Mercury pollution must drop by 86%, DEP says

By Kate Spinner

To eliminate the risk of poisoning from eating too much fish in Florida, the amount of mercury pollution entering the state's lakes, rivers and estuaries needs to drop 86 percent, a new analysis by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection shows.

The state is setting goals to reduce the amount of mercury in all of Florida's waterways, including brackish bays and the Gulf of Mexico — an ambitious step that no other state has taken.

But achieving that 86 percent goal may be impossible and the state has not yet figured out its strategy. Much of the mercury pollution comes from beyond Florida's borders.

Read this story on the Herald-Tribune online...

Florida's Statewide Mercury TMDL Fact Sheet

Revised draft of Mercury TMDL for the State of Florida