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### 1

_______________________________________________________ REPORTER'S TRANSCRIPT

_______________________________________________________

PUBLIC HEARING

FOR

PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO NATIONAL EMISSION STANDARDS FOR HAZARDOUS AIR POLLUTANTS FROM COAL AND OIL-FIRED ELECTRIC UTILITY STEAM GENERATING UNITS AND STANDARDS OF PERFORMANCE FOR FOSSIL-FUEL-FIRED ELECTRIC UTILITY, INDUSTRIAL-COMMERCIAL-INSTITUTIONAL, AND SMALL INDUSTRIAL-COMMERCIAL-INSTITUTIONAL STEAM GENERATING UNITS

CROWN PLAZA CHICAGO METRO 733 WEST MADISON STREET CHICAGO, ILLINOIS 60611

24 MAY 2011AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 2 1 MR. CLARK: Good morning and thank you for 

### 2 attending this public hearing. This is one of three 

### 3 hearings that we're holding around the country on this 

### 4 proposed rule making. 

### 5 We're looking to take comment on our 

### 6 admission standards for mercury and other air toxics 

### 7 from coal- and oil-fired power plants. 

### 8 We've got another hearing that's being held 

### 9 in Philadelphia today and then a hearing in Atlanta, 

### 10 Georgia also this Thursday, May 26. 

### 11 My name is Jeff Clark. I'm the Associate 

### 12 Director for the Office of -- EPA's Office of Air 

### 13 Quality Planning and Standards in Research Triangle 

### 14 Park, North Carolina. I'm going to be chairing this 

### 15 hearing and joining me here today is Ellen Kurlansky, 

### 16 who is with EPA's Office of Policy Analysis and Review 

### 17 in Washington, D.C. And next to Ellen is Nick Hutson 

### 18 who is with the Office of Air Quality Planning and 

### 19 Standards also in Research Triangle Park, North 

### 20 Carolina. And then on the end is Bruce Sypniewski. 

### 21 Bruce is the Deputy Director of the Air and Radiation 

### 22 Division here in -- for EPA here in Chicago Regional 

### 23 Office. 

### 24On March 16, of this year, the Environmental 

### 25 Protection Agency proposed mercury and air toxicAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 3 1 standards for coal- and oil-fired power plants. These 

### 2 Clean Air Act standards would significantly reduce 

### 3 emissions of toxic air pollutants. These pollutants 

### 4 are also known as, sometimes known as air toxics or, or 

### 5 and these are the kinds of pollutants that are listed 

### 6 in the Clean Air Act; they are known to or suspected of 

### 7 causing cancer or other serious health effects. 

### 8 In addition, EPA has also proposed to revise 

### 9 Clean Air Act standards, known as new source 

### 10 performance standards, that would reduce emissions of 

### 11 particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides -- 

### 12 and nitrogen oxides from new coal-fired power plants as 

### 13 well. 

### 14Power plants emit mercury arsenic, chromium, 

### 15 nickel, organic air toxics, acid gases and other 

### 16 harmful air pollutants. They are the largest source of 

### 17 mercury emissions into the air in the United States. 

### 18 Once mercury from the air reaches the water, 

### 19 microorganisms can change it into methyl mercury, a 

### 20 highly toxic form that builds up in the environment and 

### 21 fish. People are primarily exposed to mercury by 

### 22 eating contaminated fish. Children's developing brains 

### 23 are especially susceptible to damage from this 

### 24 exposure. The effects include reductions in their IQ 

### 25 and ability to learn.AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 4 1 We estimate that by 2016, the proposed power 

### 2 plant mercury and air toxics standards would prevent 

### 3 between six thousand, eight hundred to seventeen 

### 4 thousand premature deaths annually, as well as provide 

### 5 many other health and environmental benefits. The 

### 6 portion of these benefits that can be quantified total 

### 7 more than fifty nine to a hundred and forty billion 

### 8 dollars annually in the year 2016. The benefits far 

### 9 outweigh the cost -- the estimated annual cost of ten 

### 10 point nine billion dollars. Implementing these 

### 11 standards would also create jobs for American workers 

### 12 in building, installing, and operating equipment to 

### 13 reduce health-threatening emissions. 

### 14One thing I wanted to note; since proposing 

### 15 this rule, we've updated some of our mercury emissions 

### 16 data used to develop the proposed standards based on 

### 17 comment we've received. We do not expect the update, 

### 18 which corrects a calculation error with a small amount 

### 19 of data, to change the types of pollution controls that 

### 20 are necessary to comply with the rule or its benefits 

### 21 to the public health. We've made the data corrected -- 

### 22 the corrected data available for public review on our 

### 23 website and in the docket that's assigned to this rule 

### 24making. 

### 25 Currently, there are no existing federalAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 5 1 requirements for power plants to limit their emissions 

### 2 of toxic pollutants like mercury, arsenic and metals. 

### 3 The EPA in our previous administration, prior 

### 4 administration, finalized a rule to cut mercury 

### 5 emission from power plants, but the D.C. Circuit Court 

### 6 struck that rule down as illegal and required EPA to 

### 7 develop standards that follow the law and science in 

### 8 order to protect public health and the environment. 

### 9 Today we are accepting oral comments on all 

### 10 aspects of our proposal. Written transcripts for all 

### 11 three of these hearings will be available as part of 

### 12 the official record for this rule and EPA will consider 

### 13 them as we move forward to complete a final rule in 

### 14 November of this year. We are accepting written 

### 15 comments for the proposed rule through July the 5 of 

### 16 2011. There is a handout available in the registration 

### 17 area that details information for submitting written 

### 18 comments etcetera. 

### 19 Okay. Now here's the way we'd like to run 

### 20 the hearing today. 

### 21 I'm going to call the speakers up in pairs of 

### 22 two and -- to come up to the table in front of us. 

### 23 I'll ask each of you to speak. When it's your turn to 

### 24 speak, please state your name and your affiliation 

### 25 before you begin your testimony. It will help theAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 6 1 court reporter if you also spell your name and, and 

### 2 actually let me just digress for a second and say the 

### 3 most important guy in the room is Chris who is the 

### 4 court reporter across the way there and if Chris 

### 5 basically needs anything as far as, you know, better 

### 6 audio or something like that, he's going to signal me 

### 7 and we'll make adjustments as necessary. 

### 8 In order to be -- we've got -- we are loaded 

### 9 as far as speakers go. It doesn't look like it yet 

### 10 here so far, but we, we've got a full day packed and, 

### 11 and many speakers that have requested beyond that to 

### 12 speak, so in order to be fair to everyone, we're asking 

### 13 that you limit your testimony to five minutes and 

### 14 remain at the microphone until both speakers have 

### 15 completed the, their talks. At that point, we may ask 

### 16 a question, a clarifying question. If, in addition to 

### 17 the transcript of your testimony, you would also like 

### 18 the full text of your written comments to be included 

### 19 in the docket, please be sure and give a copy of the 

### 20 written comments to the staff out at the registration 

### 21 office -- registration table, rather -- sorry. 

### 22 We've got a timekeeping system which is 

### 23 generally works -- those of you that have testified 

### 24 before have seen this. It's set for five minutes. 

### 25 You'll have a green light for four minutes. WhenAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 7 1 there's one minute left, a yellow light will come on 

### 2 and then when the five minutes is up, a red light will, 

### 3 will come on. Unfortunately in this case, this -- the 

### 4 thing that we've got here, the time, is quite large and 

### 5 almost intimidating, so we put it on the floor instead 

### 6 of having it up here, but the speakers will be able to 

### 7 see it, I think, so. 

### 8 This hearing today is scheduled to go from 

### 9 nine a.m. until eight p.m. tonight and certainly later 

### 10 depending on the number of speakers. We will stay as 

### 11 long as it takes to, to listen to folks through the 

### 12 night. We will go on recess during a scheduled lunch 

### 13 break from twelve thirty until two p.m. and a dinner 

### 14 break from five p.m. to six thirty p.m. However, at 

### 15 this point, we're already intending to shorten those 

### 16 breaks because of the number of speakers that we have, 

### 17 so that we'll have -- so people will have opportunities 

### 18 to speak. So I, I think at this point, it's fair to 

### 19 say that we will be -- we will break at twelve thirty. 

### 20 We'll probably come back sooner than that, like one 

### 21 thirty'ish or so, but we'll, we'll, we'll work on that 

### 22 as we go through the day. We intend to stay until the 

### 23 evening, as I said, until everyone finishes their 

### 24 comments. If you would like to testify and you have 

### 25 not yet registered, please do so outside with the folksAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 8 1 at the table out there and we ask for your patients as 

### 2 we proceed through the list of speakers because we have 

### 3 quite a large of them and we appreciate so much you all 

### 4 taking time out of your busy schedules to be here to 

### 5 testify about this very important rule making today. 

### 6 So again, thank you so much for being here 

### 7 and we'd like to go ahead and get started. 

### 8 Our first two speakers would be the Reverend 

### 9 Doctor Clare Butterfield and Faith Bugel please. 

### 10 Reverend Butterfield, if, if you're okay with that and 

### 11 just want to be sure. We were having some audio issues 

### 12 a little bit earlier, so just want to be sure that you 

### 13 got the microphone up there to you, so thank you so 

### 14much. 

### 15 REVEREND BUTTERFIELD: Good morning. Thank 

### 16 you very much for the opportunity to be here. 

### 17 My name is Reverend Clare Butterfield. I'm a 

### 18 Unitarian Universalist Minister and the Director of 

### 19 Faith in Place at our Illinois Interfaith Power and 

### 20 Light Campaign. I'm here for those organizations and 

### 21 our over seven hundred congregations that work with us. 

### 22 I'm also a long time Chicago and Illinois resident and 

### 23 a mother. 

### 24And I'm here today in support of the EPA's 

### 25 proposed standards. I'm in support of the regulationsAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 9 1 because they protect the people of my home from toxic 

### 2 air pollution particulates and especially mercury. 

### 3 The toxins that these regulations are 

### 4 designed to address are, impair the brain development 

### 5 of our children and the unborn and are generally most 

### 6 dangerous to the people in our society who are most in 

### 7 need of our protection; pregnant women, children, and 

### 8 the elderly. And in Chicago, those most affected by 

### 9 these kinds of pollutants, including mercury until our 

### 10 mercury rule was adopted, are also concentrated near 

### 11 our two power plants in the City and most of those 

### 12 people are low income and people of color. And you'll 

### 13 hear today from people in those neighborhoods and 

### 14 groups that work on lung health and about the specific 

### 15 data on asthma events, premature deaths, and more and 

### 16 affecting people who are particularly vulnerable 

### 17 because they don't have the deep resources to protect 

### 18 themselves. 

### 19 Our faiths teach us to protect the widow and 

### 20 the orphan, to care for the least among us. I want to 

### 21 speak for the children who live near these plants who 

### 22 would benefit from these regulations and who are 

### 23 currently paying the highest price for our lack of 

### 24 regulation. One of my own grown children lives in one 

### 25 of those neighborhoods and I'm speaking for him too.AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 10 1 As a society, we pay the price as well. None 

### 2 of us can afford to have any of our young children to 

### 3 be diminished intellectually because of a preventable 

### 4 form of pollution. The cost of that is beyond our 

### 5 calculation. These children are mine too; they belong 

### 6 to all of us. 

### 7 And in our State, every lake and river is 

### 8 under mercury advisory. We can't eat the fish from our 

### 9 own Lake Michigan except infrequently and of course, 

### 10 those who are actually fishing from the lakes and 

### 11 rivers in order to feed their families are most 

### 12 impacted by the damage we've done. 

### 13 You'll hear today that the costs of these 

### 14 regulations will be the loss of jobs. Your own 

### 15 analysis indicates that the costs of the health impacts 

### 16 from these particulates is far higher than the cost of 

### 17 implementation of the regulations. Putting the cost of 

### 18 operating a responsible facility on those who earn the 

### 19 profits from it will help to move our overall energy 

### 20 market to cleaner and more efficient sources of power 

### 21 and those new sources of power will generate jobs and 

### 22 economic benefit. 

### 23 The children who were born in Little Village 

### 24 and Pilsen in the year that the EPA first determined 

### 25 that coal-fired energy plant should be regulated underAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 11 1 the Clean Air Act are now in the fourth grade. They're 

### 2 waiting for us to do the right thing as a society. 

### 3 We know that some electric utilities have 

### 4 known that the day of EPA safeguards would come 

### 5 eventually and they've already taken steps to install 

### 6 the most up to date pollution controls and we commend 

### 7 them. Other companies need to be required to level 

### 8 that playing field and to do the right thing 

### 9 themselves. 

### 10 Thank you very much. 

### 11 MR. CLARK: Thank you, Reverend Butterfield. 

### 12 Ms. Bugel. 

### 13 MS. BUGEL: Good morning. Excuse my throat 

### 14 this morning. My name is Faith Bugel. I am a Senior 

### 15 Attorney with the Environmental Law and Policy Center. 

### 16 I have spent ten years at the Environmental Law and 

### 17 Policy Center working mostly on issues related to clean 

### 18 air and coal-fired power plants. I am also a mother. 

### 19 I have three young children and I too am here to 

### 20 testify in support of the rule. 

### 21 To begin with, we are very -- we applaud EPA 

### 22 in the proposed toxics role. This role brings 

### 23 important reductions nationwide in mercury, other heavy 

### 24metal hazardous air pollutants and in toxics. 

### 25 We do have one concern with the rule andAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 12 1 that's that it does not move quickly enough. The EGU 

