By: Julie Kimmel, Senior Manager, Editorial and Member Cultivation, Moms Clean Air Force
Date: July 10, 2025
About: Environmental Protection Agency Docket ID No. EPA–HQ–OAR–2018–0794
To: Environmental Protection Agency
My name is Julie Kimmel. I live in Virginia, with my husband and daughter, and I work for Moms Clean Air Force. Thank you for the opportunity to testify.
I strongly oppose EPA’s proposal to repeal recent updates to the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards. No amount of mercury exposure is safe, especially for children.
My husband and I were raised in Virginia; our parents were raised in Virginia; we’re raising our daughter here. Like so many Chesapeake Bay families, we celebrate with fish and seafood. Fish is an important part of our diet and our lives.
I grew up on trout and catfish and tuna. My husband on crab and shrimp and rockfish. Separately and then together, we built traditions around fish and seafood—especially in the summer. We host an annual crab feast for our family and friends in July. We plan elaborate meals around the week’s fresh catch when we’re down at the beach in August.
My daughter is an extremely picky eater—and has been since the womb. When I was pregnant with her, there were only so many things I could stomach. Fish was one of them (the girl still loves fish). So while I did, per doctors’ orders, limit my fish and seafood intake during pregnancy, I didn’t eliminate it altogether.
A few years ago, my daughter was diagnosed with dyslexia. It was a diagnosis a long time coming, and there were a few years there when it was challenging for all of us—lots of frustration, tears, feelings of inadequacy on all sides. We have been fortunate to be able to get her the support she’s needed, and now she’s thriving academically.
But in the back of my mind, I still wonder about the fish I ate during pregnancy, the potential mercury exposure. I do not know why my daughter is dyslexic. But I do know that mercury exposure has been linked to neurological impacts in children, including learning differences, developmental delays, and behavioral problems. Maybe there’s a connection here, maybe not. The point is I should not have to worry about how potential heavy metal exposure during pregnancy has impacted my child. Fish in the U.S. should just be free of mercury contamination.
A strong mercury rule is vital for protecting children’s brains. It’s vital for protecting families from the health impacts of this harmful pollution. Since MATS was implemented in 2012, mercury emissions have decreased 86%, acid gas hazardous air pollutants have been cut by 96%, and non-mercury metal hazardous air pollutants have been reduced by 81%. The rule is working, and if implemented, the 2024 update to the rule—which closes the loophole for lignite coal plants and also would reduce children’s exposure to a range of hazardous heavy metals—would build on this success.
No amount of mercury exposure is safe. As a parent, I strongly oppose any efforts to repeal recent updates to the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards.