By: Sam Schmitz, Project Manager for DC Events and Policy, Moms Clean Air Force
Date: July 10, 2025
About: Environmental Protection Agency Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2018-0794-6978
To: Environmental Protection Agency
Thank you for the opportunity to testify today. My name is Samantha Schmitz, and I’m a Project Manager for Moms Clean Air Force, currently living in Washington, DC. It's more important than ever that we as citizens have the right to speak directly to our government officials, and I’m here today to strongly oppose EPA’s proposal to repeal recent updates to the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards.
Mercury is a potent neurotoxin that can cause permanent damage to the brains of babies and fetuses, leading to developmental delays, learning disabilities, behavioral problems, and birth defects. When mercury and other toxic chemicals are released into the air from coal-fired power plants they fall into our waterways which then accumulate in fish that are a prominent part of many people’s diets.
Because of this, pregnant people are often warned not to consume too much fish because of the particularly harmful way that mercury accumulates in the developing brains of fetuses. As I consider my own future and my desire to be a mom, I want to feel confident that the food I’m eating is safe for not only me but also safe for my future children. This administration continues to urge women to have more children, yet this rollback of commonsense health protections will put pregnant people and babies directly in harm’s way as it will allow them to be exposed to dangerous and life-altering levels of mercury and air toxics.
Aside from the harm of mercury on pregnant people and developing babies, many communities also rely on fish for various reasons. Growing up in Illinois, my family loved to go fishing but were always wary of fishing in highly polluted areas. Even though my family likely didn’t understand the science at that point, our instincts proved right as fish near poorly regulated industrial facilities often have especially harmful levels of mercury that would’ve put our health at risk.
While my family fished recreationally, many communities rely on fishing as a primary food source or for economic opportunity while others see it as part of their cultural identity and history. Indigenous communities and low-wealth communities are often overburdened by these impacts of mercury and other toxic heavy metals due to their ties and dependence on fish that are poisoned by coal-fired power plants nearby. No level of mercury is safe for anyone—no matter their age or zip code.
Last year’s updates to the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards represent the rule’s first modernization in over a decade. While MATS has been highly successful in reducing mercury pollution since it was first implemented in 2012, more work was left to be done to protect families from mercury and other dangerous pollution from coal plants—specifically, the recent updates close a loophole that allowed dirty lignite coal plants to evade important mercury pollution controls. These updates will also help reduce children’s exposure to other heavy metals addressed by MATS, including arsenic and lead, and require coal plants to continuously address their emissions, holding them accountable for the pollution that is actually going into communities.
With that said, I strongly oppose EPA’s deregulation agenda that will allow polluters to profit even more than they already are from their blatant disregard for the safety of our babies, families, and communities. The decisions that you make today will deeply impact my future and have the potential to derail my aspiration to have children of my own—I hope you take that responsibility seriously.