Greenwire

October 15, 2010
Gabriel Nelson, E&E reporter

U.S. EPA's plan to clean the air by limiting pollution from sewage sludge incinerators would make it more expensive to provide Americans with clean water, the National Association of Clean Water Agencies said yesterday.

The group, which represents publicly owned wastewater agencies, does not like proposed New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) that would lead to an estimated 76 percent decrease in emissions reductions from the nation's 218 sewage sludge incinerators. Those facilities are the nation's sixth largest source of airborne mercury, a powerful neurotoxin that deposits into bodies of water and accumulates in fish.

When it unveiled its draft rule earlier this month, EPA estimated that compliance with the standards would cost utilities a total of about $89 million per year. Some water utilities will avoid installing costly emissions controls on incinerators by sending their sewage to landfills, the agency said.

But according to NACWA, the agency has low-balled the cost of compliance and "largely overlooked the negative environmental impacts that could result from abandoning incineration in favor of landfilling."

"Rather than encouraging upgrades to newer, cleaner incinerators paired with energy recovery that can offset a significant amount of the energy needs for treating wastewater, the proposed standards will result in many of the nation's wastewater utilities abandoning their significant capital investments and simply sending an energy-rich secondary material for disposal in a landfill," the water agencies said yesterday.

"During a period of time where municipalities are facing enormous economic challenges and an ever-expanding regulatory landscape, it is critical for EPA to ensure its policies are environmentally and economically sound."

The group also challenges EPA's claim that it would cost the incinerators $12 million per ton of mercury removed from the air. The real cost will likely be closer to $40 million, NACWA says, and if EPA moves forward with new controls on mercury waste from dental clinics, it could go as high as $80 million.

The draft rule, which was unveiled by EPA earlier this month and formally published in the Federal Register yesterday, would yield $130 million to $320 million in estimated health benefits in 2015. Those benefits are based on the fact that the pollution controls would also reduce particulate matter emissions (E&ENews PM, Oct. 1).

Jim Pew, an attorney at Earthjustice who had challenged EPA's decision on the incinerators, said the agency's cost-benefit analysis captured a "relatively small piece of the benefits" because it did not include mercury reductions.

"The rule would cut emissions of pollutants that are of particular concern for children," the agency said. "Mercury and lead can adversely affect developing brains -- including effects on IQ, learning, and memory."