This month’s Resource newsletter carries an article on new mercury limits for wastewater discharges in the Lake Superior basin. The limits result from the Binational Program to Restore and Protect the Lake Superior basin, which was signed in 1991.

The expense of meeting this stringent standard is falling on municipal wastewater plants in the Lake Superior watershed.

This is not to argue with the limits. But if a representative of the State of Minnesota signs an international agreement, state resources should be made available to meet that commitment. It should not be left up to locals to pick up the tab.

- Steve Downer