Kudos to Governor on Mercury Pact

There may be nothing more important to the quality of life in Minnesota than the quality of our water. Yesterday the governor, the major utilities, and a variety of environmental groups agreed on a plan to reduce the level of mercury emissions entering state waters. It is a victory for everyone. From the Star Tribune:

Mercury emissions from the state's three largest power plants would be dramatically reduced under an agreement announced Thursday by Gov. Tim Pawlenty and other state officials.

The deal would require Xcel Energy and Minnesota Power to reduce mercury emissions from the coal-fired plants by 90 percent by 2014.

Flanked by environmental leaders, utility officials and legislators of both parties, Pawlenty called the proposal "a watershed event in Minnesota's environmental history and progress" that will have a positive effect on public health.

Pawlenty said Minnesota needed to move forward more aggressively than a federal rule issued last year that requires utilities to reduce mercury from power plants by 70 percent by 2018, which he called "too low and too slow."