DEC approves mercury emission limits to coal-burning power plants
A plan to cut toxic mercury emissions from power plants is approved by the state Department of Environmental Conservation.
Under the plan, coal-burning plants in New York state will have to cut mercury emissions by 90 percent by 2015.
The plan sets a cap on the emissions allowed from each plant without trading other plants for the right to emit more.
New York has 12 coal-burning plants, which supply 10 percent of the state’s power.
Environmental groups backed the plan, noting that it is much stricter than the federal Environmental Protection Agency’s limits. Still, other Northeast states are trying to reduce mercury emissions by 90 percent years earlier than New York.
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