The state Air Quality Control Commission on Thursday approved a requirement for systematic monitoring of mercury emissions from power plants starting Jan. 1.
The monitoring is the first part of a state rule requiring an 80 percent cut in mercury emissions by 2014 and a 90 percent reduction by 2018.
The vote puts Colorado among a handful of states, including Connecticut and Arizona, with rules to control power-plant mercury emissions.
Mercury is a heavy metal that can cause birth defects, central nervous system disorders and heart problems. It can build in the environment, tainting fish, birds, soil and water.
The federal Environmental Protection Agency estimates that 1,400 pounds of mercury are emitted in Colorado annually.
The EPA’s national mercury control plan was struck down by a federal appeals court in February because it would have removed power plants from controls.
The court ruled that the Bush administration had failed to follow the requirements of the Clean Air Act.
“Colorado moving ahead like this is a model for what other states should be doing,” said James Pew, a lawyer with the nonprofit law firm Earthjustice.
The EPA has appealed the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court, which is expected to decide in January whether to hear the case, Pew said. In the meantime, the national rules are on hold.
Under the Colorado regulation, power plants will begin monitoring their mercury emissions and report them to the state Air Pollution Control Division.
Eleven plants come under the rule. The larger ones will use continuous monitors, and the smaller ones will do periodic stack tests.
“The first thing we have to do is get a better handle on exactly how much mercury is being emitted,” said Kirsten King, the division’s manager for stationary sources.
Although the EPA mercury emissions estimate was 1,400 pounds, subsequent analysis indicate emissions in the state might be between 800 and 1,000 pounds, King said.
By 2012, Xcel Energy’s Pawnee plant and the Platte River Power Authority’s Rawhide plant will cut their emissions by 80 percent.
All other plants will face a 2014 deadline to cut emissions by 80 percent.
“Pawnee and Rawhide are two of the biggest plants in the state, and they voluntarily agreed to go first,” King said.
Xcel spokesman Joseph Fuentes said the utility saw the Colorado rules as an opportunity.
“There are going to be mercury- emission controls, and this puts us ahead of the curve,” Fuentes said.
There are no estimates yet on how much it will cost the utility or rate-payers for Xcel to comply with the regulation, he said.
The rule had no opposition because of negotiations among key parties, said Kevin Lynch, a lawyer with the Boulder office of the Environmental Defense Fund.
“It was a collaboration among state officials, industry, local government and environmental groups,” Lynch said.
Colorado had sought to add its tougher standards to the proposed EPA rule. When the EPA rule was overturned in court, Colorado redrafted its rule as a stand-alone, King said.
Mark Jaffe: 303-954-1912 or mjaffe@denverpost.com
