## United States Environmental Protection Agency Public Hearing William Jefferson Clinton East Building, Room 1153 1201 Constitution Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20004

Proposed Rule: Clean Power Plan for Existing Sources

Docket No. EPA

- HQ

- OAR

- 2013

- 0602

July 29, 2014 , 2:10pm Testimony of Elizabeth Glass Geltman, Associate Professor & Program Director, Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences,
CUNY School of Public Health & Hunter College School of Urban Public Health 2180 Third Avenue, Room 524, New York, NY 10035

Good afternoon

.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to disc uss concerns about the public health issues of carbon and US EPA’s proposed Cl e an Power Plan

. 1



### My name is Elizabeth Glass Geltman and I am an Associate Professor and Director of the Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Program at the City University of New York (CUNY) School of Public Health and the Urban School of Public Health at Hunter Colle ge. I am the author of 17 books on environmental and natural resources pol icy and an attorney with over 30 years experience in environmental l aw and regulation

.

Climate change is undoubtedly one of the most significant public he alth concerns facing mankind. 2 

### The human perils of climate change are becoming increasingly apparent from sea level rise and storm damage. 3 

### In New York City

, we are still feeling the after affects of Hurricane Sandy. 4

1 78 Fed. Reg. 25267 (April 30, 2013).

2 IPCC. 2013: C LIMATE C HANGE 2013: T HE P HYSICAL S CIENCE B ASIS

. I NTERGOVERNMENTAL P ANEL ON C LIMATE C HANGE

. https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar5/wg1/ ; Shindell D, and others. 2012. Simultaneously mitigating near

- term climate change and improving human health and food security, 355 S CIENCE 183

- 189.

3 See, e.g., National Research Council

, R EDUCING C OASTAL R ISK ON TH E AST AND G ULF C OASTS (2014), http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=18811

4 Id. See, e.g. Mitigation Assessment Team Report Hurricane Sandy in New Jersey and New York,
B UILDING P ERFORMANCE O BSERVATIONS
, R ECOMMENDATIONS
, AND T ECHNICAL G UIDANCEGeltman	Testimony,	US	EPA	Clean	Power	Plan,	July	29,	2014,	2:10pm, Washington,	DC

2 

### I applaud efforts by US EPA to reduce carbon emissions.

I am

, however, deeply concerned about several aspects of the US EPA plan. First, while I understand that focusing on carbon emissions from power plants is the presidential mandate, 5 

### focusing on carbon emissions to the exclusion of methane emissions is problematic. Methane is also a potent greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change. 6



### Focusing on carbon alone is like checking your car’s gas tank and ignoring the oil level when the check engine light is on.

Clean Power must focus on both methane and carbon emissions. To the extent power p lants use natural gas (and currently about 30% of our power plants already do) 7 

### it is imperative that US EPA promulgate and enforce r egulations to ensure that the best available control technologies are used to detect, prevent and control methane leakage fro m power plants and related infrastructure

. 8

FEMA P

- 942 (November 2013 )

, http://www.fema.gov/media

- library

- data/1386850803857

- 025eb299df32c6782fdcbb6f69b35b13/Combined_Sandy_MAT_Report_508post.pdf ; US Department of Housing & Urban Development , Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Strategy ( 2013 )

, http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/documents/huddoc?id=hsrebuildingstrategy.pdf ; New York City, After Hurricane Sandy: Construction in Flood Zones ( 2013 )

, http://www.nyc.gov/html/dob/downloads/pdf/after_hurricane_sandy_AIA_presentation.pdf

5 Presidential Memorandum

— Power Se ctor Carbon Pollution Standards (June 25, 2013), http://www.whitehouse.gov/climate

