By: Melody Reis, Senior Legislative and Regulatory Policy Manager, Moms Clean Air Force
Date: February 7, 2024
About: EPA Large Municipal Waste Combustor Rule, Docket #EPA-HQ-OAR-2017-0183-0001
To: Environmental Protection Agency
Hi. Thank you for the opportunity to testify today. My name is Melody Reis. I’m the Senior Legislative and Regulatory Policy Manager for Moms Clean Air Force. We are an organization dedicated to protecting families from the harmful effects of climate change, air pollution, and toxic chemicals, and while I’m certainly here in that capacity, this is also personal. I live within one mile of the Covanta Alexandria/Arlington incinerator just outside Washington, DC. I see its smokestack looming over my neighborhood every day, and I’m here today to urge you to take long-awaited regulatory action to protect families in my community and communities across the nation.
For far too long, municipal waste incinerators have been exposing communities like mine to toxic air pollution and unnecessary risk. Strong and up-to-date regulations are urgently needed and are long overdue. Large municipal incinerators like the one in my backyard are exposing my community and environmental justice communities across the country to harmful air pollution every day, threatening our health and safety. The majority of these incinerators are located in communities already overburdened with unhealthy air and toxic industrial facilities. For example, the incinerator in my community is located next to an asphalt plant, which can also be a major source of hazardous air pollutants.
I first encountered the Covanta facility years ago shortly after moving to my neighborhood. I was walking through a nearby park and noticed a tall smokestack emitting a large plume of smoke. A cloud of darker smoke was lingering just below. Both columns of smoke were blowing into the park, where a group of toddlers were practicing soccer drills, families were picnicking, and people like me were out theoretically getting some fresh air. Also adjoining the park is an elementary school playground. And unsurprisingly, the majority of the student body at that school is made up of low-income students and students of color. Upon returning home, I checked Google Maps to find out more about the source of the smoke and discovered that the smokestack belonged to an incinerator.
I was heartened to learn that incinerator emissions are regulated, and then disheartened to learn that the regulations hadn’t been updated since 2006. In the nearly 20 years since these standards were last strengthened, many new chemicals have been introduced to the market, and many existing chemicals have been discovered to be more dangerous than we had realized—BPA and PFAS, to name just a couple of high-profile examples. Yet they’re all being burned in my neighborhood—next to an elementary school, a park, and an asphalt plant—and in neighborhoods across the country. We’re constantly reassured that the incinerators are operating in accordance with regulations, but when the regulations are outdated and are only tracking a handful of the toxic pollutants that are released when you burn trash, that reassurance becomes less reassuring.
It’s crucial that EPA adopt a comprehensive and enforceable rule that will meaningfully curb harmful emissions and protect human health. I am relying on you to protect my community—and communities like mine—with strong safeguards. We have waited far too long for these enhanced protections, and I urge you to quickly finalize the strongest possible standards.