### 2 MACT Rule is long overdue. In 1990, the 

### 3 Clean Air Act Amendments envisioned the completion of 

### 4 studies of hazardous air pollutants from electric 

### 5 utility steam generating units or EGU's by 1994 and 

### 6 that would be followed by the promulgation of emission 

### 7 standards deemed appropriate and necessary. 

### 8 Beginning in 1990, there were delays. It 

### 9 took the agency ten years to conclude that mercury 

### 10 limits for EGU's were appropriate and necessary. There 

### 11 were -- that was followed by industry lawsuits, so both 

### 12 U.S. EPA and industry have lead this rule to be 

### 13 overdue. 

### 14In Illinois, we have had a different 

### 15 experience and that's when the states began to take 

### 16 action to fill the gaps at the federal level. A dozen 

### 17 states passed regulations to control mercury emissions. 

### 18 Eight of those states required significant reductions 

### 19 in mercury emissions. One of these states was 

### 20 Illinois. 

### 21 Illinois -- you can look to the Illinois 

### 22 experience instead setting strict mercury emission 

### 23 standards as a way of informing our judgment on the 

### 24 appropriateness of the federal rule and also on the 

### 25 speed that the reductions are required. The IllinoisAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 13 1 required a point zero, zero, eight pound per gigawatt

### 2 hour standard or a ninety percent reduction in mercury. 

### 3 That is substantially similar to the federal rule, the 

### 4proposed rule. 

### 5 The Illinois Pollution Control Board in 

### 6 passing that rule needed to make a finding that the 

### 7 mercury emission standard set was technically and 

### 8 economically feasible and it made that finding, so all 

### 9 the evidence showing that this rule, the federal 

### 10 standard, is feasible was before the Illinois Pollution 

### 11 Control Board and we can look to that record to 

### 12 conclude that the federal standard is feasible and 

### 13 achievable; both from a technical perspective and an 

### 14 economic perspective. 

### 15 In addition, we now have the Illinois recent 

### 16 emission test reports of the companies that are 

### 17 required to comply with that standard and those test 

### 18 reports themselves also show that the standard set, 

### 19 proposed by EPA, is also achievable. In fact, the test 

### 20 demonstrate that the installation of currently 

### 21 available pollution control systems, such as activated 

### 22 carbon injection, can result in mercury emissions 

### 23 reductions near ninety percent and emissions rates at 

### 24 or below point zero, zero, eight pounds per gigawatt

### 25 hour.AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 14 1 In addition, in Illinois, we can look at the 

### 2 experience of companies implementing this standard and 

### 3 how they've fine tuned the equipment and worked out the 

### 4 kinks. For approximately three -- two to three years, 

### 5 they have been operating this equipment and they have 

### 6 figured out the best way to do the installations to 

### 7 achieve the standards. For instance, slight 

### 8 modifications to the activated carbon injection system, 

### 9 including relocating the injectors -- the injection 

### 10 lances from downstream to upstream of the air heaters, 

### 11 resulted in improved reductions of mercury and 

### 12 companies meeting the standards. 

### 13 And recent full scale field tests have also 

### 14 shown the effectiveness of activated carbon injection 

### 15 for reducing mercury emissions. 

### 16 You will hear testimony from industry saying 

### 17 that this is too costly, not practical, and not 

### 18 achievable, but if we look at activated carbon 

### 19 injections, especially compared to other pollution 

### 20 control systems for coal plants, we can see that 

### 21 there's a minimal capital cost of less than three 

### 22 dollars per, per kilowatt hour. It can be retrofit 

### 23 with little or no downtime. It's effective on both 

### 24major types of coal; bituminous and sub-bituminous and 

### 25 it can achieve ninety percent removal and it can beAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 15 1 integrated with other types of pollution controls to 

### 2 enhance mercury capture and that's virtually every type 

### 3 of pollution control for coal plants, including 

### 4 electrostatic precipitators, fabric filters, and wet 

### 5 and dry scrubbers. 

### 6 So that -- we have the evidence that the 

### 7 federal standard can be achieved. 

### 8 On the, on the compliance schedule, we need 

### 9 to look back at the delays and judge the 

### 10 appropriateness of the compliance schedule in that 

### 11 context. EPA is required to implement these standards 

### 12 as expeditiously as practical. Three years is not 

### 13 expeditious. U.S. EPA already notes that it would take 

### 14 less than three years to install the equipment and that 

### 15 it expects the utilities to do so promptly, so EPA 

### 16 already knows that less than three years is achievable 

### 17 and we also know that the delay has resulted in several 

### 18 hundred tons of mercury being admitted into the 

### 19 environment. 

### 20 Finally, the federal standard is not a 

### 21 surprise to industry. It's had dozen of years to know 

### 22 that this was coming. The technology to achieve the 

### 23 standard is available and in use, so we would recommend 

### 24 either shortening the compliance period to less than 

### 25 three years or setting an interim technology basedAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 16 1 standard that would kick in before the actual limits, 

### 2 similar to the one in Illinois. 

### 3 Thank you very much. 

### 4MR. CLARK: Thank you very much. Before you 

### 5 guys go, any, any questions? 

### 6 MS. KURLANSKY: Yeah, I do. Could you talk 

### 7 just for a minute about that interim technology 

### 8 standard and what that might look like? 

### 9 REVEREND BUGEL: In Illinois, a -- there were 

### 10 options written into the rule, so instead of the ninety 

### 11 percent or point zero, zero, eight standard kicking in, 

### 12 in 2009, companies could delay that to 2015, the same 

### 13 as the federal standard and instead, inject the sorbent 

### 14 at a specified rate and then if they were meeting that 

### 15 injection rate, they would not be required to achieve 

### 16 ninety percent or point zero, zero, eight. And what 

### 17 that did was give them time to do the tinkering they 

### 18 did; move the injection lances to figure out where is 

### 19 the optimal site for mercury injection -- I'm sorry, 

### 20 for carbon injection, that would achieve the lowest 

### 21 mercury reductions and I think I might have in my notes 

### 22 here what the injection rate is and -- but if I don't 

### 23 have it in my notes, when I submit written comments, I 

### 24 will make sure that it is in there. But it does, in 

### 25 certain -- a certain pound injection rate.AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 17 1 MR. CLARK: Uh-huh [affirmative]. 

### 2 MS. KURLANSKY: Thank you. 

### 3 MR. CLARK: Okay. Thank you both very much. 

### 4 I appreciate your testimony. 

### 5 REVERENT BUGEL: Thank you. 

### 6 MR. CLARK: Next two speakers Brian 

### 7 Urbaszewski and I'm going to slaughter some of these 

### 8 names. I apologize. Amy Trojecki, hopefully that's 

### 9 roughly close. So, and, and you guys actually might 

### 10 want to -- if you don't mind, spell your name for the 

### 11 court reporter too and let me just say while you're 

### 12 getting ready to go, Mr. Urbaszewski, you're -- feel 

### 13 free to start. If you have -- even if you 

### 14 preregistered, feel -- we'd appreciate it very much if 

### 15 you'd check in at the desk and just let people know 

### 16 that you're here if you are speaking later. Thank you. 

### 17 So, yes sir. 

### 18 MR. URBASZEWSKI: Thank you very much and 

### 19 excellent pronunciation, by the way. 

### 20 MR. CLARK: Well, it was phonetically done 

### 21 for me in this case. It's close to Krzyzewski 

### 22 , which we know from North Carolina where I 

### 23 am, so. 

### 24MR. URBASZEWSKI: Yeah. Okay. My name is 

### 25 Brian Urbaszewski. I am the Director of EnvironmentalAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 18 1 Health Programs for Respiratory Health Association of 

### 2 Metropolitan Chicago, which is a one hundred year old 

### 3 plus organization here in Chicago with a mission to 

### 4promote healthy lungs and fight lung disease through 

### 5 research, advocacy, and education. So thank you for 

### 6 allowing me to testify today. 

### 7 Our position is that no one deserves to 

### 8 breathe air pollution that will cause bodily harm. No 

### 9 one should be permitted to emit air pollution into the 

### 10 air in such an amount that will cause people to suffer 

### 11 bodily harm. Unfortunately, that's not the case in 

### 12 America today. 

### 13 Every state now has fish consumption 

### 14 advisories because of mercury contamination. In 

### 15 Illinois, those advisories apply in every single body 

### 16 of water in the state. Women from birth until 

### 17 menopause, the first fifty years or more of their lives 

### 18 are advised not to eat readily available, local fish 

### 19 because they contain mercury. This is all because 

### 20 corporations are now allowed to pump toxic air 

### 21 pollution into the air without any repercussions. 

### 22 Illinois has already taken action to limit 

### 23 mercury from coal plants; the largest source of mercury 

### 24 in Illinois. But unfortunately, we're still waiting 

### 25 for EPA to control the mercury coming from power plantsAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 19 1 upwind. 

### 2 We strongly support EPA's effort to control 

### 3 power plant mercury emissions at the national level. 

### 4 But this rule covers more than mercury and includes 

### 5 acid gasses, acid gasses which are a threat to lung 

### 6 health in particular. In fact, EPA notes that EGU's 

### 7 are the largest sources of HAPs like acid gasses, 

### 8 hydrogen chloride and hydrogen fluoride. 

### 9 The technology exists to drastically reduce 

### 10 toxic acid gas emissions from coal power plant 

### 11 emissions. The best technology, wet scrubbing, has 

### 12 been operating in coal plants for literally decades. 

### 13 There's no reason why power plants should not be 

### 14 required to use this technology or similar technology 

### 15 that gives the same benefits. 

### 16 We encourage EPA to require the use of the 

### 17 best and most effective solution for removing toxic 

### 18 gasses. While there are other rules that may, if 

### 19 finalized and implemented by EPA also result in the 

### 20 reduction of such toxic acid gas emissions, there is no 

### 21 guaranty that toxic reduction achieved through other 

### 22 means as co-benefits will be permanent without 

### 23 concurrent regulation under section one twelve. 

### 24We also support EPA's allowing SO2 to be used 

### 25 as a surrogate for gauging toxic acid gas removal. WeAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 20 1 likewise agree with EPA's allowing the use of total PM 

### 2 as a measure for the effectiveness of removing 

### 3 non-metal -- non-mercury metals. 

### 4The proposal says that direct sorbent 

### 5 injection works upstream of particulate controls, yet 

### 6 in many cases, particularly controls -- I use the term 

### 7 loosely -- are original fifty year old ESP equipment 

### 8 faulted for allowing many opacity exceedances. 

### 9 EPA's contention that the minimally 

### 10 acceptable particulate control as fabric filters needs 

### 11 to be kept, not only to minimize the emissions of toxic 

### 12 heavy metals, but also to control the emissions that 

### 13 are now occurring from plants that cannot even comply 

### 14 with opacity standards from the 1970's. Utilizing 

### 15 strategies, such as sorbent injection and carbon 

### 16 injection upstream, upstream of ancient particulate 

### 17 controls could be a recipe for making local direct PM 

### 18 emissions worse. If DSI is allowed, it 

### 19 should be only in conjunction with the installation of 

### 20 fabric filters to limit direct PM emissions. 

### 21 We also want to strongly support EPA's 

### 22 start-up/shut-down malfunction emissions provisions. 

### 23 Strict PM limits must apply at all times including 

### 24 during SSM conditions, especially for cycling merchant 

### 25 plants operating on the margin. Regardless, no coalAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 21 1 plant should be allowed to hide behind an SSM exemption 

### 2 excuse in order to avoid penalties for sloppy and dirty 

### 3 operational practices that harm public health. 

### 4Coal power plants operating in Illinois have 

### 5 violated opacity standards for years with hundreds of 

### 6 opacity exceedances documented, self reported by the 

### 7 company. Many of them were claimed as due to SSM 

### 8 conditions. Those living in close proximity to coal 

### 9 power plants, including many EJ communities 

### 10 should not be subject to frequent toxic soot showers. 

### 11 These requirements are long overdue and the 

### 12 technology to solve these problems is readily 

### 13 available. As such, we urge the EPA to continue with a 

### 14 three year time line for implementation once the rule 

### 15 is finalized. With any one year extensions only 

### 16 decided on a strict and limited case by case basis. We 

### 17 would also like to eventually see final title five 

### 18 permits for the coal plants here in Illinois; there are 

### 19 none, so we can work to enforce these and other clean 

### 20 air act provisions. 

### 21 Thank you very much. 

### 22 MR. CLARK: Thank you very much and Amy, if 

### 23 you could both spell and pronounce your last name, that 

### 24 would be great. 

### 25 MS. TROJECKI: Good morning. My name is AmyAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 22 1 Trojecki; it's T-R-O-J-E-C-K-I. I am Regulatory 

### 2 Strategy Manager with Exelon Corporation and I'm 

### 3 pleased to provide you with Exelon's initial views on 

### 4 EPA's proposed air toxics rule. 

### 5 By way of background, Exelon Generation 

### 6 Company, LLC owns and operates over twenty-five 

### 7 thousand megawatts of nuclear coal-, wind-, hydro-, solar-, 

### 8 gas-, and oil- fired generation comprising the nation's 

### 9 fifth largest generation fleet. 

### 10 Exelon Corporation supports the policy 

### 11 objectives underlying EPA's proposed air toxics rule 

### 12 and believes that the proposed rule is balanced, 

### 13 reasonable, and long overdue. Like many other 

### 14 companies in our sector, we have made investments in 

### 15 clean generation because we have known for over twenty 

### 16 years that the rules were coming. 

### 17 The nation has both a significant need and 

### 18 opportunity to move to cleaner sources of electric 

### 19 generation. Rising health care costs and other costs 

### 20 exacerbated by toxic air emissions make it imperative 

### 21 to move towards cleaner generation. 

### 22 The proposed rule will reduce risk to human 

### 23 health and the environment while at the same time in 

### 24 sending investment in a modern generation fleet that 

### 25 will provide the basis for long term economic healthAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 23 1 for the nation and industry. It is a win/win 

