Poisoning the Great Lakes: 25 Coal-fired Power Plants Responsible For Half the Region's Mercury Pollution

OH, PA and IN Are Home to Region's Worst Mercury Polluters, Followed by MI, IL, WI, MN and NY; Vote in Congress to Test Support of Region's U.S. Senators for EPA Curb on Neurotoxin.

CHICAGO, June 6, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Just ahead of a major U.S. Senate vote on the Environmental Protection Agency's authority to clean up mercury and other toxic air pollutants, a Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) report shows that the 25 worst coal-fired power plants account for more than half of the dangerous mercury pollution emitted by the total of 144 electricity generation facilities in the Great Lakes region. The report also finds that almost 90 percent of the toxic emissions could be eliminated with off-the-shelf technologies.

According to "Poisoning the Great Lakes: Mercury Emissions from Coal-Fired Power Plants In the Great Lakes Region," Ohio emits the largest amount of mercury from coal-fired power plants (21 percent of the total in the Great Lakes region), followed closely by Pennsylvania (20 percent) and Indiana (16 percent). The remaining five states in the region rank as follows: Michigan (14 percent); Illinois (11 percent); Wisconsin (9.5 percent); Minnesota (6.5 percent); and New York (2 percent). Plants from outside the region also contribute to mercury pollution in the Great Lakes.

The Great Lakes region's five worst coal-fired power plants for mercury pollution are: Shawville (Clearfield County, PA); Monroe (Monroe County, MI); Homer City (Indiana County, PA); Cardinal (Jefferson County, OH); and Sherburne County (Sherburne County, MN). (See the complete list below of the worst 25.) A dozen power plants in Ohio and Indiana -- owned in whole or part by American Electric Power -- accounted for 19 percent of all mercury emitted in 2010 from the total of 144 coal-fired power plants in the region.

U.S. Senator James Inhofe, R-OK, recently filed a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution (S.J. Res. 37) to void health standards reducing mercury and other toxic air pollution from power plants and to permanently block EPA from re-issuing similar safeguards.

Thomas Cmar, attorney, Natural Resources Defense Council office in Chicago, said: "Mercury is a dangerous brain poison that doesn't belong in our Great Lakes. It puts the health of kids and pregnant women at risk and adds an unwelcome danger to eating what our fishermen catch. That's why it is so important that we support the EPA's standards to reduce mercury pollution by holding polluters accountable. Even more critical is that every single U.S. Senator from the region stand up for the Lakes by rejecting reckless attempts to derail the long overdue Clean Air Act updates that can help tame this problem."

Cindy Copeland, report author and formerly with the EPA Air Program, said: "Mercury is poisoning the Great Lakes and the three states - Ohio, Indiana and Pennsylvania -- that impose no rules are by far the worst offenders. Airborne mercury from coal-fired power plants in the Great Lakes Region harms our health, and the benefits of reducing mercury emissions are well worth the cost. With a reduction of health costs to the economy at up to $90 billion, it is hard to say no to this."

In the Great Lakes region, there are more than 144 coal-fired power plants which pumped over 13,000 pounds of mercury into the air in 2010. Mercury pollution from these plants' region accounts for close to 25 percent of the nation's total. The Great Lakes region is comprised of the five Great Lakes (Erie, Ontario, Huron, Michigan, and Superior) and the eight surrounding states (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, and Wisconsin).

Eating poisoned fish is the primary cause of mercury poisoning of humans. Mercury is a neurotoxin that harms the brain, heart, central nervous system, kidneys, lungs, and immune system. Young children and developing fetuses are most at risk, and can suffer developmental problems from mercury poisoning.

THE WORST-25 GREAT LAKES REGION COAL-FIRED POWER PLANTS

1. Shawville (Clearfield Cty, PA)
2. Monroe (Monroe Cty, MI)
3. Homer City (Indiana Cty, PA)
4. Cardinal (Jefferson Cty, OH)
5. Sherburne County (Sherburne Cty, MN)
6. Muskingum River (Washington Cty, OH)
7. Hatfield's Ferry (Fayette Cty, PA)
8. Walter C Beckjord (Clermont Cty, OH)
9. Wabash River (Vigo Cty, IN)
10. Newton (Jasper Cty, IL)
11. Pleasant Prairie (Kenosha Cty, WI)
12. Belle River (St. Clair Cty, MI)
13. Clifty Creek (Jefferson Cty, IN)
14. Columbia (Columbia Cty, WI)
15. St Clair (St Clair Cty, MI)
16. Rockport (Spencer Cty, IN)
17. Gavin (Gallia Cty, OH)
18. Bruce Mansfield (Beaver Cty, PA)
19. South Oak Creek (Milwaukee Cty, WI)
20. Kyger Creek (Gallia Cty, OH)
21. State Line (Lake Cty, IN)
22. J M Stuart (Brown Cty, OH)
23. Tanners Creek (Dearborn Cty, IN)
24. Boswell (Itasca Cty, MN)
25. Joppa Steam (Massac Cty, IL)

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently issued nationwide rules to require coal-fired power plants to limit airborne mercury emissions and other toxic air pollutants by 2015. The technologies to meet the EPA's mercury limits are widely available and effective.

