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A spokeswoman for La Crosse-based Dairyland Power Cooperative said Thursday the generation and transmission cooperative is concerned about the cost of the new rules for the co-op, the 25 member distribution cooperatives and the 20 municipal utilities it supplies electricity to, as well as to consumers.
Meanwhile, an Xcel Energy official said the new rules will have no effect on that company or its French Island power plant.
The regulations were sought by Wisconsin's outdoor enthusiasts.
"It is a major step forward," said George Meyer, the executive director of the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation and a former Department of Natural Resources secretary. "Hopefully it will be expanded in the future. It is not nearly what needs to be done ultimately."
About 25 people weighed in on the DNR's proposed mercury regulations, which would limit mercury emissions from coal-fired generating plants. We Energies of Milwaukee, Alliant Energy of Madison, Wisconsin Public Service of Green Bay and Dairyland Power would be required to cut mercury emissions by 40 percent in 2010 and 80 percent in 2015.
William Skewes, executive director of the Wisconsin Utilities Association, said he was surprised by the unanimous vote, because the utilities cannot meet the highest compliance standards called for by 2015.
The rules could be overturned by the Legislature before they become law through the process for reviewing administrative rules. DNR Secretary Scott Hassett said the decision sends a message that clean water and clean lakes are important to Wisconsin.
Lloyd Eagan, director of the DNR's air management bureau, said the regulations would remove about one ton of mercury emissions from the plants by 2015. But Jeff Schoepke, environmental policy director at Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, told the six-member board the state should wait for federal regulations to be passed. "It has to be a federal program, or we are at a competitive disadvantage," Schoepke said.
The group estimates the cost of cutting mercury emissions by 30 percent to 50 percent at $1.1 billion over 10 years. The DNR has estimated that meeting the 40 percent reduction could cost the four utilities a combined total of $28 million to $33 million a year. The regulations would affect 13 of Wisconsin's 17 coal-fired plants, including Dairyland's two coal-fired plants at Alma and its coal-fired plant at Genoa.
Dairyland spokeswoman Deb Mirasola said Thursday the co-op has a preliminary estimate that reaching the 80 percent reduction level could require about $83 million in capital spending by Dairyland and could result in a 5 percent increase in its wholesale electric rates.
"But the uncertainty of technology and market for these types of (pollution) controls makes it very difficult to provide specific estimates," Mirasola said. She added, "At the moment, there is no proven technology to achieve the 80 percent reduction."
She also said, "Because the federal Environmental Protection Agency already is developing nationwide mercury regulations, due in December, Dairyland continues to favor a federal course of action to address mercury. Dairyland has supported the DNR's effort to implement a reasonable rule to reduce mercury as a bridge to the EPA's pending federal rule. But we differ on the levels of reduction being recommended."
Dairyland officials think DNR has underestimated the cost of complying with the new rules, Mirasola said.
Xcel Energy, which serves La Crosse, is not affected by the new rules, said Tina Ball, senior environmental analyst for Xcel's Wisconsin operations. The rules only apply to utility companies whose Wisconsin coal-burning plants together emit at least 100 pounds of mercury per year, she said.
The only Xcel plant in Wisconsin that burns coal is at Ashland and mostly burns wood waste and railroad ties, Ball said. Xcel's French Island plant burns municipal waste, waste wood from area sawmills and chipped railroad ties. Its emissions are regulated by other federal and state rules, Ball said.
The French Island plant emitted about 22 pounds of mercury last year, and emissions have decreased this year because of new pollution-control equipment, Ball said.
- The Associated Press contributed to this story
