By: Michelle Uberuaga, Montana 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
Thank you so much for your time today. My name is Michelle Uberuaga, and I am a mother of three and a member of Moms Clean Air Force. I live on unceded Indigenous lands in the town called Livingston, Montana.
First and foremost, I’m here today to speak in support of the strongest possible Mercury and Air Toxics Standards to be finalized this year.
Montana Moms and our 4,000 members urge the EPA to set stronger limits on mercury and air toxics from power plants: close loopholes for lignite coal plants; support continuous emissions monitoring; and strengthen protections for non-mercury air toxics.
Livingston is a community of about 7,000 people in the Yellowstone River valley just north of Yellowstone National Park. The nearest coal-fired power plant, coalstrip, lies to the east of Livingston, and sits on the northern border of the Crow Nation and the Northern Cheyenne Nation.
I am testifying today because I am concerned about the impacts of mercury pollution in Montana, on sovereign nations and across the country. Mercury disproportionately impacts our most vulnerable community members, pregnant women, and children. This is very clear: there is no safe level of mercury consumption.
We are counting on you. It is EPA’s job to protect communities from industrial pollution, like mercury. Especially when the negative health impacts of mercury contamination are so clear.
I am urging EPA to take swift action to help protect the health and safety of my children and future generations by working to reduce mercury pollution.
My family, like many Montana families, loves to fish and hunt. My 11-year-old has already had two years of hunting and shot his first mule deer when he was 10. All three of my children have been fishing since they were two. We live on a freezer full of meat we harvest as a family. We rarely buy meat at the store. Instead we definitely benefit from the abundance of wild fish and game in Montana. Kids in our community start fishing out of the rivers and ponds at a very young age. It’s the Montana way. And nothing is better than the reward of fresh fish grilled in butter.
Unfortunately, like many streams across the nation, streams in Montana have fish consumption advisories due to high mercury concentrations. As do many lakes and reservoirs. It’s not always safe to eat the fish you catch, but many Montanans have no other choice, or simply don’t understand the risks. It’s pretty easy to forget that industrial pollutants travel in our air and water when you are fishing in a blue-ribbon stream in the wilderness of Montana.
My kids and my nephews and all their friends really love to fish. And they really love to eat the fish they catch. But there are many places that we don’t allow them to eat the fish. The Yellowstone River literally runs right through our town. Our schools sit about a football field away. Kids learn about tying flies and fishing in our school curriculum, through the watershed warriors program and more. Fishing is a way of life.
To protect our families, Montanans must refer to the Fish Wildlife and Parks sport fish consumption guidelines to ensure that they don’t consume high levels of mercury. I’m not sure how many Montanans fully understand the risk of mercury pollution on their children, including long-term losses in IQ scores, impaired motor function, learning impairments, and behavioral problems in their children.
The other thing about mercury is that it bioaccumulates in a body over time. I had three children in my thirties, and I have been limiting my fish consumption for most of my adult life in order to reduce potential impacts to my babies in utero. I would do anything to protect them.
My youngest, Mario, is just 18 months old, among the many things he needs every day, like all children, he needs clean air and water, healthy food and a safe future.
We have very little power to protect our communities from mercury at the local level. All we can do is get educated and work to avoid it when possible. That’s why your job is so important to set the rules that power plant operators have to follow.
Unfortunately, the communities living adjacent to coal-fired power plants are oftentimes poor communities and communities of color that are disproportionately impacted by industrial pollution.
Again, this is why EPA exists—to set the rules to safeguard and protect everyone equally from pollution.
I respectfully request that EPA moves forward with your plan to strengthen the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards. And to protect the thousands of vulnerable children that are exposed to dangerous levels of air pollution from every day.
This is a simple step, and we can and must continue to do more to protect vulnerable communities from air pollution and mercury pollution. I want my kids to know that we did everything we could to protect their future.
Thank you again for your time and your consideration.