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Vermont Agency of Natural Resources
Advisory Committee on Mercury Pollution
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Advisory Committee on Mercury Pollution

Meeting #41: Tuesday, November 19, 2002
Time: 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Location: Conference Room, Environmental Assistance Division
Laundry Building, Waterbury State Complex, Waterbury, Vermont

MINUTES

Members Present:
William Bress, Vermont Department of Health
Ric Erdheim, National Electrical Manufacturers Association
Neil Kamman, Agency of Natural Resources, Water Quality Division
Richard McCormack, Senate Natural Resources and Energy Committee
Rich Philips, Vermont Agency of Natural Resources, Environmental Assistance

Guests Present:
Allison Crowley-Demag, New England Public Affairs Group
Jen Holliday, Chittenden Solid Waste District
Megan E. Mulry, Downs, Rachlin & Martin
Tom Benoit, Vermont Agency of Natural Resources, Environmental Assistance
Gary Gulka, Vermont Agency of Natural Resources, Environmental Assistance
Karen Knaebel, Vermont Agency of Natural Resources, Environmental Assistance

The Committee members and interested parties gathered in the Conference Room of the Environmental Assistance Division, Waterbury State Complex. Rich Phillips called the meeting to order.

Agenda Item 1-
Accept minutes of October 29th meeting changes to today's agenda.

Minutes for October meeting will be reviewed and approved over e-mail.

Changes in today's agenda will include:

  • Distribution of the letter to Efficiency Vermont.
  • VOSHA transferred to Labor and Industry.
  • Update on Advisory Postings.

Agenda Item 2-
Discussion of possible outreach projects for 15 mile falls settlement monies.

Neil Kamman clarified that the basis of the monies from the 15 Mile Falls settlement was a water quality assessment during a license review that is conducted every 50 years. During the review, high levels of mercury were found in both yellow perch and smallmouth bass behind dams operated by USGen New England, Inc. New Hampshire and Vermont are responsible for issuing water quality certifications. The Water Quality Certification has been issued and the utility must do fish tissue monitoring four or five times in five year cycles. A settlement in 2000 set aside $500,000 for mercury reduction efforts. A Memorandum of Understanding established a three-person committee composed of an NGO and one representative each from New Hampshire and Vermont. This committee will develop plans for use of the monies. Once the plan is finalized and approved by a technical advisory committee, it will be presented to the utility. The utility will have one year to provide for funds for the project.

Rich Phillips shared a draft proposal of projects for the Committee's comment. The following proposed list was reviewed by the Committee:

Vermont Mercury Reduction Project Proposals
(Running total: $215,000)

  1. Dairy Manometers - complete replacement of mercury-containing dairy manometers at existing Vermont dairy farms. Provide mercury-free manometers at no cost and remove and properly recycle the mercury manometers. Over 80 manometers have been replaced to date with an additional 25 remaining. Estimated costs: $10,000
  2. Fever Thermometer Exchanges - sponsor local and regional mercury fever thermometer exchanges with solid waste districts, municipalities, institutions and businesses. Costs include purchase of digital thermometers, proper recycling mercury thermometers, and advertising. Estimated costs: $30,000
  3. Maple Sugaring thermometer exchange - sponsor a statewide exchange of mercury thermometers at maple sugaring operations. Provide free replacements and collecting of mercury thermometers. Estimated costs: included in 2 above
  4. Thermostat Exchange - develop a promotional and educational campaign in conjunction with Efficiency Vermont (Vermont's energy efficiency utility) to encourage the purchase and use of digital/electronic thermostats through incentive and education programs. Estimated costs: $30,000
  5. Lamp recycling outreach to businesses. Conduct surveys of businesses to determine baseline compliance rate with universal waste rule for lamps and the barriers to lamp recycling. Design and disseminate educational materials and work with lamp recyclers and solid waste districts and municipalities to overcome barriers to convenient and cost effective recycling. Costs may include funding a temporary position to conduct surveys, evaluate barriers, and develop an outreach program, including educational materials and advertising. Estimated costs: $50,000
  6. Mercury education - production of educational video on mercury in the environment for middle and high schools. Develop other mercury education materials for use in schools and for school presentations by staff. Estimated costs: $20,00
  7. Mercury switches in autos and appliances - After passage of statutes which require removal of auto mercury switches and appliance mercury switches and sensors, develop and implement pilot collection programs - by providing scrap metal salvage dealers, auto salvage operations, and propane distributors with collection containers and mail-back collection for these. Estimated costs: $10,000
  8. Mercury education and reduction web site. Contract for the completion of the mercvt.org web site, with information for businesses, consumers, schools and others on mercury education and reduction. Estimated costs: $15,000
  9. Outreach to sensitive populations on mercury exposure reduction. Develop and disseminate information and materials to sensitive populations (in particular, parents of newborn and young children and nursing mothers) through the extensive health care network. Initiatives may include: distribution of mercury in fish brochures and posters, refrigerator magnets, and distribution of digital fever thermometers to parents of newborns (through hospitals) and low income families (through programs such as WIC). Possibly contract for a portion of this work. Estimated costs: $50,000