### 2 situation. 

### 3 Some claim that the power industry is 

### 4monolithic and that we all think that EPA has run 

### 5 amuck. This is simply not true. While some companies 

### 6 want to delay the rules hoping to squeeze a few more 

### 7 years of profit from plants that have no pollution 

### 8 controls, many companies have already made pollution 

### 9 control investments and are prepared to work with EPA. 

### 10 The deadlines are no surprise to any of us. 

### 11 Many plants have already installed advanced 

### 12 pollution controls. For instance, sixty percent of the 

### 13 nation's coal capacity has already been retrofit with 

### 14 scrubbers for SO2. Among baseload coal units greater 

### 15 than four hundred megawatts, seventy percent have 

### 16 installed scrubbers. FERC Commissioner John Norris 

### 17 said it best at the May 4 annual energy bar association 

### 18 conference in Washington, D.C. This was not hatched 

### 19 overnight. Despite this, some companies have chosen to 

### 20 do little or nothing. 

### 21 Now let me specifically address three issues 

### 22 that often come up in this debate; reliability, timing, 

### 23 and electricity prices. 

### 24First, nothing in this rule will jeopardize 

### 25 the reliability of the electric system. PJM, theAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 24 1 nation's largest integrated power operator, just 

### 2 confirmed last week that its system has more than 

### 3 enough electricity supply after the toxics rule takes 

### 4 affect. In August, Sue Tierney, formerly the Assistant 

### 5 Secretary for Policy at the U.S. Department of Energy, 

### 6 found that the industry is well positioned to respond 

### 7 to EPA's proposed toxics rule without threatening 

### 8 electric reliability. FERC and NERC have indicated 

### 9 that the rule can be implemented without affecting 

### 10 reliability. 

### 11 If a plant -- excuse me -- is in a location 

### 12 on the grid where it is needed for system reliability, 

### 13 then it should get more time to operate to maintain 

### 14 reliability while controls are installed. However, let 

### 15 me make this clear and it is very important. If a unit 

### 16 is needed for reliability and gets an extension, EPA 

### 17 should condition that extension upon a commitment that 

### 18 the unit will only operate when it is needed. As FERC 

### 19 Commissioner, John Norris said, "There shouldn't be an 

### 20 expectation to bend over backwards for folks who 

### 21 haven't been attentive and address this issue already 

### 22 or at least plan for this issue." 

### 23 Second, the experts think that there is 

### 24 enough time to comply between now and January 2015 when 

### 25 the rule is expected to take effect. I commend to yourAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 25 1 reading, a detailed study prepared by URS Corporation, 

### 2 a well respected engineering and design company, which 

### 3 was released last month. URS concluded that pollution 

### 4 control technologies to satisfy EPA's proposed 

### 5 standards are available and can typically be installed 

### 6 in less than three years, but the real proof is in the 

### 7 pudding. We know we can install controls in three 

### 8 years because many plants have already done it in that 

### 9 time frame and if there are unique circumstances where 

### 10 a plant requires more time to install controls, then 

### 11 EPA already has said it will give that time. 

### 12 Lastly, let me talk about electricity cost. 

### 13 Adjusted for inflation, we expect that the price for 

### 14 electric generation charged to customers in 2015 will 

### 15 be less than or equal to the price charged in 2010 in 

### 16 both Chicago and Philadelphia. The reason is simple. 

### 17 While environmental costs may increase costs for 

### 18 certain operators, fuel costs to run the gas-fired 

### 19 plants on the system have tumbled driving electricity 

### 20 prices down. Our nation's discovery of new natural gas 

### 21 deposits from shale is the most significant event in 

### 22 the electric generation business in the last 

### 23 twenty-five years. It has ushered in a new era of low 

### 24 prices that more than offset any increases for 

### 25 environmental compliance in many parts of the country.AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 26 1 Thank you for considering Exelon's initial 

### 2 comments on the proposed toxics rule. We look forward 

### 3 to submitting more detailed comments before the comment 

### 4period is over. I'm happy to answer any questions you 

### 5 have. 

### 6 MR. CLARK: Okay great. Any questions 

### 7 from -- 

### 8 MS. KURLANSKY: I don't have a question, but 

### 9 you mentioned the study that URS Corporation did and I 

### 10 hope you'll submit that in your comments. 

### 11 MS. TROJECKI: Yes, we do have a copy and 

### 12 I'll give it to the people out front. 

### 13 MS. KURLANSKY: Sounds great. Thank you. 

### 14MS. TROJECKI: Thank you. 

### 15 MR. HUTSON: Yeah, I also -- you, you 

### 16 mentioned, I don't know if it was a study or just 

### 17 internal study that you did estimating the price of 

### 18 electricity. 

### 19 MS. TROJECKI: Yes. 

### 20 MR. HUTSON: Is, is that also available? 

### 21 MS. TROJECKI: That is our internal analysis. 

### 22 We'll be submitting more about that in our written 

### 23 detail. 

### 24MR. HUTSON: Thank you. 

### 25 MS. TROJECKI: Thank you.AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 27 1 MR. CLARK: Thank you both very much. Our 

### 2 next two speakers, Mr. Ben Lowe and Ms. Verena Owen 

### 3 please. Mr. Lowe. 

### 4MR. LOWE: Thank you. My name is Ben Lowe, 

### 5 L-O-W-E. I'm from Glen Ellyn, Illinois. I'm here with 

### 6 the Evangelical Environmental Network and I am an 

### 7 evangelical Christian. 

### 8 As Christians, we are called to protect life 

### 9 and that includes the unborn. Jesus taught us to love 

### 10 our neighbor and treat others as we would want to be 

### 11 treated. Protecting the unborn and children from 

### 12 mercury poisoning and air pollution, as the EPA's 

### 13 mercury standard would do, is in keeping with Jesus' 

### 14 commands. 

### 15 Seven hundred thousand babies are born every 

### 16 year in America with harmful levels of mercury in their 

### 17 blood. Seven hundred thousand babies means one in 

### 18 every six children are born with harmful levels of 

### 19 mercury. 

### 20 I understand that we live in a complicated 

### 21 world, but this is not just ridiculous, it is also 

### 22 morally wrong; it is sinful. 

### 23 I love fishing and I live intentionally in a 

### 24 low income community in DuPage County where a lot of my 

### 25 poorer neighbors fish regularly to provide protein forAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 28 1 their families. I remember catching a big carp in one 

### 2 of our local rivers. I was getting ready to throw it 

### 3 back when a man walked up and asked for it to feed his 

### 4 family. I tried to explain that a fish this big was 

### 5 full of toxins such as mercury which would hurt his 

### 6 children. "It's okay," he said, "they need the food." 

### 7 I ended up giving him the fish, but no it is not okay. 

### 8 Not in my community, not in American, not anywhere. 

### 9 Why can't our families eat the fish from our 

### 10 own water without risking mercury poisoning? There are 

### 11 now mercury catch warnings in all fifty states. Is 

### 12 this the inheritance my generation and future 

### 13 generations are being left with? No. Please stop it. 

### 14 Who would try to rationalize cursing us with this? We 

### 15 are not fooled. 

### 16 We've now had two decades of bipartisan foot 

### 17 dragging on the issue of mercury pollution. Industry 

### 18 has known for over a decade that we are going to 

### 19 regulate them. It is well past time to stop the 

### 20 mercury poisoning of our unborn children and families. 

### 21 As someone speaking from the Evangelical 

### 22 Christian community, I'm grateful, very grateful that 

### 23 the EPA has finally come out with this rule and I whole 

### 24 heartedly support your efforts to protect life and 

### 25 create a healthier country for me and my children toAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 29 1 inherit. 

### 2 God be with you. You have our prayers. 

### 3 Thank you. 

### 4MR. CLARK: Thank you very much. Ms. Owen. 

### 5 MS. OWEN: Good morning. My name is Verena 

### 6 Owen. That's V-E-R-E-N-A, O-W-E-N. Good morning and a 

### 7 warm welcome. We have been waiting for this for twenty 

### 8 years, so we are delighted to be here. 

### 9 I am here today to be part of the final 

### 10 chapter of the air toxics emissions from power plants 

### 11 are gone. Although uncontrolled coal-fired power 

### 12 plants are the worst emitters of hazardous air 

### 13 pollutant and other industries are already required to 

### 14 clean up their act, power plants have had a free ride 

### 15 for over two decades. It is time to close that 

### 16 loophole and I really don't think that loophole 

### 17 adequately describe what it is. It's more like a loop 

### 18 traitor. It means that three hundred and eighty six 

### 19 tons of toxic emissions, which is roughly equivalent to 

### 20 a hundred and thirty thousand mid-size sedans, which 

### 21 means that one of those things shoot out of a smoke 

### 22 stack somewhere every four minutes in the United 

### 23 States, are falling from the sky every year. This has 

### 24 to stop. 

### 25 Toxic mercury -- one of those pollutants isAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 30 1 mercury and mercury pollution puts pregnant women at 

### 2 risk for birth defects, including learning 

### 3 disabilities, developmental disorders and lower IQ's. 

### 4 I am the mother of four. I love my kids. One of them 

### 5 has a severe learning disability, so I know first hand 

### 6 what that means to a family and how it drains 

### 7 resources, both financially and emotionally. So for 

### 8 the sake of our families' health, we need to hold these 

### 9 corporate polluters accountable. 

### 10 And because I'm a bit of an overachiever, I 

### 11 am also the volunteer leading of Sierra 

### 12 Club's National Beyond Coal campaign. The Sierra Club 

### 13 is the biggest and oldest environmental group in the 

### 14 United States. We have one point four million members 

### 15 and supporters and you will hear from a good number of 

### 16 them today, I'm sure. 

### 17 One of my roles is to enable and empower our 

### 18 activists all over the United States to work on issues 

### 19 related to the full life cycle of coal from mining to 

### 20 burning to coal ash disposal and I am still always 

### 21 amazed how folks will step up to the plate one more 

### 22 time when asked to help make sure that the air we 

### 23 breathe and the water we drink and the land where we 

### 24 get water, where we get our food from is safe, not only 

### 25 for us, but for future generations.AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 31 1 EPA administrator in her recent interview 

### 2 said, "Environmentalism isn't a spectator sport. You 

### 3 actually have to stand up and demand that we be 

### 4 vigilant in protecting our air and water." I couldn't 

### 5 agree more. But even I have been unprepared from the 

### 6 response that we have gotten so far about this new air 

### 7 toxics rule. 

### 8 With the help of Sierra Club and our 

### 9 wonderful coalition partners, already over three 

### 10 hundred thousand people have taken action in support of 

### 11 the rule; three hundred thousand people. So after 

### 12 years of lawsuits and delays and political maneuvering 

### 13 and delays and closed door deals and delays and at 

### 14 least one clumsy attempt to redefine the law, none of 

### 15 which, of course, benefitted the public, I am ecstatic 

### 16 to see that this administration has the will to protect 

### 17 public health and to take this long overdue rule across 

### 18 the finish line. Bravo and you have our support. 

### 19 Thank you. 

### 20 MR. CLARK: Great. Thank you both very much. 

### 21 Any questions from the panel? 

### 22 MS. OWEN: Thank you. 

### 23 MR. CLARK: Thank you both. Our next two 

### 24 speakers, Mr. Peter Iwanowicz and Sarah Hodgdon, 

### 25 hopefully that's correct. I'll ask you both to spellAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 32 1 your name when you come up and let me just say for the 

### 2 folks that have come in, the system that we have, that 

### 3 we're operating here is, is -- because of that, we have 

### 4 a very, very large number of people that will be 

### 5 testifying over the course of the day and we're trying 

### 6 to make things as fair as possible, try to hold 

### 7 everyone to five minutes, so the lighting system down 

### 8 on the floor here, you'll see has -- will give you a 

### 9 green light until there's one minute left and a yellow 

### 10 light and then at the end of five minutes, a red light 

### 11 and we would ask you to finish up at the point. So, if 

### 12 I am close Mr. Iwanowicz, hopefully. 

### 13 MR. IWANOWICZ: Spot on. All these tough 

### 14 slotted names for you this morning. Great job. 

### 15 Good morning. My name is Peter Iwanowicz; 

### 16 that's spelled I-W-A-N-O-W-I-C-Z. I'm Assistant Vice 

### 17 President of National Policy and Advocacy for the 

### 18 American Lung Association. Thank you for the 

### 19 opportunity to share the Lung Association's views on 

### 20 the proposed mercury and air toxics standard. We, 

### 21 along with others, will supply technical comments 

### 22 before the comment period closes July 8 -- oh I'm 

### 23 sorry, July 5. 

### 24The American Lung Association is deeply 

### 25 appreciative of the amount of time and energy that theAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 33 1 U.S. EPA is putting into gathering comments from the 

### 2 public today, as well as throughout the rest of the 

### 3 comment period. All told, the public will have a 

### 4 hundred and eleven days since that proposal was 

### 5 announced on March 16, through the end of the comment 

### 6 period, July 5. That's an extraordinary amount of time 

### 7 that the public has had access to this proposal. 

### 8 Before I provide an overview of the Lung 

### 9 Association's support for the proposal, I want you to 

### 10 tell a bit -- I want to, to learn a little bit of why 

### 11 this issue is important and very deeply important to 

### 12 me. 

### 13 Air quality has certainly improved over the 

### 14 last forty years since the enactment of the Clean Air 

### 15 Act. For that I am thankful, I think we all are, but 

### 16 more can and must be done to protect our kids. Nearly 

### 17 twenty years ago, I began my first position with the 

### 18 Lung Association providing asthma management programs 

### 19 to elementary school children. I remember quite 

### 20 vividly the eagerness for these kids and their parents 

### 21 to learn more about how to manage this disease. I also 

### 22 remember my first year as an advocacy staffer for the 

### 23 Association and the power of knowing that it is within 

### 24 our grasp to clean the air these kids were breathing. 

### 25 Cleaner air meant that they could then manage theirAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 34 1 asthma without a hand tied behind their backs. Dirtier 

