Municipal Mercury Pollutant Minimization Program

Mercury occurs in the environment naturally and as a result of human activity. Human activity accounts for about half: primarily from the burning of fossil fuels and through release from mercury-containing products. Mercury enters lakes in rain, snow, runoff and effluent from wastewater treatment plants. Mercury is converted to a toxic form that’s easily absorbed by small organisms, and in turn by fish, and finally by humans that eat the fish. The National Academy of Sciences estimates that 60,000 children born each year in the United States may be at risk of neurological and learning disorders because their mothers ate large amounts of mercury-contaminated fish and seafood prior to or during their pregnancy. Wildlife that eat fish are also significantly affected by mercury.

Municipal wastewater treatment plants (POTWs) are capable of removing 95% of the mercury that enters their systems resulting in an effluent of about 5 ng/l. Great Lakes water quality criteria require an effluent of 1.3 ng/l. The goal of a Municipal Mercury Pollutant Minimization Program is to achieve and maintain treatment plant effluent at or below 1.3 ng/L.

A Mercury Pollutant Minimization Program is required when treatment plant effluent exceeds 1.3 ng/L using low-level mercury analytical procedures. A temporary variance to the water quality criteria is granted in exchange for planning and implementing the mercury minimization program.

Elements of a Municipal Mercury Pollutant Minimization Program
(To be submitted in a program plan to Department of Natural Resources)

1. Identify local mercury-using facilities in the SECTORS listed in Tables 1 and 2
2. Establish mercury program partnerships, including
• Representatives from the SECTORS
• Local mercury recyclers, public and private
• Educational outreach specialists, public or private
3. Conduct mercury educational outreach to promote GOALS listed in Tables 1 and 2
• Mailings
• Workshops
• Onsite visits
4. Measure local mercury-using facility progress toward GOALS
• Progress towards mercury-free, or
• Progress towards mercury capture/recycling
5. Report Mercury Pollutant Minimization Program results to WDNR
• Summarize program activities in the last year
• Report local facility mercury reduction progress
• Plan for further mercury reduction activities
• Report treatment plant influent, effluent, and biosolids mercury trends

Several community sectors must be addressed as part of the Municipal Mercury Pollutant Minimization Program in order to help treatment plants meet their effluent mercury limits. These SECTORS and the GOALS that need to be met are listed in Table 1. Web site assistance is provided under the REFERENCE column.

Table 1

Additional sectors may be addressed as part of the Municipal Mercury Pollutant Minimization Program. These sectors are listed in Table 2. If implemented and documented, these efforts will be credited in the WDNR’s evaluation of the Mercury Program.

Table 2

Several municipalities may collaboratively plan and implement a Mercury Pollutant Minimization Program in order to more efficiently conduct educational outreach and mercury product recycling. Implementation of collective mercury reduction activities with proportionate municipal participation is encouraged.

The requirements for a Mercury Pollutant Minimization Program are contained in NR106.145 Wis. Adm. Code which can be found at: Mercury in Wastewater Rule.

Contacts

NR106.145 Administrative Rule
Tom Mugan
(608) 266-7420
thomas.mugan@wisconsin.gov

Mercury Minimization Program
Randy Case
(608) 267-7639
charles.case@wisconsin.gov