- change

6 Alvarez RA, Pacala SW, Winebrake JJ, Chameides WL, and Hamburg SP. 2012. Greater focus needed on methane leakage from natural gas infrastructure. Proceeding s of the National Academy of Sciences , doi 10.1073/pnas.1202407109; Brandt AF, Heath GA, Kort EA, O’Sullivan FO, Pétron G, Jordaan SM, Tans P, Wilcox J., Gopstein AM, Arent D, Wofsy S, Brown NJ, Bradley R, Stucky GD, Eardley D, and Harriss
R. 2014. Methane leaks from North American natural gas systems. Science 343: 733

- 735; Howarth RW. 2014. A bridge to nowhere: Methane emissions and the greenhouse gas footprint of natural gas. Energy Science & Engineering , doi 10.1002/ese3.35 http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ese3.35/full ; Howarth, R. W., D. Shindell, R. Santoro, A. Ingraffea, N. Phillips, and A. Townsend

- Small. 2012.
Methane emissions from natural gas systems. Background paper prepared for the National Climate Assessment, Reference # 2011

- 003, Office of Science & Technology Policy Assessment, Washington,
DC. http://www.eeb.cornell.edu/howarth/publications/Howarth_et_al_2012_National_Climate_Assessme nt.pdf ; Miller SM, Wofsy SC, Michalak AM, Kort EA, Andrews AE, Biraud SC, Dlugokencky EJ, Eluszkiewicz J, Fischer ML, Janssens

- M aenhout G, Miller BR, Miller JB, Montzka SA, Nehrkorn T, and Sweeney C. 2013. Anthropogenic emissions of methane in the United States Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , doi 10.1073/pnas.1314392110

7 R. J. Campbell, EPA’s Proposed Greenhouse G as Regulations: Implications for the Electric Power Sector, Congressional Research Service (June 23, 2014)(38% of our power plants in the US are currently
coal

- fired), http://nationalaglawcenter.org/wp

- content/uploads//assets/crs/R43621.pdf

8 See Jackson, Robert B., et al. "Natural gas pipeline leaks across Washington, DC." Environmental science & technology 48.3 (2014): 2051

- 2058 (discussing methane leakage from infrastructure in Washington, DC), http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/es404474xGeltman	Testimony,	US	EPA	Clean	Power	Plan,	July	29,	2014,	2:10pm, Washington,	DC

3 

### Second, I am worried that components of US EPA’s proposed Clean Power Plan Best System of Emission Reduction (BSER) encourages unsustainable practices that will neither reduce climate change nor best protect the environ ment and human health

. 9 

### In particular, I am alarmed that US EPA’s emphas is on redispatch in block 2 of BSER is a bad idea. Redispatc h encourages states t o reduce carbon emissions by shift ing fro m coal

- fired pow er plants to power plants fuele d with natural gas. 10



### The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) predicts that most, if not all, natural gas will

soon co me from unconventional sources

-- primarily shale gas drilled using hydraulic fracturing (what the public calls “fracked gas”). 11



### The science on fracked gas remains controversial. W hether the life cycle of fracked gas in fact causes less green house gas emissions than those from other carbo n based sources is unclear

. 12



### T he extent to which fracked gas causes contamination of ground water and surface waters is unclear

. 13 

### T he extent to which fracked gas causes depletion of scar c e water resources is

9 79 Fed. Reg. 34830 (June 18, 2014).

10 P. Parenteau & A. Barnes, A Bridge Too Far: Building Off

- Ramps on the Shale Gas Superhighway

, __ I DAHO L. R EV

. ___ at 4 (“The claim that a natural gas surge will ultimately provide a net benefit for the environment, however, rests on shaky ground.”), http://ssrn.com/abstract=2265866

11 US Energy Information Agency, Projected Shale Gas Production

, http://www.eia.gov/naturalgas/

12 See Howarth RW. 2014. A bridge to nowhere: Methane emissions and the greenhouse gas footprint of natural gas. Energy Science & Engineering , doi
10.1002/ese3.35 http://onlinelibrary.wiley .com/doi/10.1002/ese3.35/full ; Howarth, R. W., D. Shindell, R. Santoro, A. Ingraffea, N. Phillips, and A. Townsend

