Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
table 16.1
Objectives of the New England Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers Mercury Action Plan
Action area/objectives
Regional mercury task force
Coordinate, prioritize, monitor, and report on progress; revise plan.
Emission reductions
Long-term goal: virtual elimination of anthropogenic mercury releases to the environment.
2003: 50% reduction in regional mercury emissions.
2010: 75% reduction in regional mercury emissions.
Strict emissions limits for major point sources included.
Source reduction and safe waste management
Eliminate or reduce nonessential uses of mercury.
Segregate and recycle mercury from remaining uses to maximum degree possible.
Outreach and education
Potential adverse impacts and ways to reduce exposures.
Alternatives to mercury-added products.
Proper waste management.
Research, analysis and strategic monitoring
Support and expand research and analysis.
Support strategic monitoring to measure and track progress.
Stockpile management
Minimize mercury stockpile sales.
New England Governors and Eastern Canadian
Premiers Mercury Action Plan
United States and by Premiers representing three political
affi liations in Canada.
The MAP is, by design, multimedia and comprehensive
in scope, combining end-of-pipe control strategies and
pollution-prevention approaches where best applied. The
plan extends across traditional media and programmatic
boundaries as well as political borders. It includes 45 spe-
cifi c elements in six action areas (Table 16.1) (CNEG-ECP,
1998). The action areas address emission reductions, source
reduction and waste management, outreach and education,
research, analysis and monitoring, and mercury stockpile
management. A regional Mercury Task Force (MTF) was
also established, providing a mechanism to develop and
fi ne-tune implementation work plans, revise and adapt the
MAP as needed, coordinate activities across the jurisdic-
tions, and report on progress to the region's environmental
agency leaders, as well as the governors and premiers.
The MAP established a long-term regional goal of virtu-
ally eliminating anthropogenic mercury releases, with an
interim 50% reduction target by 2003 (CNEG-ECP, 1998).
A 75% reduction goal was subsequently adopted for 2010
(CNEG-ECP, 2001). To achieve these reductions, the MAP
included emission limits for major point sources, which
Overview
The Conference of New England Governors (NEG) and the
Secretariat of the Eastern Canadian Premiers (ECP) have
collaborated on cross-border economic and environmental
issues since 1973. In light of the fi ndings in the Northeast
Regional Mercury Study (NESCAUM, 1998b); the Mercury
in Massachusetts report (MassDEP, 1996); and the USEPA
Mercury Study Report to Congress (USEPA, 1997b) the
NEG-ECP directed their environmental agencies to develop
a regional binational action plan to reduce mercury
pollution in the New England states and Eastern Canadian
provinces.
The resulting NEG-ECP Mercury Action Plan (MAP), the
fi rst such binational regional pollution-reduction plan to be
initiated and implemented at the state and provincial level,
was unanimously endorsed by the region's Governors and
Premiers in 1998 (Conference of New England Governors-
Eastern Canadian Premiers [CNEG-ECP], 1998). Support for
the MAP crossed political party lines, with endorsement by
Republican, Democrat, and Independent governors in the
