I 

Docket No. EPA-HQ-2011-0660 Carol Stone 

703-533-0189 (do not publish) 

201(~ 

Testimony in Support of Regulating Carbon Emissions from Power Plants 

1 

A resident of Virginia for the past 23 years, I frequently sail on the Chesapeake Bay 

and camp, hike, and cycle in the Potomac and Shenandoah River Watersheds. I relish 

opportunities to swim, kayak, and fish in natural waters that are clean enough in 

which to safely do so. Though I work as a violin and viola teacher, because of my 

appreciation for clean water, I have earned a Masters Degree in Environmental 

Engineering, and my personal environmental advocacy now tends to center on 

aquatic environments. 

Therefore, I would like to address a specific concern about C02 emissions that is not 

often mentioned in the mainstream media. This concern is the acidification of the 

world's oceans. Acidification, and related carbonate depletion, occurs when C02 

from the air mixes with salt water and forms carbonic acid. Hydrogen ions thus 

released also quickly react with carbonate ions, making them unavailable to 

organisms that need carbonate for shell-building. C02 released into the the air by 

power plants and other sources is quite readily absorbed into the ocean, and the 

deleterious effects, long predicted in the scientific community, are beginning to be 

seen in reality. 

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), acidity 

in the oceans has risen 30% in the past 200 years since the onset of the industrial 

revolution, and this is thought to be primarily due the absorption of C02 from the 

air. As the rate of C02 emissions increases, so does the rate of the acidification of the 

world oceans (Tom Pelton, Bay Daily Posted, 09 May 2012 05:17AM PDT). 

Ocean acidification, predicted to be harmful to any aquatic organisms that form 

shells, has already begun to demonstrably take its toll on the health of oyster 

populations in the Pacific Northwest. Over the past decade, highly acidified seawater 

has begun rising up along portions of the West Coast and the corrosive waters are 

preventing the larvae of wild oyster populations from successfully forming shells in 

areas such as the Puget Sound of Washington State. Oyster hatcheries in Washington 

and Oregon have also begun to experience extremely high larval mortality rates that 

have been attributed to this same corrosively acidic seawater. Affected oyster 

hatcheries on the West Coast now must monitor their seawater intake to avoid the 

most acidic water and buffer overly acidic water, using sodium bicarbonate, in order 

to raise the pH to levels that allow oyster larvae to survive. This is an expensive and 

short-term solution and is currently supported with federal funds (Elizabeth 

Grossman, Yale Environment 360, 21 Nov 2011: Report, Northwest Oyster Die-offs 

Show Ocean Acidification Has Arrived). 

The problems in the American Northwest are examples of what we can expect to see 

more of worldwide as C02 emissions from power plants and other sources 

continues. According to Richard Feely, "a senior scientist at NOAA's Pacific Marine 

Environmental Laboratory and an expert in the ocean's carbon chemistry, ... 
Docket No. EPA-HQ-2011-0660 Carol Stone 

703-533-0189 (do not publish) 

2 

problems with ocean acidification are also starting to be seen on the U.S.'s Atlantic 

coast and in Australia. Agricultural runoff and sewage have been taking a toll on the 

once-thriving oyster business in the Chesapeake Bay, and now rising ocean acidity is 

further exacerbating the problems ofC02-laden waters there," (Elizabeth Grossman, 

Yale Environment 360, 21 Nov 2011: Report, Northwest Oyster Die-offs Show Ocean 

Acidification Has Arrived). 

All organisms that build a shell or contribute a branch of a coral reef are threatened, 

not just the mussels and oysters that many love to eat. A multitude of familiar 

organisms (and others we may not be so familiar with, such as foraminifera) form 

an integral part of the food chain and also provide essential oceanic habitats for fish 

and other sea creatures (Carl Zimmer, Yale Environment 360, 15 Feb 2010: Analysis, 

An Ominous Warning on the Effects of Ocean Acidification). 

Thus, C02 emissions are not just harming our respiratory health and trapping heat 

in our atmosphere, they are threatening the viability our oceans as well, thereby 

undermining the world's environmental health at a very fundamental level. C02 

emissions must be curbed, and limiting emissions from both new and existing 

power plants is essential in light of the threats to ocean systems that we are 

beginning to see unfold. 

I support the EPA's proposed stanrlrlrrls for limiting carbon pollution from new 

power plants, and l urge the EPA to act quickly and responsibly to finalize these 

standards and to move forward to develop standards for existing power plants as 

well. 

Thank you for your time and your attention to my concerns as a Virginia citizen.