### 2 air makes asthma management just all that more 

### 3 difficult. 

### 4I, like many at today's hearing, have also 

### 5 stayed up at night watching my daughter breathe and 

### 6 struggle for breath and providing nebulizer treatments 

### 7 to open her airways. Though the condition she has 

### 8 needing treatment was only temporary, as a parent, you 

### 9 and I know that you'll do anything at that very moment 

### 10 to make it easier for your child to breathe. 

### 11 The proposal to clean up toxics in power 

### 12 plants is critical to public health and it's a measure 

### 13 that's long overdue. Congress first required EPA to 

### 14 clean up toxic air pollution from industries in the 

### 15 Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990. The electric power 

### 16 companies have successfully delayed having to comply 

### 17 since then, but we heard this morning not all have, and 

### 18 we commend companies like Exelon who have risen to the 

### 19 occasion and have cleaned up their act ahead of time. 

### 20 Some of the kids I taught in those asthma 

### 21 management programs are now in their mid-twenties, 

### 22 probably have their own kids. They've been waiting 

### 23 now -- they have been waiting and now maybe their kids 

### 24 are waiting. Yesterday, we took out a full page ad in 

### 25 the Tribune and elsewhere across the country where weAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 35 1 sort of equated exposing our kids to arsenic as if we 

### 2 were sending them off to school with a vial of arsenic 

### 3 in their lunch boxes. In the closer of the ad 

### 4 essentially says, it's time for EPA to make sure all 

### 5 power plants are cleaned up, so let's remember those 

### 6 kids as we go through today and let's remember all the 

### 7 stories you hear today about why we're here. 

### 8 More than four hundred coal-fired power 

### 9 plants located in forty-six states across the country 

### 10 release in excess of three hundred and eighty-six 

### 11 thousand tons of hazardous air pollutants into the air 

### 12 each day. The wide range of uncontrolled pollutants 

### 13 from these plants include toxic metals like mercury, 

### 14 harmful pollutants like dioxin, chemicals known or 

### 15 thought to cause cancer, like benzene and formaldehyde, 

### 16 acid gasses; the proverbial witches brew. 

### 17 Emissions threaten the health of people who 

### 18 live near these plants as well as those who live 

### 19 hundred miles away. People most at risk from the 

### 20 health effects from breathing these hazardous air 

### 21 pollutants include infants, children, teenagers, older 

### 22 adults, pregnant women, people with asthma and other 

### 23 lung diseases, people with cardiovascular disease, 

### 24 diabetics, people with low incomes and healthy adults 

### 25 who work or exercise outdoor. Quite a cross section ofAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 36 1 the country if you think about it. 

### 2 This rule is literally a matter of life and 

### 3 death. According to the agencies own analysis, in 

### 4 2016, the implementation of these standards and 

### 5 compliance with this rule will result each year in the 

### 6 prevention of approximately seventeen thousand 

### 7 premature deaths. Seventeen thousand premature deaths 

### 8 is an unimaginable sum. Allow me to put it in 

### 9 context. At the University of Chicago, there are 

### 10 fourteen thousand students. The United Center seats 

### 11 just over twenty thousand for a Bulls game. 

### 12 The proposed sum -- the proposed clean up 

### 13 requirements are based on pollution reductions achieved 

### 14 by the cleanest facilities in the country, so no power 

### 15 plant owner is being asked to achieve reductions that 

### 16 other owners have not already achieved. In fact, many 

### 17 power plants already have installed modern pollution 

### 18 controls needed to comply. There are many widely used 

### 19 and effective controls that fall into three main 

### 20 groups; there's mercury control technology called 

### 21 activated carbon injection which removes arsenic, 

### 22 chromium, dioxin and other compounds. Technologies 

### 23 that control other metals and fine particles including 

### 24 bag houses and electrostatic precipitators and acid gas 

### 25 controls which target the hydrogen chloride, hydrogenAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 37 1 fluoride and also -- that also reduce sulfur dioxide 

### 2 and other gasses. They include wet and dry scrubbers 

### 3 and dry sorbent injection. 

### 4The technology is proven, it's readily 

### 5 available and it's in place in many power plants across 

### 6 the country already. 

### 7 The Clean Air Act gives great flexibility to 

### 8 comply with these standards. Some power companies may 

### 9 decide to switch fuels to get their emissions levels 

### 10 down to updated limits, others may decide to close 

### 11 boilers entirely, no longer throwing good money after 

### 12 bad. They may choose to combine approaches at some 

### 13 plants, adding modern pollution control on some 

### 14 boilers, switching to cleaner fuels on others and 

### 15 shutting down some. Those decisions are up to the 

### 16 owners. The power companies just have to finally 

### 17 follow the law and meet standards on time to start 

### 18 saving lives. 

### 19 In closing, I urge you to finalize these 

### 20 rules on or before the Court deadline of November 16, 

### 21 2011. While some, including members of Congress have 

### 22 asked for delay or are seeking to block implementation 

### 23 of this rule, let us not forget that these rules are 

### 24 about protecting health. There are no delays from 

### 25 health impacts. There are no exemptions from asthmaAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 38 1 attacks. The time to act is now and I thank you. 

### 2 MR. CLARK: Thank you very much. 

### 3 MR. IWANOWICZ: I did want to note that I 

### 4 think I stayed within five minutes, but your clock 

### 5 was -- 

### 6 MR. CLARK: I know. Actually, right after I 

### 7 made the speech about how this clock works, I forgot to 

### 8 start it, so I -- thank you for that and, and Sarah, 

### 9 I'll let you do the last name. 

### 10 MS. HODGDON: Good morning. My name is Sarah 

### 11 Hodgdon; S-A-R-A-H, H-O-D-G-D-O-N and I'm the Director 

### 12 of Conservation for the Sierra Club, the nation's 

### 13 oldest and largest environmental organization based in 

### 14 San Francisco. 

### 15 Sierra Club along with many public health and 

### 16 environmental groups, has a long standing record of 

### 17 support for strong clean air act standards, including 

### 18 years of fighting in the courts to protect the public 

### 19 from toxic pollution and today, on behalf of more than 

### 20 one point four million members of Sierra Club, I speak 

### 21 strongly in support of the proposed EPA standards to 

### 22 reduce toxic mercury and other hazardous air pollutants 

### 23 from coal and oil, oil fired power plants. 

### 24An overwhelming bipartisan majority in 

### 25 Congress passed the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 39 1 and directed EPA to regulate toxic air pollution from 

### 2 major sources, yet today more than twenty years later, 

### 3 there are still no national limits on the amount of 

### 4mercury and other hazardous air pollutants power plants 

### 5 can spew into the air. 

### 6 For decades, the power sector has fought 

### 7 Clean Air Act requirements to reduce the toxic air 

### 8 emissions from their facilities because power plants 

### 9 are among the largest sources of toxic air emissions in 

### 10 the United States. In 2009 alone, power plants 

### 11 submitted more than a hundred and thirty-four thousand 

### 12 pounds of mercury into the atmosphere. Scientists have 

### 13 known for a long time that mercury is a potent 

### 14 neurotoxin that builds up in certain types of fish 

### 15 including tuna and swordfish. 

### 16 Mercury pollution puts everyone who eats fish 

### 17 at risk for harmful health effects. Pregnant women who 

### 18 consume mercury contaminated fish put their children at 

### 19 particular risk for brain damage and developmental 

### 20 disabilities, including learning problems and lower 

### 21 intelligence. EPA's own studies indicate that three 

### 22 hundred thousand to seven hundred thousand babies are 

### 23 born every year with dangerous levels of mercury in 

### 24 their blood. The mercury problem is so widespread that 

### 25 there are fish advisories against consuming types ofAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 40 1 fish due to mercury contamination in all fifty states. 

### 2 With the technology available today, there is 

### 3 no acceptable reason why a power plant should be 

### 4 allowed to continue putting corporate profits ahead of 

### 5 the health of our children. We therefore applaud EPA 

### 6 for setting a standard that will reduce mercury 

### 7 emissions from coal-fired power plants by over ninety 

### 8 percent. 

### 9 In addition to mercury, power plants emit 

### 10 arsenic, lead, other heavy metals, dioxin and acid 

### 11 gasses that also threaten public health and child 

### 12 development. Even in small amounts, these extremely 

### 13 harmful air pollutants are linked to health problems 

### 14 such as cancer, heart disease, neurological damage, 

### 15 birth defects, asthma attacks and even premature death. 

### 16 Sierra Club will continue to pursue the most 

### 17 stringent public health protections as required by the 

### 18 Clean Air Act because communities across the country 

### 19 deserve better. 

### 20 By EPA's own estimates, the proposed 

### 21 safeguards to reduce toxic air pollution from coal and 

### 22 oil fired power plants will result in seventeen 

### 23 thousand American lives saved every year, eleven 

### 24 thousand heart attacks avoided, a hundred twenty 

### 25 thousand cases of aggravated asthma attacks preventedAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 41 1 and eight hundred and fifty thousand additional work 

### 2 days that would have been lost. In other words, 

### 3 without these strong protections, thousands of people 

### 4 will continue to suffer every year. It is reckless and 

### 5 irresponsible to allow dirty energy corporations to 

### 6 continue putting their bottom lines before our 

### 7 children's health. 

### 8 By design, the Clean Air Act standards are 

### 9 based on technology that is available and already in 

### 10 use by power plants operating right here in the United 

### 11 States. As we continue climbing out of the worst 

### 12 recession in recent history, we should recognize that 

### 13 the manufacture, installation and operation of 

### 14 pollution control technology will help give the economy 

### 15 a vital boost. Only federal Clean Air Act standards, 

### 16 such as proposed by EPA, can provide consistent public 

### 17 health and environmental safeguards needed to protect 

### 18 communities. 

### 19 In the short-term, we urge EPA to stand its 

### 20 ground against industry pressure to weaken the proposed 

### 21 standard. Ultimately, we must break away from our 

### 22 dependence on dirty, polluting sources of energy like 

### 23 coal and oil altogether and embrace a clean energy 

### 24 future. 

### 25 Thank you.AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 42 1 MR. CLARK: Thank you both very much. I'll 

### 2 ask if anyone on the panel has any questions? I guess 

### 3 not. Thank you so much. 

### 4Next two speakers, Mr. Matt Dunne and Mary 

### 5 Gade please. 

### 6 MR. DUNNE: Good morning. Matthew Dunne, 

### 7 Assistant Attorney General for the State of Illinois. 

### 8 On behalf of Illinois Attorney General, Lisa 

### 9 Madigan, I'd like to thank everyone present for the 

### 10 opportunity to offer these comments in support of U.S. 

### 11 EPA's proposed national standard for mercury pollution 

### 12 from power plants. 

### 13 In the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments, 

### 14 Congress mandated that EPA control the emission of 

### 15 toxic air pollutants, including mercury, from 

### 16 significant sources. Since then, EPA has taken action 

### 17 to reduce mercury emissions from many high emanating 

### 18 sources, including over eighty categories of major 

### 19 industrial sources. This proposed rule extends those 

### 20 reductions to one of the largest mercury emitting 

### 21 industrial sources, coal and oil fired power plants. 

### 22 This is not to say that EPA has ignored the 

### 23 1990 mandate of Congress to control such emissions. 

### 24 On the contrary, EPA has taken significant action on 

### 25 issue, but not always positive action. The 1990 CleanAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 43 1 Air Act Amendments required EPA to report to Congress 2 on whether the emission of mercury from power plants 3 was harmful to human health or the environment. In 4 1998, EPA delivered to Congress the utility air toxic 5 study which found that a link does exist between 6 mercury emissions from power plants in the United 7 States and methyl mercury in fish and that mercury 8 emissions from electric generating units may add to 9 the existing environmental burden. 10 In December of 2000, eleven years ago, EPA 11 announced the finding that it was appropriate and 12 necessary to regulate coal and oil fired electric 13 utilities under Section one twelve of the Clean Air 14 Act. That finding triggered a requirement for EPA to 15 provide regulations to control these emissions of 16 hazardous air pollutants by December of 2003. 17 Unfortunately, the appropriate and necessary 18 determination was short lived. In 2005, EPA issued 19 the final Clean Air Mercury rule, CAMR. This 20 rule attempted to de-list electric generating units 21 from regulation under section one twelve of the Clean 22 Air Act by rescinding the appropriate and necessary 23 determination and replace it with an illegal and lax 24 cap and trade approach to regulating these toxic 25 emissions.AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 44 1 Through Attorney General's efforts, through 

### 2 Attorney General Madigan's efforts, Illinois 

### 3 participated fully in a coalition of states and 

### 4 environmental groups in filing with the D.C. Circuit 

### 5 Court of Appeals a petition to review the CAMR. 

### 6 Illinois also filed extensive comments in favor of 

### 7 reconsideration of CAMR and questioned U.S. EPA's 

### 8 authority at that time, to de-list the regulation of 

### 9 hazardous emissions from power plants under Section one 

### 10 twelve of the Clean Air Act. EPA ultimately denied 

### 11 reconsideration of rule and the previous filed petition 

### 12 for review proceeded in the Court of Appeals. 

### 13 In December of 2008, the D.C. Circuit Court 

### 14 of Appeals vacated the de-listing rule. Court held 

### 15 that de-listing was unlawful. Section one twelve then 

### 16 required EPA to regulate emissions of HAPs. Section 

### 17 one twelve N requires EPA to regulate power plants 

### 18 under Section one twelve when it concludes, as it has, 

### 19 that doing so is appropriate and necessary. Over a 

### 20 decade has been wasted in the failed attempt to set a 

### 21 standard to protect the environment and public health 

### 22 and especially the health of those most vulnerable; 

### 23 pregnant women and children. That is why the State of 

### 24 Illinois supports the EPA's pending air toxic rules. 

### 25 When fully implemented, EPA's newly proposed powerAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 45 1 plant mercury and air toxics standards will provide 