Based on projected reductions in fine particulate emissions due to the combined benefits of various air toxic pollution controls, the EPA has projected that the benefits of its Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) far outweigh the costs of pollution controls. The health benefits of the MATS are projected to be worth $37 to $90 billion in 2016 alone. The EPA has projected that the majority of the benefits would be reaped in the eastern United States, including the Great Lakes region.

Mercury emitted into the air from coal-fired power plants is by far the leading man-made source of mercury reaching the Great Lakes and the lakes, rivers, and streams of the Great Lakes region. This report lists the top 25 mercury emitting plants in the region. Mercury pollution from plants outside the region also contributes to the overall quantity of mercury found in the Great Lakes. When coal is burned to produce electricity, mercury is emitted into the air. The EPA estimates that coal-fired power plants are the largest man-made source of mercury pollution, accounting for 50 percent of mercury air emissions in the United States.

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 1.3 million members and online activists. Since 1970, our lawyers, scientists, and other environmental specialists have worked to protect the world's natural resources, public health, and the environment. NRDC has offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Livingston, Montana, and Beijing. Visit us at www.nrdc.org and follow us on Twitter @NRDC.

SOURCE Natural Resources Defense Council, New York
Web Site: http://www.nrdc.org

PG&E launching campaign to raise awareness to time-of-use electricity rates

A big concern in the electrical grid is the peak demand which occurs (in the U.S.) on hot summer afternoons when the air conditioners are all cranked up.  Time of Use metering (TOU) is one of the solutions to shaving off the peak demand.  The idea is to increase the rate paid by electricity consumers during peak demand times, and charge them a lower rate other times.  By charging different electricity rates it should encourage electricity consumers to change their usage patterns.

An example of time of use metering is a recent proposal by the same PG&E over electricity rates for electric car owners.  Generally electric cars can be charged at night, and the time of use rate proposed by PG&E gives a huge incentive to do so.

PG&E Launches Awareness Campaign to Help Business Customers Transition to State-Mandated Pricing for Electric Service

Utility Also Proposes Giving Customers the Right to Opt-Out of Pricing Program

SAN FRANCISCO, June 12, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) announced today that that it has begun a comprehensive effort to educate its small and medium business and agriculture customers about a state-mandated pricing program change for electric services and how they can potentially take advantage of it to save money. At the same time, the utility is asking state regulators to give affected customers the right to opt-out of the new pricing program if they prefer to stay with their current plan.

At the direction of the California Public Utilities Commission, small and medium businesses will begin moving in November to time-of-use (TOU) pricing. With TOU, when electricity is used will be just as important as how much electricity is used. Rates are higher during weekday summer afternoons when electric demand peaks, typically noon to 6 p.m., May through October. In return, business customers will have lower rates at all other times.

The purpose is to better align prices with the cost of generating electricity at various times of the day, to help lower energy bills, prevent "brownouts" and other electric grid disruptions, and benefit the environment by reducing the need to run fossil-fueled power plants.

"Through an extensive program of customer letters, person-to-person outreach, local and community events, web-based seminars and targeted online advertising, PG&E is reaching out to help our business customers understand this significant change so they can better manage their energy usage and potentially save money," said Helen Burt, Senior Vice President and Chief Customer Officer at PG&E. "We offer a wide range of tools and energy management solutions to help customers conserve energy during peak periods and lower their bills. Early and frequent education will help customers make the transition as smoothly as possible."

Burt added, "Although time-of-use pricing is an important element of the state's energy policy, we know that our customers appreciate having options, so we hope that state regulators will approve our proposal to let customers opt-out of the program and stick with existing flat-rate prices if they desire."

PG&E has asked the Commission to expedite its review of this opt-out proposal and issue a decision by Sept. 1, 2012, before small and medium business customers begin transitioning to the new TOU rates in November. Large commercial and industrial electric customers have already moved to similar pricing plans.

Businesses that do not draw heavy power loads during peak afternoon hours may automatically benefit from the change to TOU rates, and others may save money by taking simple steps to reduce peak energy use, such as pre-cooling work areas and charging batteries in the morning, adjusting employee schedules, and turning off some non-essential power draws in the afternoon, such as fountains and video displays.

An analysis by PG&E suggests that as many as six in 10 small and medium business customers would benefit or see no change from a shift to TOU pricing, even if they do not change their behavior. Only about two percent of such customers would experience a bill increase of more than $8 a month.

Business customers can learn more about TOU rates by visiting PG&E's web pages at www.pge.com/TVP or by calling a PG&E representative at 1-800-987-4923. PG&E offers a host of energy-saving tips and programs at http://www.pge.com/mybusiness/energysavingsrebates/.

Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a subsidiary of PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG), is one of the largest combined natural gas and electric utilities in the United States. Based in San Francisco, with 20,000 employees, the company delivers some of the nation's cleanest energy to 15 million people in Northern and Central California. For more information, visit http://www.pge.com/about/newsroom/ and www.pgecurrents.com.

SOURCE Pacific Gas and Electric Company

Does PG&E's Climate Smart program help you make it "Earth Day" for 365 days a year?