- Small. 2012. Methane emissions from natural gas systems. Background paper prepared for the National Climate Assessment, Reference # 2011

- 0 03, Office of Science & Technology Policy Assessment, Washington,
DC. http://www.eeb.cornell.edu/howarth/publications/Howarth_et_al_2012_Nati onal_Climate_Assessme nt.pdf But see Allen, David T., et al. "Measurements of methane emissions at natural gas production sites
in the United States." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 110.44 (2013): 17768

- 17773.

13 See, e.g., homas H. Darrah , Avner Vengosh, Robert B. Jackson, Nathaniel R. Warner and Robert J. Poreda. Noble Gases Identify the Mechanisms of Fugitive Gas Contamination in Drinking

- Water Wells Overlying the
Marcellus and Barnett Shales

**.** Proceedings of the National Academy of Scien ces , 2014, 10.1073/pnas.1322107111 DOI (data suggests that where methane contamination in groundwater from shale gas extraction occurs, the groundwater contamination was caused by poor c asing and cementing in the wells),; Vengosh, Avner, et al. A critical review of the risks to water resources from unconventional shale gas development and hydraulic fracturing in the United States. Environmental science & technology (2014), http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/es405118y ; Warner, N. R., Jackson, R. B., Darrah, T. H., Osborn, S. G., Down, A., Zhao, K., ... & Vengosh, A. (2012). Geochemical evidence for possible natural migration
of Marcellus Formation brine to shallow aquifers in Pennsylvania. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

, 109 (30), 11961

- 11966, http://www.fraw.org.uk/files/extreme/warner_2012.pdf ; Haluszczak, L. O., Rose, A. W., & Kump, L. R. (2013). Geochemical evaluation of flowback brine from Marcellus gas wells in Pennsylvania, USA. Applied Geochemistry

, 28 , 55

- 61, http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0883292712002752 ; T. Myers, Potential Contaminant Pathways from Hydraulic Fractured Shale to Aquifers, 50 Groundwater 872 (2012); S. G. Osbron, et al, Methane contamination of drinking water and accompan ying gas

- well drilling and hydraulic fracturing,Geltman	Testimony,	US	EPA	Clean	Power	Plan,	July	29,	2014,	2:10pm, Washington,	DC

4 

### unclear

. 14 

### In short, both the health effects 15 

### and environmental impacts of fracked gas are still very unclear.

T he lack of clear and convincing scientific cons ensus that the practice of using hydraulic fracturing to extract shale gas i s safe should cause the regulators to p ause

. 16 

### B efore we invest

http://www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.1100682108 (2011). See also Cuomo, Andrew M., and Corning Tower. Evidence linking water contaminat ion to fracking

– related activities is now indisputable. (2014); Jacksona, Robert B. The integrity of oil and gas wells. (2014). See generally N. SChroek & S. Karisny, Hydraulic Fracturing & Water Management in the Great Lakes , 63 C ASE W ESTERN L. R EV

. 1166 ( 2013); J. W. Burnett, Hydraulic Fracturing & US Water Policy, West Virginia University Discussion Paper 1309 (March 2013); American Water Works Association, Water & Hydraulic Fracturing (2013), http://www.aw wa.org/fracturing ; National Groundwater Association, Hydraulic Fracturing: Meeting the Nation’s Energy Needs While Protecting Groundwater Resources (Feb. 19, 2014); H. Cooley & K. Donnelly, Hydraulic Fracturing & Water Resources: What Do We Know & Need

to Know?, in the W ORLD ’ S W ATER Vol. 8 (20__)

, http://worldwater.org/wp

content/uploads/sites/22/2013/07/ww8

- ch4

- fracking.pdf ; H. Cooley & K. Donnelly, Hydraulic Fracturing & Water Resources: Separating the Frack from the Fiction (Pacific Institute June 2012); Western
Resource Advocates

, http:// pacinst.org/wp

- content/uploads/sites/21/2014/04/fracking

- water

- sources.pdf

, Fracking Our Future: Measuring Water & Community Impacts from Hy draulic Fracturing, (June 2012), http://www.westernresourceadvocates.org/frackwater/WRA_FrackingOurFuture_2012.pdf

.