### 2 protection to those most vulnerable members of our 

### 3 communities. 

### 4Attorney General Madigan has been a vigorous 

### 5 proponent of clean coal technology which frankly is at 

### 6 a significant economic disadvantage so long as existing 

### 7 heavily polluting units are allowed to continue 

### 8 operating without upgrading their pollution control 

### 9 equipment. 

### 10 Attorney General Madigan applauds this rule 

### 11 and is ready to stand shoulder to shoulder with EPA in 

### 12 the promulgation and implementation of these important 

### 13 standards. 

### 14Thank you. 

### 15 MR. CLARK: Thank you very much, Mr. Dunne. 

### 16 Ms. Gade, former EPA Assistant Administrator. How are 

### 17 you? 

### 18 MS. GADE: Good morning. My name is Mary 

### 19 Gade, it's spelled G-A-D-E and I'm currently President 

### 20 of Gade Environmental Group, LLC. I too appreciate the 

### 21 opportunity today to voice my strong support for EPA's 

### 22 promulgation of the long overdue utility air toxics 

### 23 rule. As the former Director of the Illinois EPA, and 

### 24 as the former Regional Administrator of EPA's region 

### 25 five office here in Chicago and as an environmentalAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 46 1 attorney in private practice representing companies 

### 2 that will have to comply with these rules, I am well 

### 3 qualified to testify to their critical importance for 

### 4 both protection of the public's health, but also the 

### 5 public's economic well being. 

### 6 The utility air toxics rule will, for the 

### 7 first time ever, set comprehensive federal limits on 

### 8 hazardous air pollutants like mercury, arsenic, lead 

### 9 and hydrochloric acid. 

### 10 As people have said, companies have had ten 

### 11 or more years warning that these regulations were 

### 12 coming and the arguments being trotted out by 

### 13 opponents, even at today's hearing I'm sure, are 

### 14 nothing new. We've been hearing for years that 

### 15 environmental regulations like this one will cause 

### 16 businesses and jobs to flee the country. We've heard 

### 17 that the lights are going to go out and that our energy 

### 18 rates are going to go sky high. Yet, the repeated dire 

### 19 warnings of economic catastrophe have never 

### 20 materialized. In fact, quite the contrary, clean air 

### 21 has been and will be a boon to this country's economy. 

### 22 A recent study determined that Illinois might 

### 23 see as much as fifteen billion dollars in investments 

### 24 as companies install pollution controls, update their 

### 25 plants, and build new ones all essential for ourAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 47 1 country's transition to a clean energy economy. That 

### 2 fifteen billion dollar investment will bring with it 

### 3 over a hundred and twenty thousand new jobs, a hundred 

### 4 and twenty thousand new jobs for, for the next five 

### 5 years in Illinois and over fifteen hundred permanent 

### 6 jobs, so to me, it appears, that over the last forty 

### 7 years, compliance with the Clean Air Act has proven to 

### 8 be a better investment than trusting your money to 

### 9 Warren Buffet. 

### 10 For every one dollar spent in compliance 

### 11 costs, some thirty dollars in economic benefit has been 

### 12 realized. President George H. W. Bush updated the 

### 13 Clean Air Act in 1990, nearly twenty years after its 

### 14 creation. Now, twenty years later, we're due for 

### 15 another update. 

### 16 The most compelling reason to promulgate this 

### 17 rule relates to health. Pollution from coal plants is 

### 18 a major health threat in the Chicago area. An analysis 

### 19 done by the Clean Air Task Force, a Boston based 

### 20 environmental group, recently -- that was recently 

### 21 released, showed that in the metropolitan area that 

### 22 stretches around Lake Michigan from Kenosha to 

### 23 Napierville through to Gary, three hundred and 

### 24 forty-seven people die, five hundred and eighty-four 

### 25 suffer heart attacks, and two hundred and sixty-fourAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 48 1 are admitted to emergency rooms each year from exposure 

### 2 to air pollution. These are our friends, our 

### 3 co-workers, our family members. These are real people. 

### 4The American Lung Association in a recent 

### 5 state of the air report that came out several weeks 

### 6 ago, gave Cook County, Illinois, an F for the number of 

### 7 high ozone days in particulate pollution. Their data 

### 8 shows that poor air quality here is contributing to 

### 9 nearly three quarters of a million cases of asthma, two 

### 10 million cases of cardiovascular disease and over a 

### 11 quarter million cases of chronic bronchitis. I believe 

### 12 that it's irresponsible for power companies not to make 

### 13 sensible, relatively easy changes that these rules will 

### 14 require. And companies can and will shut down power 

### 15 plants if they need to. A good example is the State 

### 16 Line power plant owned and operated by Dominion Power. 

### 17 In a recent conference call with financial analysts, 

### 18 Dominion executives announced that they had decided it 

### 19 wasn't worth upgrading the plant to comply with the 

### 20 federal clean air act. The plant emits more lung 

### 21 damaging nitrogen dioxide than two other 

### 22 [indecipherable] plants in Chicago and churns out more 

### 23 smog forming sulfur dioxide and toxic mercury than the 

### 24 decades old Fisk and Crawford plants. 

### 25 As a result of the shutdown of Dominion,AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 49 1 Chicagoans will now be breathing healthier and cleaner 

### 2 air. Other companies in the Chicago area and across 

### 3 the company can and will come to the same conclusions, 

### 4 but by -- but these shutdowns of the oldest, poorest 

### 5 performing plants has led some to say that taking 

### 6 these plants and the power they produce offline, will 

### 7 turn off our lights. They're wrong. Multiple studies 

### 8 over the last twelve months have provided overwhelming 

### 9 evidence that the nation's power grids of reliability 

### 10 will not be harmed. A little over a week ago at the 

### 11 PJM Regional Transmission Organization or 

### 12 RTO held its annual Ford capacity auction to ensure 

### 13 that there's sufficient electric generation capacity to 

### 14meet future, future demand. The thirteen state, PJM 

### 15 RTO includes Illinois, Indian, Michigan, Ohio, among 

### 16 others. It provides power to fifty-four million 

### 17 customers. The results of that auction confirmed that 

### 18 even with implementation of EPA's proposed rules, PJM 

### 19 regional have ample electricity once those rules take 

### 20 affect before or after January 2015. 

### 21 EPA should look at these real world 

### 22 commitments by power companies, by power providers and 

### 23 with the huge economic sanctions for failure to meet 

### 24 them and ignore the fear mongering by those who say 

### 25 that the air toxics rule, along with other EPAAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 50 1 regulations will turn out the lights. Study after 

### 2 impartial study says it just isn't so. 

### 3 In conclusion, the changes needed to these 

### 4power plants are not easy, but corporations can upgrade 

### 5 their pollution controls and they can do it quickly and 

### 6 cost effectively. At least sixty percent of coal-fired 

### 7 plants have already done so. 

### 8 Thank you for allowing me to speak today. I 

### 9 urge EPA to implement the air toxics rule. It will 

### 10 make the air cleaner, people healthier, our economy 

### 11 stronger and it's about time. Thank you. 

### 12 MR. CLARK: Thank you both very much. May I 

### 13 ask if anyone has a question? 

### 14MS. KURLANSKY: Sure. Mary Gade, you 

### 15 mentioned several studies and of course, we're going to 

### 16 be very interested in seeing those, including the one 

### 17 about the fifteen billion dollars of investment in 

### 18 Illinois, which I'm not aware of, so. 

### 19 MS. GADE: Yes, that comes from Charles 

### 20 Rivers and Associate study and I'll be happy to provide 

### 21 them in my written testimony. 

### 22 MS. KURLANSKY: All right. Thank you. 

### 23 MR. CLARK: Thank you both very much. 

### 24Our next two speakers, Ms. Catie Krasner and 

### 25 Mr. Steve Frenkel please. Ms. Krasner, if you couldAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 51 1 also spell your last name, that would be great. 

### 2 MS. KRASNER: Okay. My name is Catie with a 

### 3 C, Krasner, K-R-A-S-N-E-R. I'm a Field Organizer with 

### 4 Environment Illinois. 

### 5 Environment Illinois is a citizen based 

### 6 advocacy group that works statewide and we are a part 

### 7 of Environment America, which is a federation of 

### 8 twenty-nine state advocacy groups. We've been active 

### 9 in advancing state and federal policies to cut mercury 

### 10 and air toxic emissions through federal and state 

### 11 policies. 

### 12 I'm here today to testify in strong support 

### 13 of the EPA's proposed mercury and air toxics rule. 

### 14 Once implemented, the rule will save as many as 

### 15 seventeen thousand lives per year and prevent thousands 

### 16 more hospital visits. It will also significantly cut 

### 17 some of the most hazardous pollutants known to man, 

### 18 such as mercury, lead and arsenic. 

### 19 Coal-fired power plants are the single 

### 20 largest source of mercury pollution, arsenic and acid 

### 21 gasses in the United States. In addition, power plants 

### 22 spew dozens of other toxic pollutants into the air 

### 23 including chromium, nickel, lead and dioxins. They 

### 24 emit hundreds of thousands of tons of these toxic air 

### 25 pollutants into our air and water every year which areAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 52 1 linked to cancer, heart disease, neurological damage, 

### 2 learning disabilities, asthma attacks, and even 

### 3 premature death. 

### 4Coal-fired power plants are responsible for 

### 5 ninety-nine percent of all mercury emissions from the 

### 6 power sector in the United States and account for 

### 7 twenty-five percent of all toxic metal emissions in 

### 8 the U.S. 

### 9 Illinois has been among the nation's largest 

### 10 emitters of mercury pollution according to the 

### 11 Environment Illinois report, dirty energy assault on 

### 12 our health mercury. In 2009, Illinois was the seventh 

### 13 largest emitter by state. Consequently, the Department 

### 14 of Public Health has issued fish consumption warnings 

### 15 in all of our waterways as well as Lake Michigan. 

### 16 Fortunately, with great public support, 

### 17 Illinois has passed a law that will limit emissions by 

### 18 ninety percent, but mercury pollution threatening our 

### 19 health doesn't just come from Illinois. 

### 20 Mercury is an especially potent and harmful 

### 21 neurotoxin, even a gram size drop of mercury is enough 

### 22 to contaminate an entire twenty acre pond. When coal 

### 23 fired power plants emit mercury from their smoke 

### 24 stacks, rain, dust and snow wash these particles out of 

### 25 the air and into our waterways, onto our land, andAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 53 1 eventually into the food chain. 

### 2 Mercury poses a particular risk for children, 

### 3 affecting their ability to walk, talk, write, and read. 

### 4 In addition, mercury pollution is so widespread that as 

### 5 many as one in six women of child bearing age has 

### 6 enough mercury in her blood to pose risks to her child 

### 7 should she become pregnant. Wildlife that is exposed 

### 8 to mercury may die or depending on the level of 

### 9 exposure, have reduced fertility or complete 

### 10 reproductive failure. In the panther's case, the 

### 11 Florida Panther Society found that chronic exposure to 

### 12 mercury is likely contributing to the extinction of 

### 13 this endangered animal. 

### 14Mercury and other toxic air pollutants were 

### 15 first listed as hazardous air pollutants under the 

### 16 Clean Air Act in 1990. Coal-fired power plants have 

### 17 remained the single largest source of mercury, arsenic 

### 18 and acid gasses in the United States since then and 

### 19 coal companies have successfully fought requirements to 

### 20 cut emissions from their facilities for more than two 

### 21 decades. 

### 22 Along with our affiliates in other states 

### 23 across the country, we have helped to enact statewide 

### 24 cuts in thirteen of the eighteen states with current 

### 25 emission standards. Environment Illinois worked forAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 54 1 four years on the Illinois mercury rule which began in 

### 2 July of 2009 and that limits the mercury pollution from 

### 3 coal-fired power plants in phase one, which goes 

### 4 through December, 2012. It required the plants to 

### 5 reduce mercury by ninety percent and this -- these cuts 

### 6 will continue through phase two which begins in January 

### 7 2012 -- 13, sorry. It is important to strengthen this 

### 8 rule through a national rule. 

### 9 Additionally, our federation of other state 

### 10 groups, Environment America was one of the primary 

### 11 litigants in the suit filed against the Bush 

### 12 Administration EPA to repeal their mercury standard, 

### 13 their legal mercury standard and EPA's currently 

### 14 proposed mercury and air toxic standard, we are excited 

### 15 about the strength of their reductions and estimated 

### 16 health benefits from the rule. The rule will cut 

### 17 mercury and air toxics from power plants by ninety-one 

### 18 percent, prevent twelve thousand, two hundred 

### 19 hospitalizations, and save up to seventeen thousand 

### 20 lives annually once enacted. The EPA estimates the 

### 21 health benefits associated with the rule will exceed 

### 22 its costs by a factor of ten to one. 

### 23 We applaud the administration for the 

### 24 strength of the proposed standard as the administration 

### 25 works to finalize the rule. We urge you to keep theAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 55 1 mercury and air toxics rule as strong as the proposed 

