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Hello, my name is Royal Mayo, from the Ohio State Conference NAACP, the Steubenville Unit NAACP and concerned citizens everywhere. First, let me start by saying thatthe notion that any elected official wants to hurt business, or stopjob growth isjust silly, the idea is to save lives, and improvethe quality of life of its citizens. I can't remember anyone criticizing big government, the EPA, or government regulations afterthe BP oil spill in the Gulf.

I was born in Steubenville Ohio in 1967. Three years later in 1970 the EPA was created and the Clean Act was passed. Originallythe EPAwas empowered to determine safe limits and to regulate six majorair pollutants, between 1970, and 2010 itwas expanded to 189 potential threats.

In 1974 Harvard began asix city study based on particle pollution in the air, Portage Wisconsin was pick because it had the best air based on these particles, and Steubenville because it had the worse. The study showed that Portage had 26 percent fewer deaths from heart and lung disease the Steubenville during the same period oftime. My question is, what made the air in Steubenville so polluted, and more importantly, the people so unhealthy.

Foryears, the Ohio Valley where Steubenville is located was know as an industrial, labor intensive, town. Locatedjust 39 miles from Pittsburghwe had two steel mills, Wheeling Pittsburgh Steel, and National Steel. Sometimes in the middle ofthe 20th centurythe coaHired plantsjoin in the landscape ofof major employers, and major environmentally damaging corporations. Steubenville is the county seat of Jefferson County, and within 36 miles ofSteubenville we have three major coal-fired power plants, two owned by First Energy, and one owned by American Electric Power. We have the Cardinal plant 9.3 miles away in Brilliant Ohio, then we have the Sammis plant 12.8 miles away in Stratton Ohio, First Energy's largest in Ohio, and last but not least, the Kammer-Mitchell Plant locatedjust 36.6 miles away in Moundsville Ohio. I don't know ofand communitywith so many coal-fired plants located so close together, in ourcountry. I have no doubtthat the reason for some many cancer related, and heart related deaths are because ofthe pollutants in the air.

Now let me tell you why it's personal. I am the third generation of my family to live in Steubenville Ohio. My fathers parents first came to Steubenville from differentsmall towns in Georgia in the early partof the 20th century and met in Steubenville. My maternal grandparents came later, my grandfatherfrom Georgia, and my grandmotherfrom North Carolina. All four ofthem leftthethen Jim Crow south for pretty muchthe same reasons, better payingjobs in the north, and to escape the racism ofthe south. I lostthree of myfour grandparentsto the environmental hazards that you face while living in Steubenville Ohio. The hazards directly related to the poor air quality of my City.

In 1999 both of my mothers parents died 90 days apart. My grandfatherdied of lung cancer on August 11th, and my grandmotherdied after an asthma attack on November lOth. Atthetime of my grandfathers death he had on oldersister, and two aunts still living, they never came north, they stayed in georgia. 18 month later myfraternal grandmother died of cancer also.

That was my past, butwhat about my present and future. I have atwo year old son, Royal 4th, here with
metoday, I also have three olderchildren, I am also expecting my first granddaughterany day now. I have ayounger brotherwith threeyoung kids, all in Steubenville, many of my closest friends and relatives have families in Steubenville. I am thankful forthe government regulations thatwere responsible for the $1.7 billion Bechtel projectat the Sammis plant in Stratton Ohio, designed decrease the pollutants in the air.

The problem is this, thejob ofthe CEO's ofAEP, and First Energy is to make money, like any other business, the cheaper it is foryou to make your product, the more profityou make. When you cut cost,



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you sometimes cut corners, when you cut corners, something, orsomeone has to suffer. In today's world government regulations are viewed asjob, and wealth killers, I like to think regulations add to quality of life. More money doesn't always mean a betterqualityof life, I can still remember my Grandfathers aunt getting up to get him something to drink before he died, hejust didn't have the strength to do it for himself. Not only are goodjobs needed, butwe also need clean air, clean water, and a healthy ozone layer. Ifwe work as hard on not passing on adirty planet as we do at not passing on debt to our children,
we would be in good shape. Anotheraspect ofthese coal-fired power plants are, not only are disproportionally affected by the pollutions ofthese plants, for some reason in Ohio, where blacks are 11 percent ofthe population, we only hold around 3 percent ofthejobsthat they provide.

In closing, I would like to say, with the political climate as it is today, for ourchildren's sake, I pray that the politicians don't play with the health ofourenvironment, with recent disasters like the BP oil spill, and the Japanese nuclear accident, the work you do is needed now morethan ever.



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