14 See M. Jiang et al, Life Cycle Consumption and Wasterwater Generation Impacts of a Marcellus Shale Gas Well, 48 Environ Sci. & Technol. 1911 (2013); M. Fry et al., Fracking & Faucets: Balancing Energy Needs and Water Sustainability at Urban Frontiers, 46 Environ Sci. & Technol

. 7444 (2012); Gregory, K. B., Vidic, R. D., & Dzombak, D. A. (2011). Water management challenges associated with the production
of sh ale gas by hydraulic fracturing. Elements

, 7 (3), 181

- 186., http://elements.geoscienceworld.org/content/7/3/181.abstract But see Nicot, J. P., & Scanlon, B. R. (2012). Water use for shale

- gas production in Texas, US. 46 Environ Sci. & Technol. ,3580

- 3586, http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/es204602t

15 S ee Vidic, R. D., et al. Impact of shale gas development on regional water quality. Science 340.6134 (2013): 1235009, http://www.sciencemag.org/content/340/6134/1235009.abstract See also Bamberger M, Oswald RE, Impacts of Gas Drilling on Human and Animal Health, New Solut. 2012;22(1):51

- 77. doi: 10.2190/NS.22.1.e, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22446060 ; E.L. Hill, Shale Gas Development and Infant Health: Evidence from Pennsylvania, Co rnell University Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics & Management Working Paper 2012

- 12 (December 2013)

, http://dyson.cornell.edu/research/researchpdf/w p/2012/Cornell

- Dyson

- wp1212.pdf

16 See R. Rawlins, Planning for Fracking on the Barnett Shale: Urban Air Pollution, Improving Health Based Regulations, and the Role of Local Governments, 31 Virginia Envtl. L. Rev. 226 ((2103):

“There is no comprehensive cumulative risk assessment to consider the potential impact to public health in urban areas. Drilling operations are being conducted in residential

areas

. Residents living in close proximity to gas operations ..... voiced concerns for their health, which have yet to be comprehensively evaluated. Given the complexity of the science, and the dearth of clear, transparent, and enforceable standards, inadequate studies and limited statistical analysis have been allowed to proved potentia lly false assurances. The politically expedient bottom line dominates with little attention paid to the quality of the science or the adequacy of the standards.”Geltman	Testimony,	US	EPA	Clean	Power	Plan,	July	29,	2014,	2:10pm, Washington,	DC

5 

### further in shifting our electrical power plants from relying on coal to fracked gas to power our lives and our economy, w e must apply the precautionary principle and be sure of the health and environmental safety of shale gas extraction

.

Congress recogniz ed the uncertainties about water quality and quantity issues caused by fracking when it required US EPA to conduct a study. 17 

### At a minimum, it is irresponsible for US EPA to encourage additional fracking infra structure until US EPA concludes the Congression ally mandated drinking water study of the shale gas extraction life cycle. 18 

### It is also necessary that
US EPA completes the notice and comment process evaluating the promulgation of hydraulic fracturing chemical and mixture disclosure rules under the Toxic Substance Control Act (TSCA) 19 

### before encouraging the building of more gas fueled power plants.

The redispatch portion of the Clean Power Plan curr ently relies heavily on expanding drilling and further investing in fracked gas. 20 

### Once built, the fracked gas dependent infra structure will
be extremely difficult to undo.

Converting even more of our power plants from coal to fracked natural gas may lead to less carbon emissions and particulates from coal in the air , but the thirst for drilling frack ed gas c ould
lead to serious wa ter quality and quantit y issues. Regulators must very carefully weigh whether the massive investment in fracked gas that redispatch requires will reduce air emissions and climate change at the expense of sufficient drinkable water

.

