By: Lucia Valentine, West Virginia State Coordinator, Moms Clean Air Force
Date: June 14, 2023
About: Environmental Protection Agency Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2023-0072
To: Environmental Protection Agency
Thank you for the opportunity to testify. My name is Lucia Valentine, and I am the West Virginia organizer for Moms Clean Air Force. I am from Shepherdstown, West Virginia, and have lived in the mountain state my whole life. I strongly support EPA’s proposal to limit carbon emissions from fossil fuel power plants and ask that EPA finalize these standards as quickly as possible.
Fossil fueled power plants are responsible for almost one-quarter of the climate pollution generated by the US. This climate pollution from the fossil fuel industry, also referred to as greenhouse gas emissions, is fueling climate change. Growing up on the banks of the Potomac River, I have experienced exacerbated climate disasters, such as flooding, due to the negative impacts that climate pollution has on our environment. Flood disasters throughout West Virginia have increased in frequency and intensity, making West Virginia the 17th wettest state in the country. These climate related flood disasters not only threaten our health and well-being in numerous ways, but they also pose significant danger, particularly for children. Children can experience safety risks, including drowning, during flood events. They may also experience mental stress when displaced from their homes and communities.
If no national adaptation measures are taken, approximately 185,000 children may lose their homes because of coastal flooding at 50 cm of sea level rise. Flooding can disproportionately affect low-income and BIPOC populations and many of the flood-prone areas in West Virginia and the U.S. are predominantly low wealth communities of color.
The proposed rules offer power plants multiple pathways for cleaning up their carbon pollution. Some of these pathways involve less stringent pollution controls in the short-term for power plants that commit to retiring early; other pathways involve using technologies like carbon capture and storage (CCS) and hydrogen to reduce emissions.
As West Virginia considers CCS and hydrogen, these technologies must have the strongest possible safeguards to ensure real world health protections for people living in proximity to power plants, in front line communities. There are serious concerns about the use of CCS and hydrogen including the cumulative impacts of fossil fuel extraction and use in already overburdened communities. Crucial and urgent work must be done to ensure that any reliance on CCS or hydrogen reflects meaningful community engagement and input, community concerns, and comprehensive safeguards.
I support the Carbon Rule and am calling on EPA to finalize the strongest possible standards to help protect our families from harmful air pollution that contributes to climate change and impacts health. EPA must strengthen community input and safeguards in the final version of this rule. Thank you for your time today.