Mercury as an Emerging Environmental Issue: The Situation in Maine, 1999 Environmental Conference Proceedings

Mark Gerath

ENSR Corporation

William Taylor, Esq.

Pierce-Atwood

Mic Lebel

Maine Pulp and Paper Association

The mercury content of fish tissue is of growing regulatory concern across the United States. Due to mercury contamination, the great majority of states advise against the consumption of fish from some of their waters. This situation has lead to several regulatory activities that have a strong potential to change the compliance status of the industry’s facilities. The situation in the State of Maine is presented as an illustration of how quickly the regulatory environment can change and how members of the industry reacted to the change. Maine has had a statute since 1971 that precludes discharge of mercury “in any concentration which increases the natural concentration of mercury in the receiving water”. With the adoption of more sensitive analytical methods for mercury the Maine statute has begun to receive significant attention. This paper will describe the regulatory situation in Maine, including the industry’s response, against the backdrop of the current science and policy of mercury regulation. Recommendations will be made for dealing with this emerging issue.