Environmental Protection Agency Hearing-Thursday, May 24th, 2012 

Re: Carbon Pollution Standard for New Power Plants 

Presented by Kimberly Williams, Manager, Advocacy and Communications 

American Lung Association serving North Carolina, Virginia, the District of Columbia and Maryland 

Good morning, my name is Kimberly Williams and I am the Manager of Advocacy and Communications 

for the American Lung Association serving North Carolina, Virginia, the District of Columbia, and 

Maryland. I am pleased to join my colleagues from the national office of the American Lung Association 

in support of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's proposed standards for carbon pollution from 

power plants. This rule is an important and historic opportunity for protecting public health. 

We are pleased that EPA has proposed the first national standards to address power plant carbon 

pollution. There is no reason why this pollution should not be regulated in the same manner as other 

pollutants like those linked to smog and soot. This rule will also help address the negative health 

impacts resulting from smog which is especially good news for North Carolina, Virginia, Washington, DC, 

and Maryland. 

In North Carolina, there are 206,700 children with asthma; 73,700 of them living in an area where ozone 

levels received a failing grade in the American Lung Association's State of the Air 2012 report. 

In Virginia, there are 153,000 children with asthma; 51,000, or one-third of them living in an area that 

fails due to unsafe levels of ozone. 

The District of Columbia also received a failing grade and there are 18,103 children with asthma. 

Additionally of importance to note, the Washington Metropolitan Area ranked 13th most polluted in the 

nation for high ozone days. 

Lastly, in Maryland, there are 160,200 children with asthma; 117,600, or nearly three quarters of them 

living in a county that fails the ozone test. 

Scientists say that buildup of carbon pollution will likely lead to increases in temperatures which, in turn, 

could lead to more ozone or smog in the air. This is why it is important that EPA begin to address carbon 

pollution. You have heard it before, but it bears repeating: more smog means more childhood asthma 

attacks and complications for those with lung disease. 

The truth is even healthy, active adults can be negatively affected by air pollution. Take for instance my 

own personal story. I was born in Fayetteville, Arkansas which is located in Washington County and 

received a letter grade of B for ozone pollution in the Lung Association's recently released State of the 

Air report. I have been active almost my entire life; running, hiking, rock climbing, etc. all with little to 

no trouble. Four years ago I moved to the District of Columbia, which received a failing grade for ozone 

pollution, and there was a noticeable change in the ease at which I could perform these activities, 

especially during the warmer months. I began to notice that my throat felt constricted and I was having 

difficulty taking the deep breaths needed to sustain my typical level of activity. Over time the symptoms 
worsened and my shortness of breath became more frequent. On high ozone days, even my daily Metro 

commute to and from work would exacerbate the difficulty I was having breathing. Eventually, I was 

diagnosed with asthma and to control my various symptoms was placed on three separate medications 

by my physician. As a young woman who has focused on living a healthy lifestyle and being active, it is 

both frustrating and troublesome that I have been diagnosed with asthma and now have to take a daily 

medication to maintain my active lifestyle. Unfortunately, my story is all too common for those in the 

Washington Metropolitan Area where we are living with unhealthy levels of ozone. 

In closing, the proposed rule is an important step to ensure that the plants of the future are as clean as 

they possibly can be. If we don't enact these standards, we run the risk of short changing the health and 

wellbeing of future generations. The national office of the American Lung Association will be submitting 

more detailed written comments, but I take this opportunity to urge EPA to lower the emissions limit to 

meet what the cleanest plants in operation emit, eliminate exemptions and do not have incentives for 

coal plants that go beyond 2020. Also, I ask that EPA begin the process of developing standards to cover 

existing sources as well. 

Thank you for the opportunity to testify here today and I urge you to please finalize this rule before the 

end of the year.