Activists Testify at EPA Hearing on Existing Power Plant Greenhouse Gas Emissions Rules
BOSTON/Financial District - Members of the public and activists from around New England testified on November 4th at the Environmental Protection Agency's New England headquarters on upcoming regulations limiting greenhouse gases from existing power plants. Following the September 20th announcement of proposed rules on new power plants, the EPA plans to propose rules for existing power plants by June 14th of 2014.
EPA officials present were Ken Moraff, Cynthia Greene, David Conroy, and Shutsu Wong. The agency hosted 11 public listening sessions nationwide.
A Congress stagnant on climate bills has pushed the Obama administration to give the EPA jurisdiction under the Clean Air Act flexibility provisions to minimize emissions in part through increased deployment of renewable energy and energy efficiency. Coal and gas-fired plants emit more than 2.3 billion metric tons of carbon pollution per year, approximately 40 percent of total U.S. energy-related carbon emissions.
Owners New England’s largest coal-fired power plant, Brayton Point Station, filed paper work in early October indicating that the plant will no longer provide power to the region’s electricity grid when it is retired as of May 2017. Brayton Point is the largest of six New England coal-fired power plants.
Kimberly Richards, of Eliot, Maine, travelled down to Boston and said, “I’ve lived across from the Schiller coal-fired plant for most of my life, and have suffered from chronic bronchitis.” Richards is a founder of the Citizens for Clean Air activist group in Eliot that is pushing for the EPA to conduct an investigation of the plant.
A representative from the American Lung Association said, “The EPA standards for new power plants set clear expectations for the next generation of power plants. The EPA must set similar standards for existing power plants. Smog creation as a result of these plants is a contributor to asthma attacks. One out of ten people suffer from it.”
Newburyport-based Mike Morris, Steering Committee Chairman of Storm Surge, a coastal restoration organization testified, “We’re feeling the consequences of climate change on a local level. As a former fisherman, I have noticed different fishing in Maine because of warming coastal waters. Last year, I saw six of my neighbors at Plum Island lose their homes to storm surges, with an additional 39 homes deemed uninhabitable. I wonder what else will happen as we lose 40 percent of our tax base into the ocean.”
Dr. Linda Hudoff, from the Center for Climate Change and Health at the Public Health Institute in Oakland, California, backed up public health testimony with additional scientific evidence and said, “Climate change is the biggest public health challenge right now. PHI works with local health departments and community-based organizations We see that increased temperatures create a greater ozone layer, and increased pollen counts, thus, more allergies. In California, we have seen West Nile Virus, and now, the mosquito carrying dengue fever.”
Environment America, Union for Concerned Scientists, NRCM, Sierra Club, and 350.org were among the activist groups present.
Susan Labandibar, president of TechNetworks Boston, expressed interest in focusing efforts on local renewable energy sources, citing economic gain “We spend $260 million importing coal from Colombia in Massachusetts. We need to be creating sustainable local economies instead. Everytime you fill up your car, that money is going out of the community to Exxon Mobile or the other oil companies.”
Vincent Maraventana, Executive Director of Massachusetts Interfaith Power and Light, mentioned the state government’s attempts to limit carbon emissions with the Patrick administration’s 2010 plan to bring greenhouse gas emissions to levels that are 25 percent below those in 1990 by 2020. “25 percent is not enough. Boston synagogue can’t even afford a full-time rabbi, but they were able to cut their carbon footprint by 70 percent.”
The EPA will seek additional public input during the notice and comment period once it issues its proposed power plant rules.
