COAL AT THE CROSSROADS: Mercury rises on coal costs

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September 26, 2011 - 7:00pm

Editor's Note: This Signature Story is one of a four-part series "Coal at the Crossroads," exploring coal in the United States. The series is produced by NET News and QUEST, a journalism partnership with six other media entities focusing on science, environment and nature. You can find more QUEST stories at


"When you burn coal, mercury goes up into the atmosphere," Winston said. "It comes down in the form of rain. Fish eat it. People eat the fish. It can be very damaging and have a long term negative impact on the development of children. So it's something we need to get out of the environment as much as possible."

Bluestem Lake, near Lincoln, is under a consumption advisory for channel catfish with eleveated levels of mercury.

Sheldon Station Power Plant produced 140 pounds of mercury per year.



"The system is several million dollars," Citta said. "But what really makes it expensive is the operating cost because activated carbon is rather pricey."


"This caught our state, many other states also," Citta said. When the final rule came out they had reduced those by an additional 40%. We felt the proposed rule was manageable. We would have had to do some things. But they were certainly more achievable than this additional 40% reduction."

Nebraska utilities feeling rushed by regulation are hoping to get some extra time. Nebraska Attorney General, Jon Bruning, is filing a lawsuit against the interstate smog rule , calling it another example of an "overreaching federal government run amok." A bill passed by the House of Representatives could slow things down by commissioning a study on the economic impact of the EPA's emissions agenda. Steve Gates of the American Coalition for Clean Coal Energy calls it a reaction to a lot of regulation in a short period of time.

"In a state like Nebraska where 65% of our electricity comes from coal, something is going to happen and the guess is electricity prices go up immediately," Gates said. "You know, there's just a lot of economic implications that really should be looked at before we jump into something that no one knows the outcome economically."

Nebraska rails are a major thoroughfare from Wyoming to power plants in the Midwest and southern Plains. Gates says the state's economic ties to coal show the advantage of having easy access to inexpensive energy.

"We're fortunate enough to be in the top ten lowest states for electricity in the country," Gates said. "What we need to do is find a balance between reducing emissions the best we can while also keeping an eye on what we're going to do to local economies if we enact something too quickly."


"They can absorb the cost of making these changes much more easily than a person can," Winston said. "An individual whose child doesn't develop appropriately because they've had mercury poisoning, that's a life that's destroyed and we can't tolerate that."



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