### 2 standard. Thank you for the opportunity to participate 

### 3 in these proceedings. 

### 4MR. CLARK: Thank you very much. 

### 5 Mr. Frenkel. 

### 6 MR. FRENKEL: Good morning. My name is Steve 

### 7 Frenkel, F-R-E-N-K-E-L and I'm a Midwest Director of 

### 8 the Union of Concerned Scientists. UCS is the nation's 

### 9 leading science based on profit working for a healthy 

### 10 environment and a safer world. 

### 11 On behalf of UCS' more than three hundred and 

### 12 fifty thousand supporters, a network of more than 

### 13 seventeen thousand scientists nationwide, we strongly 

### 14 support EPA's efforts to regulate toxic air emissions 

### 15 from goal and oil fired power plants under the Clean 

### 16 Air Act. 

### 17 This long awaited rule will go far towards 

### 18 protecting public health from pollutants like mercury, 

### 19 a dangerous neurotoxin that particularly threatens 

### 20 infants and young children and from fine, fine 

### 21 particulates that shorten the lives of thousands of 

### 22 Americans annually. 

### 23 Since its passage in 1990 -- 1970, the Clean 

### 24Air Act has not only delivered tremendous public health 

### 25 benefits, but has proven to be a smart investment forAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 56 1 America. In just 2010 alone, the Clean Air Act 

### 2 generated net environmental and health benefits of one 

### 3 point two trillion dollars by preventing premature 

### 4 deaths and reducing other harmful effects of air 

### 5 pollution. That's a return on investment of 

### 6 twenty-five dollars for every one dollar spent on clean 

### 7 air. These benefits will be even greater if, if EPA 

### 8 adopts the proposed and long overdue air toxics rule. 

### 9 This proposed rule is a welcome change from 

### 10 the mercury rule put forth by the Bush administration 

### 11 that the courts rejected for failing to protect public 

### 12 health and the environment. In my former capacity as 

### 13 Chief Policy Advisor of the Illinois EPA, I helped lead 

### 14 a successful effort to adopt a state level mercury rule 

### 15 that provided the protections of the federal proposed 

### 16 rule failed to deliver. Within two years of the rules' 

### 17 adoption, all affected Illinois power plants either 

### 18 installed new mercury controls, or began using existing 

### 19 push controls more effectively. 

### 20 Today these coal-fired units are achieving 

### 21 significant mercury reductions and on a path towards 

### 22 meeting the ninety percent by 2015 reduction 

### 23 requirement. Illinois experience shows that effective 

### 24 technologies are available today to achieve significant 

### 25 mercury reductions and UCS believes that all AmericansAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 57 1 deserve the safer protections and strongly support the 

### 2 adoption of EPA's air toxics rule as drafted. 

### 3 UCS agrees with EPA's analysis that the rule 

### 4 will deliver significant public health protections and 

### 5 generate net economic benefits while keeping our 

### 6 electricity system reliable and affordable. EPA 

### 7 predicts that most generators will retrofit their 

### 8 plants in order to comply with the rule, while some 

### 9 will choose to shut down their older, less efficient 

### 10 units. This is not only an appropriate outcome, but a 

### 11 desirable one that will deliver many co-benefits 

### 12 including reduced carbon emissions. 

### 13 We believe clean energy resources can readily 

### 14 replace any generation capacity that may retire without 

### 15 compromising electric system reliability or 

### 16 affordability. This is particularly true given the 

### 17 excess generation capacity already online today, which 

### 18 gives the power grid the ability to absorb many coal 

### 19 plant retirements. In other words, we've effectively 

### 20 replaced much of the coal [indecipherable] that might 

### 21 retire as result of this rule. 

### 22 While the transmission to a clean energy 

### 23 economy will take time, this rule will accelerate that 

### 24 shift by forcing polluters to reduce the harm they 

### 25 cause. We don't need to accept a power systemAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 58 1 dominated by goal burning power companies whose product 

### 2 is harming their own customers by causing heart 

### 3 attacks, lung disease, asthma, and the impairment of 

### 4 children's developing nervous systems. We don't need 

### 5 to choose between reliable power, clean air, and jobs. 

### 6 The U.S. and the Midwest in particular has more than 

### 7 enough clean energy resources to free us from this 

### 8 false choice. 

### 9 UCS' analysis found that renewable energy and 

### 10 energy efficiency resources, combined with increase use 

### 11 of natural gas and new investment in transmission could 

### 12 replace about eighty-five percent of our coal capacity 

### 13 over twenty years while boosting local economies, 

### 14 creating jobs, and cutting utility bills. And we've 

### 15 already started to reap the benefits of these clean 

### 16 energy resources. Successful renewable energy and 

### 17 energy efficiency standards in place in more than two 

### 18 dozen states are investment in wind, solar, 

### 19 [indecipherable] and other clean energy resources that 

### 20 can be readily integrated into the grid. 

### 21 EPA's proposed rule will further level the 

### 22 playing field by forcing power producers to invest in 

### 23 commercially available pollution controls. 

### 24Now owners of coal plants will argue that the 

### 25 EPA rules will jeopardize reliability, even calling theAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 59 1 rules a train wreck for their industry, but don't be 

### 2 swayed by their doomsday predictions. Just like those 

### 3 who prophesied that the world would end in a 

### 4 conflagration last Saturday. 

### 5 UCS believes that some power producers are 

### 6 also spreading the false gospel of a coming reliability 

### 7 crisis. Just as we all recklessly survived the May 21 

### 8 doomsday event, the power grid will survive the 

### 9 shut-down of dirty coal plants and other experts agree. 

### 10 Those who come before me have mentioned reports by 

### 11 Charles River Associates and others including Michael 

### 12 Bradley and Associates that have found that even under 

### 13 conservative assumptions and even if EPA imposed the 

### 14most strict requirements under the proposed rule that 

### 15 the, they can be implemented without adversely 

### 16 impacting electric system reliability. Charles River 

### 17 and others have found that there are more than ample 

### 18 reserve margins on the grid today. 

### 19 So EPA's proposed rule will not cause a 

### 20 reliability crisis and to further guaranty there isn't 

### 21 one, we have many options to protect reliability. We 

### 22 can use clean air natural gas plants more often, we can 

### 23 build more renewable energy, invest in more energy 

### 24 efficiency and we can reduce energy use during peak 

### 25 demand periods. We can build more transmission and canAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 60 1 rely on sophisticated regional power markets to help 

### 2 manage load. 

### 3 So stand strong, stand by the science, stand 

### 4 by your analysis, don't be swayed by scare tactics and 

### 5 please don't delay and thank you for putting forth the 

### 6 strong rule to protect public health and promote the 

### 7 transition to a clean energy future. Thank you. 

### 8 MR. CLARK: Thank you both very much. Any 

### 9 questions from the panel. 

### 10 MS. KURLANSKY: Just want to make sure I got 

### 11 that -- you were talking about eighty-five percent 

### 12 reduction of coal capacity -- 

### 13 MR. FRENKEL: Correct. Uh-huh [affirmative]. 

### 14MS. KURLANSKY: -- over twenty years 

### 15 nationally. 

### 16 MR. FRENKEL: Correct. 

### 17 MS. KURLANSKY: Is that [indecipherable]? 

### 18 MR. FRENKEL: That's nationally. 

### 19 MS. KURLANSKY: Nationally. 

### 20 MR. FRENKEL: Uh-huh [affirmative]. 

### 21 MR. CLARK: Thank you. 

### 22 MR. FRENKEL: Thank you. 

### 23 MR. HUTSON: Is that study available? 

### 24MR. FRENKEL: Yes, we can provide it to you. 

### 25 MR. HUTSON: Yeah, yeah. Thank you.AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 61 1 MR. FRENKEL: Thank you. 

### 2 MR. CLARK: Okay. Great. Next two speakers; 

### 3 Mr. Jerry Mead-Lucero and Mr. Bill Kempiners. I'm sure 

### 4 I blew that, so you'll fix me on that. Thank you. 

### 5 In the meantime, let me just remind people 

### 6 to, to -- even if you're, have already signed up to 

### 7 speak, please be sure you check in at the desk and if 

### 8 you guys know the drill on the five minute limitation, 

### 9 so Mr. Mead-Lucero. 

### 10 MR. MEAD-LUCERO: Okay. Hi, my name is Jerry 

### 11 Mead-Lucero and I live in the Pilsen neighborhood in 

### 12 Chicago's south side which is just a short distance 

### 13 here from where you're at today. Pilsen is a Latino 

### 14 immigrant working class neighborhood. It's been an 

### 15 immigrant working class neighborhood for nearly a 

### 16 hundred and fifty years and for a hundred years, it's 

### 17 been home to the Fisk coal-fired power plant along with 

### 18 the Crawford plant which is in our neighboring 

### 19 neighborhood of Little Village. These two plants are 

### 20 some of the worst polluters in the City and in the 

### 21 State of Illinois, actually. A quick look at the EPA's 

### 22 own TRI data reveals a rogue's gallery of 

### 23 toxics that these plants produce; mercury, lead, 

### 24 hydrochloric acid, barium, magnesium. You could go on. 

### 25 And that doesn't even include like the particulate, theAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 62 1 NOx and SO2 and the CO2 pollution which we're also 

### 2 concerned about. 

### 3 Pilsen is really grand central station for 

### 4pollutants. I mean, we have most of the major highways 

### 5 in the City go through the neighborhood. We have the 

### 6 rail yards that circle the neighborhood. We have a lot 

### 7 of old buildings that have lead paint in them. We have 

### 8 a number of other major polluters in the neighborhood 

### 9 like H. Kramer and Company which is a major lead 

### 10 pollution emitter in the neighborhood. But by far the 

### 11 Fisk plant is our number one point source polluter and 

### 12 given a neighborhood that already has such a 

### 13 disproportionate impact of pollution sources, it's hard 

### 14 to justify a plant like Fisk continuing to put out such 

### 15 a high level of toxics into the atmosphere. 

### 16 Recently an air monitor that we convinced the 

### 17 Illinois EPA install in the neighborhood on the top of 

### 18 an actually an elementary school, Perez Elementary 

### 19 School, found elevated levels of lead pollution in our 

### 20 air. So much so that the federal and the state EPA has 

### 21 now gotten involved and they've actually brought the 

### 22 State's Attorney General's office into the picture as 

### 23 well. Now they believe that H. Kramer and Company, 

### 24 this lead [indecipherable] that I said is a major lead 

### 25 emitter, is probably the number one source of theAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 63 1 problem, but if -- again, just looking at the EPA's own 

### 2 data, we know that the second largest source of lead 

### 3 contamination in our air in the neighborhood is, is the 

### 4 Fisk Plant. 

### 5 Pilsen is an unique place. I think it's the 

### 6 greatest neighborhood in the country, that's at least 

### 7 my bias, but it's, it's an old fashioned type of urban 

### 8 working class neighborhood that you really don't see 

### 9 much anymore or kind of, you know, a door step 

### 10 community where people know each other very well, 

### 11 where, you know, families have lived in the 

### 12 neighborhood for generations in some cases. It's a 

### 13 really, really unique and a really great place that 

### 14 unfortunately you don't see very much anymore, but 

### 15 we're also unique in another way, which is, you know, 

### 16 we're the only city at this point in the country that 

### 17 has two coal-fired power plants within its city borders 

### 18 and the Fisk Plant in particular in Pilsen is -- has 

### 19 the highest density of population living around a coal 

### 20 plant of any, in the whole country. There are hundreds 

### 21 of thousands of people that live within a mile of this 

### 22 coal-fired power plant, so it's hard to imagine a 

### 23 source of, of pollution that needs more stringent 

### 24 regulation than the Fisk and Crawford coal-fired power 

### 25 plants do.AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 64 1 So in light of this and for the sake of my 

### 2 community, I hope that the EPA will enact the strictest 

### 3 regulations as possible in regards to air toxics. 

### 4 Thanks. 

### 5 MR. KEMPINERS: Thank you. My name is Bill 

### 6 Kempiners and that's spelled K-E-M-P-I-N-E-R-S and I'm 

### 7 a resident of Springfield, Illinois. I'm a volunteer 

### 8 board member for the American Lung Association of the 

### 9 upper Midwest. I have volunteered with the Lung 

### 10 Association for the past twenty-one years and currently 

### 11 chair the nationwide assemblies advocacy committee. My 

### 12 work with the Lung Association began during my tenure 

### 13 as Director of Public Health for the State of Illinois, 

### 14 a position I held from 1987 [sic] until 1984. I have 

### 15 been an active volunteer with the Association since 

### 16 1990 when I was a volunteer for the American Lung 

### 17 Association state chapter. 

### 18 I'm sixty-nine years old, a senior citizen. 

### 19 Hard to believe, right? And although I walk frequently 

### 20 for exercise, I am someone that is acutely aware that I 

### 21 am in an at risk group for lung disease including 

### 22 pneumonia, influenza and even COPD. As you could 

### 23 imagine, the ability to breathe clean air is something 

### 24 that is very important to me. 

### 25 Today I'm here to testify in strong supportAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 65 1 for the mercury and air toxics standards. These 

### 2 standards were first promises to the American people 

### 3 more than twenty years ago when the Clean Air Act 

### 4Amendments of 1990. It is past time to begin the clean 

### 5 up. The public, especially our children and future 

### 6 generations should not have to breathe recognized and 

### 7 possible carcinogens including formaldehyde and 

### 8 benzene. We should not have to inhale metals or metal 

### 9 like substances including lead, arsenic, nickel, and 

### 10 other heavy metals. We should not need to inhale acid 

### 11 gasses such as hydrogen chloride and hydrogen fluoride. 

### 12 My children and grandchildren don't need to eat fish 

### 13 tainted with mercury. 

### 14Early this year, the American Lung 

### 15 Association released a report entitled Toxic Air, the 

### 16 Case for Cleaning up Coal-Fired Power Plants. The 

### 17 report documents the serious health impacts of these 

### 18 pollutants. Our report shows that more than four 

### 19 hundred coal-fired power plants located in forty-six 

### 20 states across the country release in excess of three 

### 21 hundred and eighty-six thousand tons of hazardous air 

### 22 pollutants into the air each day -- each year, I'm 

### 23 sorry. Two such plants, one has already been 

### 24mentioned, is the Fisk Plant and the Crawford Plant 

### 25 operated by Midwest Generation.AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 66 1 Not all plants, as has been pointed out, 