Currently about 30% of our national power plants rely on natural gas to generate electricity. 21 

### If the 38% of coal

- fired power plants are converted under the redispatch program, then 68% of our

See also Ratner, M., & Tiemann, M. (2013). An overview of unconventional oil and natural gas:
resources and federal actions. Congressional Services Report

. http://fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/221258.pdf

17 EPA

- HQ

- ORD

- 2010

- 0674 Request for Information To Inform Hydraulic Fracturing Research Related to Drinking Water Resources, 78 Fed. Reg. 25267 (April 30, 2013), http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=EPA

- HQ

- ORD

- 2010

- 0674

18 Id.

19 7 9 Fed. Reg. 28664 (May 19, 2014 ); 79 Fed. Reg. 40703 (July 14, 2014), http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=EPA

- HQ

- OPPT

- 2011

- 1019

. See generally K. Hall, Hydraul ic Fracturing: Trade Secrets & the Mandatory Disclosure of Fracturing Water Composition, 49
I DAHO L. R EV

. 434. (2013)

. Compare D. Cahoy et al, Fracking Patents: The Emergence of Patents as Information

- Containment Tools in Shale Drilling, 19 M ICHIGAN T ELECO MMUNICATIONS & T ECH

. L.
R EV

. 279 (2013); H. Wiseman, The Private Role in Public Fracturing Disclosure & Regulation, Ha rvard
Business Review Online 51

- 53 (2013), http://ssrn.com.abstract=2192633 ; H. Wiseman, Trade Secrets, Disclosure, And Dissent in a Fracturing Energy Revolution , 111 C OLUMBIA L. R EV

. 8

- 10 (2011).

20 79 Fed. Reg. 34830 (June 18, 2014). See also R. J. Campbell, EPA’s Proposed Greenhouse Gas Regulations: Implications for the Electric Power Sect or, Congressional Research Service (June 23, 2014), http://nationalaglawcenter.org/wp

- content/uploads//assets/crs/R43621.pdf

21 R. J. Campbell, EPA’s Proposed Greenhou se Gas Regulations: Implications for the Electric PowerGeltman	Testimony,	US	EPA	Clean	Power	Plan,	July	29,	2014,	2:10pm, Washington,	DC

6 

### power plants will rely of fracked gas. 22 

### If 68% of the nation’s power is dependent on natural gas, then the process of fracking will be with us for a very long time

– and natural gas will not be a bridge fuel. 23



### The Marcellus and Devoni an Shale s, the largest shale gas resources on the East coast if not the
US

, 24 

### sit on top of an aquifer that is the drink ing water source for more than nine (9) million people. 25 

### Imagine a drilling accident akin to the DeepWater Horizon spill in the d rinking water aquifer for over nine (9) million peo p le. Scary.

The health effects of cleaner air will be difficult to enjoy if there is no clean water to drink. The redispatch portion of the Clean Power Plant rule should be abandoned

--- at least until US EPA concludes its water study and determines the practice will keep US surface and ground water safe and until US EPA promulgates regulations under TSCA requiring disclosure of chemicals used in shale gas extraction that could contaminate water in the event of a spill or accident.

In short, I whole heartedly applaud the effort of US EPA to reduce carbon based greenhouse gas
emissions and I su pport the efforts to begin with power p lants . Reducing carbon emissions is an important goal. Three blocks of BSER are well drafted: efforts to make coa l plants more efficient, encouraging low/zero emitting facilities by using renewables like wind and encouraging more demand side energy efficiency are laudable approaches. Reducing dependence on coal will help reduce green house gas emissions ; however, mov ing from coal to natural gas as a bridge fuel before we take adequate precautions to protect human health and the environm ent when we engage in shale gas extraction is a mistake.