My electricity provider is PG&E and last week they sent me an email suggesting that I can make it Earth Day for 365 days a year just by joining their Climate Smart program. A quick look over their website and what I see is a modern form of the medieval indulgences where one can pay a fee to the priest to offset the evil of ones sins. In this case their Climate Smart program is all about donating money (tax write-off, cool!) that PG&E will funnel into programs that supposedly mitigate the effects of burning fossil fuels.

As they say: "The energy used to power our homes can also emit greenhouse gases (GHG) into the atmosphere," and participation in the program "helps to balance out your home’s GHG emissions through environmental conservation, restoration and protection projects right here in California."

Maybe if there's a real effect from "environmental conservation, restoration and protection projects" then funneling money to them is a good idea. To me the sort of projects they're funding are the equivalent of bolting the barn door after the horses have already escaped.

That is, "environmental conservation, restoration and protection projects" supposedly removes harmful chemicals emitted by burning natural gas. But, wouldn't it be better to not burn natural gas in the first place?

In California we used to be able to select our electricity provider rather than be forced to buy power from the monopoly utility. But somewhere in the middle of the brownout energy crisis nearly 10 years ago (the one which forced Gray Davis out of the Governorship) we lost that ability to choose our electricity provider. As a result we can no longer choose companies like Green Mountain whose business was to operate solar or wind power plants.

What counts here is the actual projects they're funding. (See ClimateSmart Projects) They're a bevy of planting-trees-in-forests that are meant to provide carbon capture and services. Two more programs are methane capture at landfills and dairy operations. The last is diversion of refrigerators (and other appliances) from landfills to recycling operations.

Each of them have good environmental utility that I support. I do not want to diss the projects themselves.

Instead what I see is that there is no attempt at real fundamental change. These programs paper over the core issue, that PG&E's core business emits greenhouse gases. That to properly change the situation requires changing that fact.

A meditation on a power outage

My electric power went out this morning. I'm accustomed to having parts of my house flick off, because I use space heaters for heating the house, and they often overcome the circuit breakers. But this time was different, because every ounce of electricity in the house was turned off. Hmm, I thought. Then I went through several stages of process which might reflect upon some larger issues.

Amidst growing worry -- was my service cut off due to not paying my bills? Is this outage spread around the neighborhood? Has there been a nuclear attack which knocked out the local power plants? Okay, so my thoughts went a little to the extreme, but I've noticed that when we humans have a gap in our knowledge we tend to fill in the gaps with outlandish theories.

Amidst those worries I noticed how much I've become dependent on electrical supplies. It's worth pondering for all of us, what ways are we dependent on modern technologies, and is this a danger for us personally or for our society. When I went out to check the neighbors houses I noticed the squirrels and birds were getting along fine without electricity. I also noticed none of the neighbors had lights on either.

One of the dependencies came when I started to try and report the outage. What's the phone number for the electric company? I don't know it, and I have my electric bills delivered via email. That meant reading my email to get the information. My computer is a laptop and has its own power, but my internet connection was knocked out by the power outage. Hmm.. And I keep my bills stored on my computer, but they are on an external drive which was knocked out by the power outage. Stymied I turned to a book, the phone book, compressed tree pulp with ink on it. But for some reason even after 1/2 hour searching through several books I couldn't find any listing for the electric utility.

Another dependency comes from being an electric vehicle owner. What if I had converted my life to only have electric vehicles? An EV generally is able to store enough power for 1 day of use. So if there's no electrical service, the EV will quickly become useless. Vehicle-to-grid (V2G) proponents like to suggest that EV's can provide emergency power. Um... EV's are barely able to carry enough power to transport them around for a day, and EV's are generally dependent on the electricity from the grid. It's kinda strange to me to repurpose an EV to V2G usage, unless you're going to consign that EV to not being driven until after the emergency is over. But some emergencies require residents to evacuate - think Katrina and the clogged interstate highways leaving New Orleans.

Another aspect to EV dependency is the retirement home in the neighborhood, and many of the residents have electrified mobility chairs they ride around the neighborhood. Guess what they're capable of if the power goes out?

Another dependency is shared by basically everyone, food storage. Like essentially everyone my food is in a refrigerator. Without electricity these things don't function. And the food will have started defrosting and going bad pretty quick. Our modern society has completely forgotten how to preserve food, instead we are dependent on freezing food and on the canned goods in the supermarket. How many of us remember how to can our own food, or to dry food, etc?

Getting back to reporting the outage - I called '0' (the operator), hoping to get a phone number. But I was hung up on twice. Hurm.

I then started searching and found an old bill on paper from before the time I switched to e-mail billing. That gave me a phone number and if required an account number. I then called the customer service number, and was partway through making the report via their voice mail system, and just as the voice mail system recognized my home address and told me they knew of an outage in my area, right at that very moment, coincidentally at that exact moment in time, the power flickered back on.

While this all turned out well in the end.. I suggest there is something interesting to learn here.

The pinnacle of human society we have achieved is itself based on technological might powered by an electrical supply which .. if removed .. makes all our gadgets useless.

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