### 2 starting from -- are starting from scratch on pollution 

### 3 clean up. Dynegy Energy Savannah Plant in Havana, 

### 4 Illinois, installed the type of control technology to 

### 5 reduce power plant mercury and toxic air pollution. 

### 6 I understand that some, including members of 

### 7 Congress have been calling for EPA not to clean up all 

### 8 toxic pollutants from power plants or to delay the 

### 9 proposal. The American Lung Association strongly 

### 10 opposes any effort to weaken or delay the rule or 

### 11 exempt any toxic pollutants from clean up. 

### 12 The final rule must include the cleanup of 

### 13 acid gasses; the highly irritating gasses including 

### 14 hydrogen chloride and hydrogen fluoride. They irritate 

### 15 the skin and eyes and inhaling them could also irritate 

### 16 the nose, throat and breathing passages. Dioxins and 

### 17 furans, these pollutants are considered probably 

### 18 carcinogens. Metals and met alloys, this wide ranging 

### 19 list of metal and metal-like substances include 

### 20 arsenic, antimony, vanadium, cadmium, chromium, nickel 

### 21 and lead. 

### 22 Lead damages the developing nervous system 

### 23 and harms the ability of children to learn, remember, 

### 24 and behave. The other metals in this group cause 

### 25 cancer of the lung, bladder, kidneys, and skin. TheyAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 67 1 can affect the nervous system, the cardiovascular 

### 2 system, the skin, the respiratory system and the immune 

### 3 system. 

### 4Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are also 

### 5 considered possible carcinogens. Volatile organic 

### 6 compounds including benzene, a recognized carcinogen 

### 7 and formaldehyde a probably carcinogen. And of course, 

### 8 mercury is probably the most widely known of toxic air 

### 9 pollutants. A distinction it earned in part because of 

### 10 the harm it does to the brain, the nervous system, the 

### 11 kidneys and the liver, but mercury's most egregious 

### 12 damage, as has already been pointed out by previous 

### 13 people testimony, is to children from before they are 

### 14 born causing neurological and developmental birth 

### 15 defects. 

### 16 Reducing emissions of these hazardous air 

### 17 pollutants will also cut emissions of other harmful 

### 18 pollutants. The same equipment needed to clean up the 

### 19 eighty-four hazardous emissions, also lowers other 

### 20 harmful air pollutants including sulfur dioxide, fine 

### 21 particulate matter, and nitrogen oxides. Each of these 

### 22 three makes breathing difficult, causes asthma attacks, 

### 23 and increases the risk of emergency room and hospital 

### 24 visits. 

### 25 Finally, cleaning up these toxins saves livesAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 68 1 and reduces disease. According to your agency's 

### 2 analysis and others have cited these figures, but I'm 

### 3 going to repeat them because they're important. 

### 4 Cleaning up these toxic emissions will result by 2016 

### 5 in the annual benefits, saving seventeen thousand lives 

### 6 each year, preventing eleven thousand heart attacks 

### 7 each year, preventing a hundred and twenty thousand 

### 8 asthma attacks each year, eliminating twelve thousand, 

### 9 two hundred hospitalizations and emergency room visits 

### 10 each year and adding eight hundred and fifty thousand 

### 11 days when people don't miss work each year. 

### 12 Today's proposal is about saving those lives 

### 13 and preventing disease. We implore the EPA to move 

### 14 ahead and finalize this rule on or before the court 

### 15 ordered deadline of November 16, 2011. Each day of 

### 16 delay harms health and shortens lives. Thank you for 

### 17 this opportunity. 

### 18 MR. CLARK: Thank you both. Jerry, actually, 

### 19 I have just a quick question for you. I was -- the 

### 20 name of the elementary school where the monitors are? 

### 21 MR. MEAD-LUCERO: Perez Elementary School is 

### 22 where the air monitor is located and actually they have 

### 23 since added one to the [indecipherable] High School as 

### 24 well to try to better track where the source of the 

### 25 lead was coming from. And I meant to mention tooAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 69 1 earlier that when I was talking about the Fisk Plant 

### 2 being in such a densely populated neighborhood, it's 

### 3 literally across the street from a city park and 

### 4 there's three schools within three blocks of the 

### 5 facility, so -- and lots and lots of housing, so you're 

### 6 talking about a very densely populated area. 

### 7 MR. CLARK: Okay. And just one more time, 

### 8 the name of the elementary school? 

### 9 MR. MEAD-LUCERO: Okay. Perez Elementary 

### 10 School. 

### 11 MR. CLARK: Perez. Okay. 

### 12 MR. MEAD-LUCERO: Man -- I think it's -- the 

### 13 full name is like Manuel Perez Elementary School, yeah 

### 14 and [indecipherable] high school also has one now. 

### 15 MR. HUTSON: Those monitors are from Illinois 

### 16 EPA or U.S. EPA? 

### 17 MR. MEAD-LUCERO: Illinois EPA is the one 

### 18 that established them I believe, yeah. 

### 19 MR. HUTSON: Okay. 

### 20 MR. MEAD-LUCERO: But both, but both the U.S. 

### 21 and Illinois are investigating it at this point, so. 

### 22 MR. CLARK: Okay. Great. Thank you guys 

### 23 both very much. Next two speakers, Ms. Jennifer 

### 24 Johnson-Monberg and Lyman Welch. 

### 25 MS. MONBERG: [Indecipherable].AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 70 1 MR. CLARK: Oh no, but -- the only thing we 

### 2 need to do is, is have the microphone held up so that 

### 3 the court reporter can be, and the audience can be sure 

### 4 and hear you. 

### 5 MS. MONBERG: Okay. I'll make sure to -- 

### 6 MR. CLARK: Okay. 

### 7 MS. MONBERG: -- to speak loudly. 

### 8 MR. CLARK: What we could do is one of us 

### 9 could actually hold the mic up for her or -- 

### 10 MS. MONBERG: Can we move this up? 

### 11 MR. CLARK: I think it's both of them, so it 

### 12 might take a bit of -- We can just -- 

### 13 MS. MONBERG: Okay. Thank you. All right. 

### 14MR. CLARK: Okay. Hang on just one second. 

### 15 MS. MONBERG: Sure. 

### 16 MR. CLARK: We'll work this out. Why don't 

### 17 we just go over there and have one of us hold that. 

### 18 MS. MONBERG: All right. 

### 19 MR. CLARK: Okay. Thank you. 

### 20 MS. MONBERG: Sorry about that. 

### 21 MR. CLARK: That's okay. 

### 22 MS. MONBERG: I thought I would be standing 

### 23 anyway. 

### 24My name is Jennifer Monberg and this is 

### 25 Ethan, he's nine months old. We live here in ChicagoAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 71 1 about ten blocks north of the Fisk Power Plant. In 

### 2 fact, I can see the smoke stack from my street. 

### 3 When the wind blows from the south, I can 

### 4 smell the difference and sometimes it distinctly smells 

### 5 like pollution, usually at night or if there's a lot of 

### 6 haze. 

### 7 Coal-fired power plants emit pollution that 

### 8 causes asthma and other respiratory ailments and people 

### 9 often speak in terms of hospital visits and asthma 

### 10 attacks, but I'm here to talk about how even non-life 

### 11 threatening asthma can affect a person's life and 

### 12 implore you to clean up Fisk and Crawford as well as 

### 13 other coal-fired power plants. 

### 14I grew up in the Chicago area, almost as 

### 15 early as I can remember, I have had asthma. Not so bad 

### 16 as to send me to the hospital like my younger brother, 

### 17 but bad enough so that I could never run, never played 

### 18 sports, never was an active kid. Growing up, I always 

### 19 thought that I was just not athletic. No one really 

### 20 believed me when I said I couldn't breathe when I ran. 

### 21 They just thought I was lazy. Some -- since I didn't 

### 22 have asthma attacks that sent me to the hospital, I was 

### 23 told to suck it up, that it was my fault. I was 

### 24 considered a nerd in school and was always towards the 

### 25 last one picked in gym class. I grew up thinkingAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 72 1 something was wrong with me as a person. I never 

### 2 exercised and kept to myself. 

### 3 In 2005, I moved to Bloomington, Indiana, to 

### 4 attend law school. It was the first time I had lived a 

### 5 significant distance away from industry. As if by 

### 6 magic, my symptoms began to disappear. I cannot tell 

### 7 you how life changing it is after twenty-four years to 

### 8 be able to feel what it is like to finally be able to 

### 9 take a full deep breath. It was amazing. I felt 

### 10 better and could even think more clearly. 

### 11 My husband liked running and was training for 

### 12 the Indy mini marathon. He finally convinced me to 

### 13 start exercising. I was frankly scared of exercise by 

### 14 this time, but when I started to exercise, started to 

### 15 run, I found it was not difficult. I could, I could 

### 16 run. It wasn't that I was lazy. It was just up until 

### 17 this point, I couldn't breathe. This realization was 

### 18 incredible and changed my life. 

### 19 I had been offered a job outside of Chicago, 

### 20 but my father was diagnosed with stage four cancer, so 

### 21 I returned. I thought that maybe I had grown out of my 

### 22 asthma, but such was not the case. In fact, my 

### 23 symptoms not only returned with vengeance, but became 

### 24 worse than before I had left. The coughing generally 

### 25 starts in October and lasts until April. There areAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 73 1 times when I will spend an hour or more at night 

### 2 coughing. Sometimes it's bad enough that I lose my 

### 3 voice. 

### 4In 2008, the year we moved to Little Italy, 

### 5 ten blocks from Fisk, if only I had known. The cough 

### 6 lasted on average about an hour a night in October, but 

### 7 then progressed to two hours a night and then three. 

### 8 By January, I was spending half the night coughing. I 

### 9 finally went to the doctor and it turned out that I had 

### 10 pneumonia for the last three months. I asked whether 

### 11 it was bacterial or viral and he said it wasn't -- it, 

### 12 it -- he didn't know, that it was simply the result of 

### 13 the fact that my lungs couldn't keep up with the 

### 14 accumulation of fluid. I've had -- since then, I've 

### 15 had pneumonia a second time and is now something I have 

### 16 to watch for every year from October through April. 

### 17 If my husband is able to find a job outside 

### 18 of Chicago, somewhere with less pollution, we move -- 

### 19 he doesn't like pollution either. We may move simply 

### 20 for my health. This would mean giving -- moving away 

### 21 from most job opportunities for me as I'm licensed only 

### 22 in Illinois and Indiana and we'd be moving away from 

### 23 all of our family on both sides. Ethan here, should 

### 24 not have to choose between breathing and a job. Ethan 

### 25 should not have to choose between breathing and family.AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 74 1 Ethan should not have to wait twenty-four years before 

### 2 feeling what it is like to finally be able to take a 

### 3 deep breath or to feel what it's like to be able to 

### 4 run. Ethan should not have to live in the shadow of 

### 5 pollution or to have his self esteem or his abilities 

### 6 defined by the fact that he can't breathe. 

### 7 This is not the future I want for my son. 

### 8 Please take this historic opportunity to clean up the 

### 9 power plants built decades before we were born. No one 

### 10 should have to choose between breathing and life. 

### 11 Thank you for this opportunity to testify before you 

### 12 today. 

### 13 MR. CLARK: Thank you both. Thank Ethan as 

### 14 well. Thanks. 

### 15 MS. MONBERG: If you don't have any 

### 16 questions, I might [indecipherable] so that -- 

### 17 MR. CLARK: Yeah. You're good, you're good 

### 18 to go. 

### 19 MS. MONBERG: Okay. Thank you. 

### 20 MR. CLARK: Yeah. Thank you, thank you, 

### 21 Jennifer. Mr. Welch. 

### 22 MR. WELCH: Good morning. My name is Lyman 

### 23 Welch. I'm the Weather Quality Program Manager at the 

### 24Alliance for the Great Lakes and my name is spelled 

### 25 L-Y-M-A-N, last name is W-E-L-C-H.AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 75 1 The Alliance for the Great Lakes is a 

### 2 non-profit organization working to protect and restore 

### 3 the world's largest fresh water resource. We have over 

### 4 ten thousand volunteers working around the Great Lakes. 

### 5 Sources of mercury and other toxic air 

### 6 pollutants known to threaten the health of Great Lakes 

### 7 wildlife and the people who eat fish from these waters 

### 8 must be addressed to prevent further harm. The EPA's 

### 9 proposed new mercury and air toxics standards will help 

### 10 protect the people and wildlife that suffer from the 

### 11 serious effects of toxic air pollutants in our Great 

### 12 Lakes, including mercury poisoning. 

### 13 Fortunately, we have the means to control 

### 14mercury and other toxic air pollution. Pollution 

### 15 control technologies proven to cut harmful emissions of 

### 16 mercury, arsenic, chromium, nickel and acid gasses are 

### 17 widely available, yet history has shown the need to 

### 18 adopt rules requiring the use of these control 

### 19 technologies as industry has generally not installed 

### 20 them voluntarily. 

### 21 Toxic air pollutants are not just a concern 

### 22 for air quality. Air deposition is the primary source 

### 23 of mercury in the Great Lakes. The EPA recognizes coal 

### 24 fired power plants as the largest remaining source of 

### 25 airborne mercury emissions in the United States.AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 76 1 Mercury released into the air by industrial sources is 