Comments:

  • Dairy manometers
    • Project is not finished.
    • No accurate survey of number remaining.
    • ½ pound to 1 pound of mercury per manometer.
  • Fever thermometer exchange.
    • Possibly conduct through solid waste districts or local community events.
    • Suggestion that statewide advertising created awareness/success of last exchange.
    • Focus on same days throughout state creates larger demand- important to fill that demand - suggestion to state, "limited quantities" or "while quantities last."
  • Maple sugaring thermometer exchange.
    • Targeted campaign.
    • Free replacements.
  • Thermostat exchange.
    • Important to work toward encouraging use of programmable thermostats.
  • Lamp recycling.
    • Area that needs to be addressed - in process of developing program.
    • Address and promote proper handling.
    • Suggestion to hire a temporary person to help with an outreach campaign.
    • Substantial effort to identify who should be targeted for a campaign.
    • EAD staff visited a lamp recycler to obtain information.
    • Need funding for surveys, mailings and workshops.
  • School workshops.
    • Solid waste districts would be interested in a train-the-trainer session so they could visit schools in their areas.
  • Mercury switches in autos and appliances.
    • Legislation is important to make removal of switches happen.
    • Intent is to set aside funding for pilots or other methods to establish collection systems.
    • Previous efforts have not been as successful as anticipated.
    • Air emissions draft inventory suggested that auto switches are one of the larger contributors in Vermont.
    • Already contributed a lot of money for auto switch bounty program with few participants - monetary incentives alone do not seem to work.
  • Mercury education and reduction web site.
    • No current internal capacity to update or maintain.
    • Suggestion to contract out web maintenance.
  • Outreach to sensitive populations.
    • Continuance of sub committee's efforts.
    • Charge of Advisory Committee includes efforts regarding sensitive populations.
    • There has not been enough focus on sensitive populations in the past.
    • Suggestion for potential contract work to complete program.
  • Suggestion to add additional incentive to provide funding for posting fish consumption advisories and information related to mercury in fish at fish access areas. Neil suggested that it should be institutionalized - use temporary staff for 2-3 days to get the areas posted.
  • Suggestion to include an additional item to address funding for a fish tissue monitoring effort to use as environmental indicator.
    • Suggestion to contact Fish and Wildlife for input.
    • No one has set up a study on fish tissue monitoring over a period of time to create historical data on fish tissue levels.
    • Suggestion to conduct fish tissue monitoring in 2004, 2009, 2014 to determine changes in fish tissue mercury levels.
    • Question from Ric as to whether Neil would expect to see an improvement as the levels would change very slowly. Response was that was why the data would be collected every 5 years. Data would also include rate of watershed mercury loss and speed at which mercury is decreasing. New York and New Hampshire setting up similar programs.
  • Suggestion to purchase Jerome meter for Department.
    • Cost around $5,000. - need to verify cost.
    • Monitoring is usually done after the spill is cleaned up - concern that there would be no justification for the cost of the meter.
    • Suggestion that value of meter could be for historic mercury in traps.
    • New device more sensitive.
  • Suggestion for Underhill monitoring effort.
    • Secured $100,000 from EPA.
    • What they really need is long-term funding.

Agenda Item 3-
Status update on collection programs for small rural municipalities and districts.

Committee determined that this matter had been resolved at a previous meeting and matter would be re-addressed at a later date.

Agenda Item 4-
Status update on automotive mercury switch removal efforts.

Tom Benoit advised the committee that mercury-added convenience switches were being removed from all state vehicles destined for auction. The Agency of Transportation, Forrest and Parks and Fish and Wildlife are currently removing these switches from their vehicles when they go in for service and prior to auction. All current Department of Environmental Conservation vehicles have the switches replaced with non-mercury switches.

Switches have been collected from four salvage yards participating in the mercury switch removal pilot program. These yards removed the switches in their existing vehicles and newly received vehicles on a voluntary basis. During the offer of the mercury-switch bounty program for salvage yards, five additional salvage yards agreed to remove their switches. The bounty program closes at the end of November with a total less than 1,000 collected switches, which is about 2-3 pounds of mercury. A salvage yard initiative was conducted and information mailed to about 150 salvage yards on environmental management issues, including mercury issues. About 20 salvage yards attended at 8 different workshops across the state. Mr. Benoit stated that there were some very professional and well maintained salvage yards in the state and those were the ones wanting other yards to come up to a level playing ground.

