Testimony submitted to: 

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA-HQ-OAR-2013-0602} 

In support of U.S. EPA's Clean Power Rule 

Submitted by Josh Nease, New River Valley Trout Unlimited 

July 25, 2014 

I thank you for the opportunity to submit this formal testimony regarding the EPA's proposed Clean 

Power Plan. I am pleased with this Administration's proposed action to combat ciimate change by setting 

limits on carbon pollution from existing power plants. I am eager for a time when the existence of climate 

change is no longer a political debate and this country can become a leader in climate change mitigation 

and adaptation. I applaud EPA for taking much needed steps to reverse the course we are on. 

My name is Josh Nease and I live and fish in Virginia's New River Valley. I believe that we have a social, 

environmental, and economic obligation to take steps to mitigate climate change. These actions will help 

to protect the ecosystem services on which we rely and conserve our natural resources for use by future 

generations. One natural resource facing the greatest threat is our native wildlife, and as a fisherman, 

paddler, birder, and naturalist, I applaud EPA for taking action to combat the cause- carbon pollution. 

I have been fly fishing for trout in the mountains of West Virginia and Virginia for many years. In my short 

lifetime, the impacts of climate change, specifically a warming planet and changing weather patterns, 

have taken a toll on wild, native trout populations. Increasing stream temperatures are forcing wild brook 

trout populations further and further upstream to the smallest, coldest streams in the watershed. In 

these headwater tributaries, food supplies and habitat are often limited and populations of fish are 

isolated from other populations, weakening the genetic diversity of the species. 

The U.S. EPA's Clean Power Plan is a major step in the right direction. This plan will help define the way 

towards a future in which we invest more in clean energy and less in fuels that pollute our air and water 

and harm our global climate. By reducing reliance on coal-burning for power generation in the U.S., the 

Clean Power Plan will help protect wildlife by reducing not only carbon pollution but other harmful 

pollutants like mercury that poisons fish and threatens all who eat them. This rule will reduce the need 

for more coal mining that's destroying precious wildlife habitat and polluting our waterways. 

As you finalize the standard, I ask that you work to ensure that it achieves the deepest reductions 

possible by requiring states to focus on increasing energy efficiencies and renewable energy sources and 

not solely on transitioning to natural gas. Virginia can and should do more to generate power from 

renewable sources like wind and solar and reduce energy demand through energy efficiency. EPA should 

strengthen the standard to reflect this potential. 

Thank you for the opportunity to comment today, and we look forward to working with you to finalize 

and implement the Clean Power Plan. To mitigate climate change, we know what we need to do and we 

have the ever-improving technology to do it. Now we need the political will to make the transition and 

keep America moving forward. We hope you will do everything you can to ensure it stays strong through 

the process- wildlife and future generations are counting on your leadership. 

Sincerely, 

Josh Nease