CONCORD - Gov. John Lynch and six other Northeastern Governors today called on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to reduce harmful mercury pollution blowing into the region from coal-fired power plants in the Midwest and other areas of the country.

“New Hampshire has worked aggressively to protect our citizens from mercury pollution, cutting mercury pollution by 60 percent since 1998. And a new law I signed last year will significantly reduce mercury emissions from our coal-fired power plants, one of the last major mercury sources in our state,” Gov. Lynch said.

“But mercury emissions from other states is still poisoning our waters and jeopardizing the health of our citizens. That is why I, along with the other governors, strongly urge federal regulators to do more to reduce mercury pollution coming into the region from power plants in the Midwest and other parts of the nation,” Gov. John Lynch said.

New Hampshire joined a regional mercury reduction effort in 1998, setting a goal of reducing mercury emissions by 75 percent by 2010, one of the most aggressive goals in the world.

The New England states and New York today jointly submitted to EPA a cleanup plan, called the “Northeast Regional Mercury Total Maximum Daily Load” (TMDL), which continues to implement the states’ Mercury Action Plans, and calls on the EPA to require other states to take similar steps to reduce mercury emissions. The states say that under the Clean Water Act and the Clean Air Act, the EPA has both the authority and the obligation to act to require other states to reduce mercury emissions.

New Hampshire has acted aggressively to reduce mercury pollution, reducing emissions from waste-to-energy plants and medical waste incinerators by 95 percent; banning certain products; and passing a comprehensive law to control emissions from the state’s coal-fired power plants. Since implementing the New Hampshire Mercury Reduction Strategy in 1998, overall mercury emissions in New Hampshire have been reduced by more than 60 percent.

However, greater than 70 percent of the mercury impacting New England comes from pollution in upwind states. Downwind states such as New Hampshire will not be able to solve this problem without better federal regulations.

“The New England States and New York are sending a message loud and clear to the federal government that we need their help to fulfill our collective goal of virtually eliminating mercury pollution from our lakes and ponds. Given that more than 70 percent of the mercury that reaches New Hampshire and the region comes from upwind air pollution sources, stronger federal regulations combined with our local source reduction initiatives will be paramount to our success,” said New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services Commissioner Tom Burack.

Under the provisions of the Clean Water Act, EPA has 30 days from the states’ submittal to either approve the plan or disapprove it and set its own limits.