  • Suggestion that the only successful method to collect mercury-added switches from automobiles may be through imposing legislation. Legislation should be broader than just switch removal and should cover environmental management issues.
  • It may be more effective to regulate mobile vehicle crushers (only a few in the state) for switch removal.
  • Concern that current legislation and proposed legislation does not require any manufacturer responsibility.
  • Question if air quality during crushing would exceed VOSHA limits - suggestion to test.

Agenda Item 5-
Discuss future mercury legislation.

Rich Phillips advised the Committee that EAD had reviewed the legislation that had passed through the Senate in 2002. EAD evaluated what needed to remain in the bill and if there were any necessary changes because of laws that had been adopted in other states. Mr. Phillips advised that Connecticut had passed all the model legislation, Rhode Island had passed all the sections of the model and Maine was moving along piecemeal with legislation on thermostats but no phase out. New Hampshire adopted notification but no labeling. Legislation had passed in most northeastern states except for Massachusetts and New York.

Senator McCormack stated as a frame of reference that he felt the Senate had distinguished itself in regard to the mercury bill. Phil Scott voted for the bill on the floor, he stated, even though he was not in favor of some provisions of the bill. The bill passed out of the Senate 19-11 in a bipartisan vote. The bill moved on to the House and was never taken up. There are various businesses that use mercury in manufacturing and should not be ignored and those concerns were addressed by the Senate Natural Resources and Energy Committee legitimately. Senator McCormack stated that you cannot ignore the interest of the larger businesses in the state and he felt it was important that the bill be a business friendly bill. The basic approach is that you work together and this was repeatedly acknowledged by the Governor.

Ric Erdheim stated that he wished to make it clear that it was not his intention to stop the bill but he believes that with the things that have been done in other states that some items of the bill should be changed. Mr. Erdheim suggested that he would be willing to work with the Department. Mr. Phillips suggested that the bill should be considered as is since it had already been passed by the Senate and perhaps the bill could be taken back up as a Committee bill in the same context. Mr. Erdheim stated his concern regarding issues being raised as to whether the Interstate Mercury Education and Reduction Committee (IMERC) should have authority for approval of manufacturer submissions. Mr. Erdheim believes that states need to retain approval authority but is not proposing any changes to the clearinghouse.

Rich Phillips distributed a brief outline of the Considerations of Mercury Legislation in Vermont for the Committee to review as follows:

Considerations for Mercury Legislation in Vermont

Using S. 91, which unanimously passed in the Senate Natural Resources Committee in 2002, the following are preliminary comments and considerations from VT DEC on legislation in the 2003 session. These comments are not necessarily the Department's position on legislation at this time, but are intended to encourage comment and discussion through the Advisory Committee on important issues.

Section 7101 Legislative Findings
No changes seen as necessary.

Section 7202 Definitions
No changes seen as necessary.

Section 7103 Interstate Clearinghouse
No changes seen as necessary.

Section 7104
No changes seen as necessary.

Section 7105 Restrictions on the Sale of Certain Mercury-Added Products
Possible modifications to novelties subsection (a) based on experiences of some other New England states.
Possible ban on the use of mercury-added auto switches or sale of auto with these switches (similar to Maine).
Possible ban on the future sale of mercury-containing thermostats except for industrial and other uses under extreme environmental conditions (including explosions, high moisture, heat and pressure).

Comments:

  • Suggestion that the novelty section may need some clarification based on information received from experiences of other states in the implementation of this section.
  • Suggestion that since auto manufacturers are already stating that switches will be banned that it is desirable to follow through to ban the switches.
  • Suggestion that Committee evaluate possible ban on mercury thermostats. Suggestion to provide training regarding programmable thermostats and other types of programs to promote other usage along with the ban and provide for considerations under specific special circumstances.
  • Concern of the response of the Natural Resource Committees in reference to raising a red flag to business.
  • Ric Erdheim does not approve of the Committee's suggestion to ban mercury-added thermostats as he believes that programmable thermostats only serve as a viable replacement when the consumer uses it properly- otherwise, no energy is saved.

7106 Phase-Out and Exemptions
Not a high priority at this time. Differing state legislation may present difficulties in implementing all parts of the provisions through the clearinghouse function. Implementation could be a resource burden on DEC. The provisions would most likely take effect even if Vermont does not adopt.

Comments:

  • Concern that this section is different in each state bill and suggestion that it would be better for Vermont to stand back to determine what other states are doing.

Section 7107 Labeling of Mercury-Added Products
Although we could move ahead without this provision under our existing labeling provisions, it would be cost- and resource-effective both to DEC and product manufacturers to comply with uniform labeling provisions in the region. Remove 10,000,000 population trigger, since labeling is already happening in our existing law and in other states.
7107(i)2: Delete the word "fever" since mercury fever thermometer sale would be banned under Section 7105.

