PENNSYLVANIA MERCURY PLAN COULD LIMIT CREDITS FOR EPA TRADING SCHEME

Pennsylvania's new proposal to control mercury emissions could significantly limit the number of emissions credits available to trade under EPA's national, controversial cap-and-trade regulation to reduce utility emissions of the toxin, according to environmentalists and industry sources. The Pennsylvania plan, the first issued by a major coal-producing state, would require all utilities to achieve an 80 percent reduction in mercury emissions by 2010 and a 90 percent reduction by 2015. This is a significant reduction given that the state is...