By: Chelsea Lyons, North Carolina State Coordinator, Moms Clean Air Force
Date: June 13, 2023
About: Environmental Protection Agency Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2023-0072
To: Environmental Protection Agency
Hello. Thank you for the opportunity to testify today. My name is Chelsea Lyons, and I live in Trinity, North Carolina, with my husband, one-year-old son, and two dogs. I serve as the North Carolina state coordinator for Moms Clean Air Force. On behalf of our 75,000 members in North Carolina, we strongly support EPA’s proposal to limit carbon emissions from fossil fuel power plants and ask that EPA finalize these standards as soon as possible.
In North Carolina, 51% of the state’s electricity in 2021 was generated by fossil fuels. At this moment, North Carolina has eight active coal-fired and 19 natural gas power plants. My family and I live less than 50 miles from the Belews Creek Station, a coal-fired power plant, active since 1974 (pictured behind me). The Belews Creek Station has been known as a big polluter in North Carolina. While Duke Energy has announced it will transition the plant from coal-fired to natural gas by 2035, they have no plans to retire the plant or transition to clean energy. This means my family will continue to live in the shadow of fossil fuel production. And so will many other families who live closer to the plant and are subjected to harmful pollution every day.
As you may be aware, the health issues that stem from long-term pollution exposure from power plants include increased respiratory illness, cardiovascular diseases, adverse birth outcomes, mental health impacts, and more. In the past few years since moving into this community, I have experienced symptoms of severe allergies, difficulty breathing, and coughing. This year, my son has shown symptoms of severe seasonal allergies, making me nervous for his lung development. As a mom, it is my duty to stand up for my child and the rights he has to a healthy life. And I want for the power plants in our community to be held to higher standards for the safety of our kids. For my kid.
Because of climate change, we have seen an increase in extreme weather events. Just this past Tuesday, I received an air quality alert on my phone, saying to limit time outdoors because of high particle pollution exposure from the wildfires happening in Canada. The rogue wildfires are just an example of a natural disaster causing poor living conditions for millions of people. What does this mean for my son and the other children who are exposed to polluted air like this? Children’s developing lungs are especially vulnerable to poor air quality. About 80% of the air sacs in a child’s lungs are developed throughout their childhood. We need to make immediate changes that will positively impact our efforts toward tackling climate change. I believe we can make a difference if we are to act now. We have the ability to create standards that force major polluters to abide by strong guidelines that will help in the efforts to protect our planet. The children in North Carolina deserve better than to be exposed to polluted air caused by these power plants.
I want to thank EPA and their efforts to continue to provide a healthy environment for all. But to continue that trend, we need strong standards to limit carbon emissions from fossil fuel power plants, and I ask that EPA finalize these standards as soon as possible. Thank you for your time.