This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Money troubles continue for the state's mercury contamination program.
Last week, as the Mercury Work Group discussed Utah's statewide fish consumption advisories, members learned the state Department of Health can't promise it will be able to pay for signs to notify anglers about the mercury in fish they might be catching every time there is an advisory in the future.
"We have no budgets for doing the signs," the Health Department's Sam LeFevre reported to the committee on Sept. 22, although he said the department was able to take money from other budget items to cover signs for the most recent advisories.
Last month officials issued new and updated advisories for six Utah waterways, where anglers are warned to eat little or no fish because they contain too much of the toxic form of mercury, which harms the nervous system and developing brains.
The signs cost just $15 apiece, but the Health Department can no longer budget for them, LeFevre told the panel. The signs are made at the state prison and are posted at the 16 boat launches and stream sides where significant numbers of contaminated fish have been identified.
This year the Health Department will use money from unfilled positions to cover the cost of the 14 signs needed for the latest round of advisories, he said.
"It's kind of year by year now," LeFevre said. The Health Department also spends about $300 a year on wallet-sized information cards and tri-fold brochures to inform the public about the health advisories.
A variety of state and federal agencies take samples from fish and have them tested to determine how much poisonous mercury is in their flesh. But the effort has become more and more spotty because of shrinking state and federal funding.
John Whitehead, deputy director of the state Division of Water Quality, noted that his agency is also looking for a way to replace the state's small share of a promising mercury remediation project at Newcastle Reservoir: $45,000.
"This is essential; we've got to finish this project," he said. "If we can succeed here, we can have some hope of mitigating the mercury problem."
The work group plans to look at funding questions in depth at its next meeting, probably in the spring.