Here's a followup on mercury polluted waterways in Colorado from the Rocky Mountain News. From the article, "The addition of a popular Front Range reservoir to the list of Colorado locales with mercury-tainted fish underscores the need to clamp down on power plant emissions, some 'greens' and regulators said Thursday. Horsetooth Reservoir, a recreation mecca for boaters, anglers and campers surrounded by public lands just west of Fort Collins, was among five new sites this week where state health officials began warning people to limit fish consumption. The news surprised environmentalists and recreation advocates along the northern Front Range. Some suggested it would pressure industry and regulators to seek tougher controls on mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants in Colorado...
"The dispute boils down to two differing approaches. One, favored by industry and the Bush administration, would allow utilities to buy and sell pollution allowances. Opponents, including environmentalists and many state and local governments, want to see across-the-board cuts in mercury emissions at every facility. In Colorado, the new fish advisories may bolster the case of those wanting tougher limits. There are also challenges nationally to the so-called cap-and- trade approach implemented by Bush administration officials at the Environmental Protection Agency. Recent studies, too, appear to challenge long-standing claims that much of the mercury contamination comes from sources as distant as China, with newer research suggesting local power plants also are big contributors. One EPA study published last year found that 70 percent of the mercury deposited in rain and snow over Steubenville, Ohio, was linked to local or regional sources. A dozen coal-fired plants operate in the region around the city...
"Front Range water bodies posted: Horsetooth Reservoir, Berkeley Lake, Rocky Mountain Lake, Brush Hollow Reservoir, Teller Reservoir, Horseshoe Reservoir, Trinidad Lake.
"Southwestern Colorado water bodies posted: Sanchez Reservoir, Navajo Reservoir, Vallecito Reservoir, Totten Reservoir, McPhee Reservoir, Narraguinnep Reservoir, Purdy Mesa Reservoir."
More coverage from the Fort Collins Coloradoan. They write, "Fish in highly popular Horsetooth Reservoir have been found to contain mercury at levels unhealthy for human consumption, according to the Colorado Department of Health. Tests conducted at the health department and announced this morning found levels above the state's safe consumption standard of 0.5 parts per million in walleye and wiper. Levels in some of those fish ranged as high as 1 part per million. Smallmouth bass and trout were found to contain mercury but at levels lower than 0.5 parts per million."
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