## THE LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS® OF GREATER PITTSBURGH, Inc.



### july 31,2014 Community Information Center 436 

### Seventh Avenue, Suite 350 

### Pittsburgh, PA 15219 

### Phone: 412-261-4284 

### Fax 412-261-4285 

### Email L1f1J@pgh_!.Yc{J?l9 Website:**Y~\1;1"\:** 

### p1ttsburgh pal,,., C•CJ



### Iam Annette Shimer, president ofthe League ofWomen Voters ofGreater Pittsburgh. Iam also a former member ofthe Allegheny County Air Quality Advisory Committee. The League recognizes thatthe EPA has held countless public listening sessions leading up to the creation ofthis proposed rule, and we commendthe EPA for holding this public hearing. For decades the League has supported federal controls ofair pollution from many sources. On the federal, state and local level the League has promotedcoordination ofgovernment responsibilities and activities. In Allegheny Countythe League beganto studythe effects ofair pollution in the early 1970s and has since advocated for effective air pollution control and adequately funded and staffed agencies. We have supported participation in regional air pollution control arrangements. Over manyyears, U.S. citizens have been expected to trade respiratory health for industry and business prosperity. However, through the efforts ofcitizens and governmentagencies, concentrations ofmany pollutants emittedinto the air have been significantly reduced and public healthhas been improved. For the most part, business has succeeded and thrived. Now citizens are being askedbyindustryandbusiness interests to trade the future health ofthe planet for their prosperity. Climate change brought onby carbon and methane emissions is beginningto raise the global temperature, raise sea levels endangeringmany communities, create more extreme weather events, and disruptboth agricultural patterns and ocean acid levels endangering food production. We have a moral obligation to change that trade-off; we can do so by settingthe first-ever limits on carbon pollution from powerplants to reduce the 40 percent ofthe carbon pollution in the United States that they produce. The EPA-proposed rule revises the trade-offto betterprotectthe health ofthe earth and its inhabitants including future human generations. We applaud that proposaL

..:\ftiliatcd with the Leagues of\\'omen \roters ofPennsylvania and the l.Jnited States• Here in Allegheny Countywe rememberthe success ofthe 1970s implementation strategyfor the Clean Air Act offederal goals and a state implementation plan that delegated authority to the county to address unique conditions. We believe that the EPA's proposal to provide flexibility to the states and build on state leadership to achieve carbon reductions is appropriate and will be effective. Pennsylvania already has programs in place that could be part ofits individual or regional plan to reduce carbon pollution, including:

• Energy efficiency codes for residential and commercial buildings • Renewable energy portfolio standards or goals The League also looks forward to the economic impact ofinnovation and investment in new clean energy technologies thatwill create a newgeneration ofclean energyjobs. The return on that investment will be substantial. Since 1970, every dollar invested in compliance with Clean Air Act standards has yielded $4-8 in economic benefits. In addition, some ofthe economic devastation of extreme weather events will be avoided. We understand that there will be rate increases for electric power and that the effects ofincreased rates are concerns that business and industry are voicing. But the prices ofthe products and services they provide should cover all the costs ofproduction. Offloading costs on the public in the form ofhealth care expenses and now climate change effects is a violation ofthe basic

### rn"'"';,.+~6"'s~ economic system that business interests profess to support. We also understand the possible hardships ofrate increases for low-income people. On the other hand, climate change effects often fall disproportionately on these same people. Finally, we have concerns with the reputed advantage ofgas over coal. The League's study on Marcellus Shale Gas Extraction noted "shale gas production has an 8-11% larger GHG footprint than conventional gas over the life cycle" although this could change with improved practices. We hope that eventually EPA will address methane emissions. Thankyou.**~\[filiated** '\vith the Leagues of\V'omen Voters ofPennsylvania and the United States