In the spring of 2008, the Idaho Conservation League (ICL) petitioned the Board of the
Idaho Department of Environmental Quality to request immediate adoption of a rule to:
- Prohibit the issuance of air quality Permits to Construct for facilities which have the
potential to emit greater than five pounds of mercury per year, and
- Establish new permitting, control technology, monitoring, and reporting for sources
that emit mercury into the atmosphere.

Pooling resources, the Idaho Association of Commerce and Industry (IACI) and the Idaho Council on Industry and the Environment (ICIE) have studied the ICL petition, scientific publications on mercury sources in and near Idaho, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), United States Geological Survey (USGS), and studies by the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (IDEQ), the potential effects of mercury on the environment, and the implications of additional environmental regulations.

See a copy of the ICIE's report on Mercury Sources and Receptors in Idaho