Comments:

  • Comment that compared to the model labeling legislation, Vermont's current labeling law is more difficult to interpret and more difficult to implement.
  • Ric Erdheim stated that the bill that passed the Senate has products not required to be labeled in other states and that he still has significant concerns.
  • Suggestion that model legislation labeling would provide for more consistent labeling requirements to those of other New England states.

Section 7108 Discarded Mercury-Added Products
Section (c): Clarify which mercury-added products must be removed from autos. As written, HID headlamps and ABS brake components would require removal. Is this the intent and is it practical?
Consider auto manufacturer responsibility in compensation for auto switch removal (similar to Maine).

Comments:

  • Maine's legislation would make the manufacturer responsible for switch bounty. Currently there is a legal challenge against it. It is a model for manufacturer responsibility. Suggestion to either consider Maine's model or make some other effort for manufacturer responsibility. Maine has collection points that could perhaps be an opportunity for Vermont salvage yards.

Section 7111 Limitations on the Use of Elemental Mercury
Not a high priority. Subsection (b) in particular is of limited utility. DEC has no way to enforce this provision and it is not likely that it will be complied with in our opinion.

Comments:

  • Suggestion that this provision may only address cultural uses. Those uses by some Asian and Hispanic cultures may be more significant in Rhode Island, Connecticut and New York.

Section 7115 Mercury in Schools
Consider expanding the scope of this section to require removal of mercury-added laboratory compounds and equipment from the lab premises, not just restriction on purchase and use.

Comments:

  • Suggestion that even though Vermont had addressed mercury in schools through the cleanout program which included 83 schools, that this legislation would prevent future mercury use.
  • Concern that legislation would not address existing mercury still remaining in schools without specific requirements to remove.
  • Suggestion to include language that states schools must remove existing inventory by date specific.
  • Suggestion that mercury removal should be included as one of the requirements for certification under Act 125, Indoor Air Quality.

Section 7116 State Procurement Preferences for Low- or Non-Mercury-Added Products
These provisions are now part of an executive order that is in effect. This section may no longer be necessary.

Section 6 State Review
If Section 7106 is not included in legislation, then delete the last sentence.

General Comments:

  • Suggestion to concentrate more on manufacturer responsibility. This is a strategy that may not have been dealt with by the Senate.
  • Suggestion to go back to the Senate Committee and start bill there.
  • Suggestion to draft recommendations on legislation for the next meeting for review.
  • Suggestion to continue to follow David Deen's bill on advance disposal fees.
  • Comment that Wheelabrator will be installing scrubbers in 2003 at its own expense. Wording in legislation to affect facility in New York which is smaller than Clairmont facility.
  • Question whether to review existing legislation concerning emission levels. 1998 bill (10V.S.A. 6605g) is difficult to interpret and concern for leaving the legislation as is. Concern was trash that is going to incinerators without the best available mercury removal technology.
  • Suggestion to include legislation in next year's work plan and recommendations and focus on most important issues in the recommendations as a committee.
  • Suggestion to "vote" on legislative recommendations as a committee.

Agenda Item 6-
Other topics not on agenda.

  • Distribution of the letter to Efficiency Vermont
    • Copy of final letter to Efficiency Vermont was distributed to attending members.
  • VOSHA transfer
    • Bill Bress advised that the Health Department's responsibility for VOSHA has been transferred to the Vermont Department of Labor and Industry.
  • Update on Fish Advisory Postings
    • Neil Kamman advised that there were quite a number posted but that despite the best efforts of his office, there were not as many posted as he had hoped.
      • Funding was not available to hire usual temporary workers that could have completed the access postings.
      • Suggestion to seek non-government partners to help with postings.
      • Problem with Health Department advisories as the ink did not withstand the elements. EAD to obtain information from printer and provide specifications to VDH of companion posting to fish advisories to determine ink and paper type for best durability. Health Department Advisories would need to be reprinted so that the ink would not run or fade.
      • Suggestion to seek assistance from town health officers - should be easy to segregate by town to determine access posting locations.
      • Wardens were provided with all materials and organized directly with Fish and Wildlife. Concern that wardens may feel that the message would discourage fishing. Comment that Maine's goal was to reduce mercury in hair testing results and eat more fish. Maine also encourages "catch and release".
      • Suggestion to contact Sharon Mallory with Community Public Health to help with postings as they are already sampling for bacteria. Bill will contact Sharon before December meeting - Particulars will be worked out through Neil Kamman.

Agenda Item 7-
Set date and agenda for next meeting.

The next meeting will be determined by scheduling via e-mail and will be held in the conference room at the Environmental Assistance Division, Waterbury state complex, Waterbury, Vermont.

Agenda items will include discussion of legislative recommendations and potential list of next year's projects for the January report to the legislature.

 

    
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