About - AMSA Year in Review - 2001-2002 - AMSA Takes Strides Toward a National Mercury Policy
While publicly owned treatment works (POTWs) are on the front lines of the fight to reduce the level of mercury in our nation’s waters, they find themselves, more and more, on the receiving end of stringent mercury permit limits, where end-of-pipe treatment simply will not be the solution. As a result, AMSA has been very involved over this past year in urging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Congress and fellow associations and organizations to support a national mercury strategy that will take into account not only the appropriate role for POTWs in reducing mercury levels – but also the responsibility of domestic and industrial users of mercury to do the same.
AMSA Gathers Evidence, Seeks to Enlist EPA’s
Support on Mercury
On March 8, 2002, AMSA released its Mercury Source Control and
Pollution Prevention Program Evaluation – Final Report. The Report,
funded by EPA, is the product of two years of cooperative effort between AMSA
and EPA to evaluate the effectiveness of pollution prevention programs to
control the amount of mercury discharged by dental offices, hospitals, and other
sources into the sewer system. The Report provides evidence that neither
POTWs – nor industrial or commercial sources of mercury – can be singled out to
solve this complex issue. This Report will serve as a significant and
lasting factor in AMSA’s ongoing advocacy efforts and the critical importance of
making progress toward a national mercury strategy.
Critically, AMSA has been on the front lines of explaining that there is currently no method available that can meet mercury levels of less than 1 part per trillion, which some states have considered mandating, and that such a level would automatically, and arbitrarily, force POTWs into noncompliance. AMSA has also written EPA Administrator Christine Todd Whitman urging her to work with a coalition of leaders from state environmental associations (known as the Quicksilver Caucus), as well as leaders from the POTW community, to craft a viable a national strategy.
AMSA-Backed Mercury Legislation Garners Important
Attention
This year, AMSA staunchly supported the Mercury Reduction and
Disposal Act of 2001, S. 351, introduced by Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME). The
legislation would create an Interagency Task Force on Mercury to guide the
development of a national environmental mercury compliance strategy. AMSA
launched a successful campaign in June 2001 urging Association members to send
letters to their Senators in support of S. 351 to ensure that mercury controls
look beyond traditional end-of-pipe controls. These efforts resulted in
increased support for S. 351 from key Senators including Kay Bailey Hutchison
(R-TX), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), and George V. Voinovich (R-OH) who continue to
vocally support the need for a national strategy. While action on the bill
itself has been overtaken by other events, AMSA will continue to explore both
regulatory and legislative means to push for a national mercury policy.