has received one new variance request.

Ironton, Ohio, about five miles downriver from Ashland, Ky., sought the variance earlier this year and said it eventually can comply by reducing mercury entering the sewer system from its sources, including metal shops and dental clinics.

"I don't think it will be a burden," Ironton Mayor Richard Blankenship said.

About mercury

Mercury in water can can build up in fish, shellfish and animals that eat fish.

Fish and shellfish are the main sources of mercury exposure to humans.

Mercury exposure at high levels can harm the brain, heart, kidneys, lungs, and immune system of people of all ages.

Research shows that most people's fish consumption does not cause a health concern. But high levels in the bloodstream of unborn babies and young children may harm the developing nervous system, making the child less able to think and learn.

Birds and mammals that eat fish are more exposed to mercury than other animals.

Similarly, predators that eat fish-eating animals may be more exposed.

At high levels of exposure, mercury can cause death, reduced reproduction, slower growth and development, and abnormal behavior.

Source: Environmental Protection Agency