Illinois' three biggest utility companies-Ameren, Midwest Generation and Dynegy-have now all agreed to significantly reduce mercury emissions, as well as smoke-stack exhaust, from their coal-fired power plants in Illinois. These controls will eliminate more than 6,000 pounds of mercury per year from Illinois' environment.

This week, Midwest Generation followed the leadership displayed by Ameren and Dynegy and took responsibility for the thousands of pounds of pollution they are dumping on Illinois families. Starting in 2009, these companies will add mercury controls, SO2 scrubbers, and NOx controls that will greatly improve air and water quality throughout Illinois.

This week, Illinois' Joint Committee on Administrative Rules, a bipartisan legislative oversight committee, approved rules recommended by the Illinois Pollution Control Board to cut mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants by 90 percent by 2009. The rule, which was proposed by Gov. Rod Blagojevich in January, will limit mercury pollution much faster than current federal rules require.

At least 22 other states have air pollution-control measures stricter than US EPA regulations, but because Illinois has more than 20 coal-fired plants, that state estimates than when all the regulations are in effect, Illinois will be taking more mercury out of the environment than any other state in the country.

The three large utilities have been given more time to meet the standards, but have agreed to start before the deadlines. Midwest Generation, for example, will install mercury controls by July 2008 at its Pilsen, Little Village and Waukegan plants, and a year later at plants outside Romeoville, Joliet and Peoria. Emissions for the utility must be reduced by at least 90 percent by 2015.