I caution that e ncouraging redispatch of existing power plants to use frack ed gas is highly problematic and should be approached with extreme care

.

Than k you for your efforts to curb climate change. Let’s be sure the plan we use presents a safe path.

Sector, Congressional Research Service (June 23, 2014), http://nationalaglawcenter.org/wp

content/uploads//asse ts/crs/R43621.pdf unconventional

22 Id.

23 P. Parenteau & A. Barnes, A Bridge Too Far: Building Off

- Ramps on the Shale Gas Superhighway

, __ I DAHO L. R EV

. 328 at 10 (“Central to the debate about climate benefits of natural gas as a bridge fuel is the rate of methane leakage from the life cycle of gas. Empirical data is sorely lacking, ant there is sharp disagreement among experts about how to interpret the lit tle information available.”), http://ssrn.com/abstract=2265866

24 US Energy Information Agency, United States Shale Gas Maps, http://www.eia.gov/pub/oil_gas/natural_gas/analysis_publications/maps/maps.htm

25 USGS Groundwater Information Map, http://water.usgs.gov/ogw/Geltman	Testimony,	US	EPA	Clean	Power	Plan,	July	29,	2014,	2:10pm, Washington,	DC

7 

## Appendix 1



# The$problem$with$Redispatch$

Clean$Power$ Plan$$

Block$2$ Redispatch$ Increased,$ Long$Term$ Investment$ in$Fracked$
Gas$

5"Geltman	Testimony,	US	EPA	Clean	Power	Plan,	July	29,	2014,	2:10pm, Washington,	DC

8 

## Appendix 2
US EIA



# Most%Natural%Gas%Will%Be%“Fracked”%Gas%

Source:(US(EIA(Geltman	Testimony,	US	EPA	Clean	Power	Plan,	July	29,	2014,	2:10pm, Washington,	DC

9 

## Appendix 3
US EIA



# Current'Natural'Gas'Usage'

7" Source:"US"EIA"Geltman	Testimony,	US	EPA	Clean	Power	Plan,	July	29,	2014,	2:10pm, Washington,	DC

10 

## Appendix 4:
US EPA



# US#EPA#is#still#conducting# Shale#Gas#Extraction#Drinking#Water#Study# Mandated#by#Congress#

Source:(US(EPA( 8(Geltman	Testimony,	US	EPA	Clean	Power	Plan,	July	29,	2014,	2:10pm, Washington,	DC

11 

## Appendix 5:



# Premature(Action?(

US(EPA((

Clean(Power(Plan(
Block(2:(Redispatch(

US(EPA(Shale(Gas(
Extraction(( Drinking(Water(Study(

9"Geltman	Testimony,	US	EPA	Clean	Power	Plan,	July	29,	2014,	2:10pm, Washington,	DC

12 

## Appendix 6:
US EIA & USGS



# Marcellus)&)Devonian)Shale) sit)over)the)drinking)water)aquifer)for)9)million)people)



# Shale&Gas& Aquifers&

Sources:&US&EIA;&USGS&&& 10&Geltman	Testimony,	US	EPA	Clean	Power	Plan,	July	29,	2014,	2:10pm, Washington,	DC

13 

## Appendix 7



# What%are%the%risks?%

Redispatch

leads%to:%

Increased%Shale% Gas%Extraction% Water% Contamination% Methane%

Radon%

Chemicals%

Increased% Water%Usage% Drought%

11"Geltman	Testimony,	US	EPA	Clean	Power	Plan,	July	29,	2014,	2:10pm, Washington,	DC

14 

## Appendix 8



# Proceed'with'Caution!'
Best'System'of'Emission'Reduction'(BSER)'Block'2:' Redispatch

12# 

## Coal' Fracked' Gas'

Water'Pollution'

Water'Stress' GHG' Methane'

GHG' Carbon'