MN Government Guts Mercury Control Plan After Consulting With Industry

[hatrack]

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency last year weakened a statewide proposal to reduce smokestack mercury emissions after giving utility and industry officials an early, behind-the-scenes opportunity to suggest revisions.

While discussing the draft plan with major mercury emitters, including Minnesota Power and Xcel Energy, MPCA officials last fall refused to meet with environmental groups that support tough regulation of the toxic heavy metal. At one point, an MPCA official told environmental groups that there was nothing to talk about. Mercury-contaminated fish have been found in more than 800 Minnesota lakes and many rivers, prompting health warnings to limit consumption.

Internal agency documents show that an MPCA draft plan in October called for specific mercury-reduction targets in 2015 and later years. After showing that proposal to industry officials, MPCA officials dramatically rewrote it, eliminating the target dates and making other key changes. The plan does not require emission controls.

Top MPCA officials defended their decision to give industries early access to the proposal, saying that affected companies' views are important and that environmentalists could comment later. The plan to eventually reduce mercury emissions by 93 percent was made public in December, and is now open for comments from anyone. "We were very cognizant about talking to industry ahead of talking to others," said Lisa Thorvig, MPCA assistant commissioner for water policy. A Minnesota Chamber of Commerce consultant who participated in the industry discussions with MPCA said he assumed that environmental groups would get an opportunity to present their views.

EDIT

How nice! They'll get an "opportunity to present their views".

http://www.startribune.com/stories/1556/5535016.html

[Ilsa]

1. I hate these people.

I wonder how fast autism and other learning disability rates will skyrocket after a few years of this bullshit.

[Metta]

2. pertinent quote

"Fascism should more appropriately be called corporatism because it is a merger of state and corporate power."

Benito Mussolini