On Dec. 21 the mercury pollution saga finally came to an end. The long awaited Environmental Protection Agency regulations were finalized and put into effect. The new Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) are the first ever national limits on mercury and other toxic emissions from power plants. These new regulations will ultimately improve people's health by requiring power plants that contribute to air pollution in Wisconsin to use widely available, proven pollution control technologies. These technologies will help protect families from pollutants such as mercury, arsenic, chromium, nickel and acid gases.
Exposure to these toxins can drastically affect the health of Wisconsin citizens. Complications such as cancer, heart disease, neurological damage, birth defects, asthma attacks and premature death are all linked to toxins in the air. According to Wisconsin Environment, one in ten American women of childbearing age has enough mercury in her blood to put her baby at risk should she become pregnant.
Clearly, these new regulations are a necessity for the state of Wisconsin and for the nation. According to EPA estimates, the regulations will prevent over 200 premature deaths and create about $1.8 billion in health benefits just for the state of Wisconsin. On a national level, the new regulations will prevent 11,000 premature deaths, 4,700 heart attacks and 130,000 asthma attacks each year.
The EPA has created something that will help every individual person in America, which is something we can all take pride in. Not only will the health of the people be positively influenced, but the power plants are affected positively as well.
According to the EPA, many power plants have taken advantage of loopholes or have been old enough to not have to comply with pollution regulations. Meanwhile, competing power plants are forced to comply, spending limited resources on pollution control and ultimately losing to their competition. Mercury and Air Toxics Standards close loopholes that allow some power plants to pollute freely which evens the playing field for competing power plants. In other words, everyone has to comply with the new regulations.
However, not all changes have to be made immediately. Power plants have plenty of time to get their affairs in order and slowly adjust to the new regulations. Existing sources of mercury pollution will have four years if they need it to comply with MATS. Furthermore, states can grant power plants an extra year for technology installation.
There should be no reason why power plants can't change their operations for the better. In my Dec. 1 article, I specifically called out Columbia Energy Center and its parent company Alliant Energy. The plant brags about its Environment Management System, however, it is ranked one of the worst polluters of mercury in the nation.
I am looking to Columbia Energy and Alliant Energy to rapidly enhance its environmental protection policies and decrease its carbon footprint. I hope to see no power plants based in the state of Wisconsin on the list of worst polluters this year. That would be a great stride for the state and for the people who live here.
The EPA has accomplished something incredible. These new regulations will eventually save thousands of lives and improve the overall health of Americans. This is something we can all support, and I hope that the citizens of Wisconsin will help ease the transition of power plants.
It will not be easy for the plant to fundamentally change how it operates and any help from the community will go a long way.
Nick Fritz is a junior majoring in marketing. Please send all feedback to opinion@dailycardinal.com.
