By: Erandi Treviño, Texas State Coordinator, Moms Clean Air Force
Date: May 9, 2023
About: Environmental Protection Agency Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2018-0794
To: Environmental Protection Agency
Good afternoon. My name is Erandi Treviño. I am the Texas state organizer for Moms Clean Air Force, and I live in southeast Houston. I strongly support EPA’s proposal to strengthen the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards and ask that EPA to finalize these standards as quickly as possible.
The science is clear that mercury imposes significant burdens on communities across America. The highest mercury-polluting coal plants are concentrated in North Dakota and Texas. The Mercury levels in Texas are astronomical, but they are unhealthy all over the country. There is no safe level of mercury consumption.
We know that the toll of air pollution is unevenly distributed, with communities of color and low-wealth communities bearing the heaviest burden. According to the American Lung Association more than one in three people live with unhealthy air. In the same study, we see how low-income communities and minority groups are disproportionately impacted. For example, Latino children are four times as likely to be hospitalized for asthma. Black children are twice as likely to die due to an asthma attack. For many of us, asthma is a direct result of external factors like the air pollution communities of color live with every day.
Strengthening mercury standards is critical for environmental justice in the communities most impacted by pollution from coal plants. EPA’s proposed requirement to continuously monitor emissions for coal plants is essential for our frontline communities. It means that facilities will be required to track their pollution at all times—rather than just for short, periodic emissions tests that don’t necessarily reflect the pollution actually going into the air most of the time.
As of 2011, 6 of the 10 biggest mercury-polluting power plants in the US were in Texas, and out of all 50 states, Texas ranked the worst in terms of overall airborne mercury pollution produced by power plants. Current Texas fish advisories warn of mercury contamination in all Texas coastal waters and water bodies in central Texas, the Houston/Galveston area, northeast and southeast Texas, the Texas panhandle, and the Valley (Harlingen/McAllen) area. Many of these advisories warn against pregnant women and children consuming any recreationally caught fish at all from these waters. Many Texans still eat fish from Texas waters, and some even rely on recreational fishing to supplement their diet.
Moms Clean Air Force has been advocating for strong mercury protections for over a decade, and we strongly support strengthening MATS. As a Texan, I am particularly grateful that the proposed rules will reduce mercury pollution from the burning of lignite coal, which particularly impacts my state. We must keep mercury and other toxics from spewing out of coal-fired power plants and ending up in our air, water, soil, and food. Once again, I strongly support the proposed rule, and ask you to finalize stronger mercury and air toxics protections as soon as possible. Thank you for the opportunity to testify.