### 2 carried by precipitation into the Great Lakes and other 

### 3 surface waters. Once in the water, mercury can be 

### 4 converted into methyl mercury, which bio accumulates in 

### 5 large quantities in top predators such as trout, 

### 6 salmon, fish eating gulls, and people. People who eat 

### 7 Great Lakes fish are at risk. Most fish consumption 

### 8 advisories are because of mercury contamination. 

### 9 A potent neurotoxin, exposure to mercury 

### 10 through methyl mercury can have grave effects, 

### 11 particularly on children and fetal development during 

### 12 pregnancy. Mercury exposure has been linked to nervous 

### 13 system, kidney, and liver damage, as well as impaired 

### 14 childhood development. Long term eating of mercury 

### 15 contaminated fish has been associated with deafness, 

### 16 blindness and death. 

### 17 Adopting this proposed rule will reduce the 

### 18 amount of toxic pollutants emitting into the air, 

### 19 including mercury. Requiring installation of these 

### 20 pollution control technologies will help to keep our 

### 21 Great Lakes a source of drinking water, recreation and 

### 22 jobs for millions clean and thriving for generations. 

### 23 Please adopt a strong mercury rule to protect 

### 24 our Great Lakes and the people who depend on them. 

### 25 Thank you for the opportunity to speak here today.AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 77 1 MR. CLARK: Thank you very much. Any 

### 2 questions? I guess not. Thank you so much. 

### 3 Next two speakers, Ms. Erica Dornfield -- 

### 4 Dornfeld rather and Michael T.W. Carey. 

### 5 And while they're getting organized, just a 

### 6 reminder for, for new folks who have come into the 

### 7 room, both please check in at the desk even if you are 

### 8 signed up to speak, if you haven't checked in already 

### 9 and we do have a timing system here that is measuring 

### 10 time pretty much -- we're trying to hold folks to five 

### 11 minutes if we can because of all of the speakers that 

### 12 we have over the course of the next many, many hours. 

### 13 Ms. Dornfield, Dornfeld. 

### 14MS. DORNFELD: Good morning and thank you to 

### 15 the EPA for proposing these new emissions standards. 

### 16 My name is Erica Dornfeld, spelled D-O-R-N-F-E-L-D and 

### 17 I'm here today as a divinity student at the University 

### 18 of Chicago and a current youth environmental educator 

### 19 with Faith in Place. 

### 20 On July 1, I'm taking fifteen students 

### 21 fishing on the Chicago River. These eight and nine 

### 22 year olds from the uptown neighborhood are mostly one 

### 23 generation away from a farm in Nigeria or the coast of 

### 24 Togo or Ethiopia. Perhaps their parents fished for 

### 25 food or recreation back in Africa, but these kids areAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 78 1 Chicago bred if not born. July will be their first or 

### 2 maybe second fishing experience. 

### 3 Last July when I took some of these same 

### 4 students fishing, we first had an orientation from the 

### 5 Chicago Park District. Before we baited our hooks, we 

### 6 learned how to recognize the state fish of Illinois, 

### 7 the blue gill just in case we were lucky enough to 

### 8 catch one. Then, we learned that these fish often have 

### 9 bad chemicals in them and we aren't allowed to eat any 

### 10 that we might catch. At their looks of slight shock 

### 11 and bewilderment, I was reminded of that old saying if 

### 12 you catch a man a fish, he'll eat for a day. Teach a 

### 13 man to fish, he'll eat for a lifetime. That old wisdom 

### 14 fails us here today, or rather it fails them. Teaching 

### 15 them to fish means making them sick. 

### 16 Some of these kids come from very large 

### 17 families. They've only had a banana for dinner at 

### 18 times and that banana was a donation. And I must tell 

### 19 them that for some people, fishing can be a good steady 

### 20 source of food, but not for them. And this leads to 

### 21 questions of how and why mercury is in these fish and 

### 22 why that's a problem. Yet, I can't be sure that they 

### 23 won't use their newfound skill to someday to provide a 

### 24 little extra protein for their families. 

### 25 So what will these children really learn whenAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 79 1 we go fishing this July on the Chicago River? They 

### 2 will learn that not only does the river's health not 

### 3 matter to their city or to their country, but neither 

### 4 does their own. 

### 5 As an environmental educator, I try to 

### 6 empower youth to action, to care for their natural 

### 7 surroundings. Indeed, they must act because their 

### 8 health is at risk, but as a future faith leader, I 

### 9 question the moral import that third graders bear the 

### 10 brunt of this pollution while still trying to fight it 

### 11 because those with unlimited resources to do so, have 

### 12 so far dragged their heels. The EPA should act. The 

### 13 coal companies emitting should act. Those with the 

### 14 time, power, and indeed commission to reduce toxic 

### 15 heavy metals from the air and water should act. 

### 16 These children's families struggle to support 

### 17 them with low wage jobs. They go to under-funded 

### 18 schools, cope with gang violence, all while trying to 

### 19 master the fine art of fractions. 

### 20 I urge the EPA to act swiftly and thoroughly 

### 21 to make sure that they aren't also dealing with the 

### 22 well documented health effects of mercury poisoning. 

### 23 Thank you again for proposing these new 

### 24 performance standards so that these youth can develop 

### 25 fully and live long. Mercury does not belong in ourAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 80 1 air, our waters, our state fish, current or future 

### 2 third graders growing bodies. Please help ensure that 

### 3 at least that statement remains true and then those old 

### 4 words of learning how to fish can again be real words 

### 5 of wisdom. Thank you. 

### 6 MR. CLARK: Thank you very much. Mr. Carey. 

### 7 MR. CAREY: Thank you. My name is Mike 

### 8 Carey, C-A-R-E-Y. I am President of the Ohio Coal 

### 9 Association. I am here to testify on behalf of the 

### 10 more than ninety coal producing and associate members 

### 11 in Ohio against the U.S. EPA's most recent assault on 

### 12 the American Coal Industry; the proposed utility MACT. 

### 13 Despite the failed flaws that permeate this 

### 14 proposed rule, EPA continues to race forward to 

### 15 finalize yet another bad regulation that will force 

### 16 hundreds of coal-fired power plants to be eliminated or 

### 17 possibly fuel switch to other sources. 

### 18 This proposed utility MACT is only the latest 

### 19 in a series of these rule makings promulgated by the 

### 20 U.S. EPA to directly focus on the coal industry. By 

### 21 focusing on the coal industry, we are focusing on the 

### 22 hundreds of thousands of coal men and women that go 

### 23 into the mines everyday to provide for their families. 

### 24 In fact, Penn State University cited just a few years 

### 25 ago, for every one coal job, there are up to elevenAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 81 1 spin off jobs. Not to mention the amount of the 

### 2 millions of people that rely on the coal -- the 

### 3 electricity that coal provides them. For generations, 

### 4 coal has powered our utility boilers, it has fueled our 

### 5 steel mills and manufacturing facilities and supported 

### 6 the growth of hundreds of industries dependent upon the 

### 7 low cost, reliable source of electricity. 

### 8 The proposed utility MACT provides still more 

### 9 evidence that the administration has aligned itself 

### 10 with the vision of zero coal future [indecipherable] by 

### 11 some of the environmental movement. In fact, some of 

### 12 the testimony was already heard today by the 

### 13 possibility of the elimination of eighty-five percent 

### 14 of the coal-fired burning facilities. And some of the 

### 15 more outrageous counts of this, we can see that if 

### 16 eighty-five percent of the coal-fired power generation 

### 17 is eliminated by 2030 or 2014, that means eighty 

### 18 percent of the United States domestic coal reserves 

### 19 would be limited. 

### 20 Every dollar that is spent on purchasing coal 

### 21 minded America is by Americans and another dollar for 

### 22 domestic energy. Compliance with the utility MACT will 

### 23 cost the electric generating industry billions of 

### 24 dollars. The EPA itself estimates that the cost of 

### 25 compliance will be ten point nine billion dollars.AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 82 1 This number, obscenely high grossly underestimates and 

### 2 distorts the total cost of compliance when considered 

### 3 in conjunction with the host of other regulations that 

### 4 the EPA has actually issued. Representatives Upton and 

### 5 Whitfield, along with Senator Inhofe sent a letter to 

### 6 Administrator Jackson just one week ago, asking to 

### 7 demonstrate the cumulative cost of compliance with 

### 8 these regulations. The fact is they could exceed up to 

### 9 three hundred billion dollars by 2015. To put this 

### 10 number into some perspective, three hundred billion 

### 11 dollars would exceed the 2008 gross domestic product of 

### 12 thirty-six of the fifty states according to the U.S. 

### 13 census. These compliance costs will increase the cost 

### 14 of electricity to industry, commercial and ultimately 

### 15 to residential users and will have negatively impact 

### 16 the reliability of our nation's electric grid. 

### 17 Turning back on the coal, on the coal 

### 18 directly, EPA bias against coal, against our 

### 19 Appalachian coal regions and particularly against Ohio, 

### 20 but coal is not only found in Ohio. Coal is found in 

### 21 West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Kentucky and 

### 22 also in many other parts of the United States. 

### 23 For instance, the proposed utility MACT, EPA 

### 24 actually suggests that re-powering a power plant from 

### 25 coal to gas would be considered installation of controlAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 83 1 equipment. In no circumstances should construction of 

### 2 a natural gas unit replacing a coal-fired unit be 

### 3 considered potential control on coal-fired unit. Even 

### 4more directly, EPA proposes that the most stringent 

### 5 emission levels on power plants using high heat content 

### 6 coals. That is bituminous coals. That's Ohio coals, 

### 7 Pennsylvania coal, West Virginia coal, Illinois coal. 

### 8 Time and time again, the EPA has targeted our 

### 9 region and we find this unacceptable. When the Ohio 

### 10 coal knows that the EPA self imposed a final rule date 

### 11 of November or November 2011 via settlement with 

### 12 several environmental groups, Ohio coal also knows that 

### 13 EPA has the authority to request an extension of time. 

### 14 EPA should do so immediately and withdraw this flawed 

### 15 rule. 

### 16 I want to thank you for the opportunity to 

### 17 testify. We look forward to submitting more detailed 

### 18 comments for the record at a later date. Thank you. 

### 19 MR. CLARK: Thank you both very much. Let me 

### 20 ask if any questions. The Penn State Study that you 

### 21 mentioned, I, I don't know if we've got or not, but I 

### 22 assume that you'll make that available as part of 

### 23 your -- 

### 24MR. CAREY: I will make that available. 

### 25 MR. CLARK: Okay.AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 84 1 MR. CAREY: Yes. 

### 2 MR. CLARK: All right. Great. Thank you. 

### 3 MR. CAREY: Thank you. 

### 4MR. CLARK: Our next two speakers, Mr. Matt 

### 5 Most and Mr. Michael Hogue please. Good morning, 

### 6 Mr. Most. 

### 7 MR. MOST: My name is Matthew Most. I'm Vice 

### 8 President of Environmental Policy for Encana and 

### 9 Natural Gas Incorporated and Most is M-O-S-T. 

### 10 Encana is a North American energy company 

### 11 with its headquarters in Calgary, Alberta, and its U.S. 

### 12 headquarters in Denver, Colorado. One hundred percent 

### 13 of our natural gas production and reserves are located 

### 14 in North America. Forty percent produced in Canada and 

### 15 sixty percent in the United States. 

### 16 We're the second largest producer of natural 

### 17 gas in North America with a twenty-five year drilling 

### 18 inventory of over twenty-three thousand locations and 

### 19 that's just proven reserves. We have twice that in 

### 20 probable and possible reserves. 

### 21 Our mission is to establish natural gas as 

### 22 the foundation of North America's energy portfolio. We 

### 23 believe natural gas will be abundant and affordable in 

### 24 the future and it improves emissions in many instances. 

### 25 Having been a reliable and domestic solution for years.AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 85 1 Natural gas is a clean fuel addressing many 

### 2 environmental challenges. For example, compared with 

### 3 coal-fired electricity generation, natural gas reduces 

### 4 emissions of carbon dioxide by fifty-five to sixty-five 

### 5 percent, carbon monoxide by ninety percent, sulfur 

### 6 dioxide by ninety-nine percent, nitrogen oxide by 

### 7 eighty to ninety percent, particulate matter by 

### 8 ninety-nine percent and importantly for today's 

### 9 hearing, mercury by one hundred percent. 

### 10 Natural gas needs to be an integral part of 

### 11 the solution to the mercury hazardous air pollutant 

### 12 challenge. We're concerned with several preamble 

### 13 statements in the proposed rule questioning the 

### 14 abundance, availability, and affordability of natural 

### 15 gas. For example, one of the quotes in the preamble 

### 16 states its supplies of natural gas may not be adequate 

### 17 and that the coal to gas option is not cost effective. 

### 18 Our written comments will provide some detail 

### 19 insight on those statements, but today first for 

### 20 abundance, in fact we want to point out that natural 

### 21 gas resources in the United States have doubled in the 

### 22 last five years and what's changed our business is our 

### 23 technology to drill long horizontal laterals and 

### 24 contact more reservoir rock that contains natural gas. 

### 25 Three to four years ago to drill a well tenAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 86 1 thousand feet vertically, then drill a seventy -- 

### 2 hundred and fifty foot horizontal lateral would have 

### 3 been an accomplishment. Today, we would drill that 

### 4 same well and then drill ten thousand feet horizontally 

### 5 resulting in a well producing eight times the gas 

### 6 volume and six to ten times -- six to eight times the 

### 7 reserve. 

### 8 Over the past three years, we've seen a 

### 9 significant increase in reserves. An estimated one 

### 10 hundred year supply of current production or if we use 

### 11 thirty percent more natural gas, about seventy years of 

### 12 supply domestically. 

### 13 A common misunderstanding is that coal is a 

### 14 cheaper fuel source than gas when it's used for power 

### 15 generation. An important point is that when you adjust 

### 16 for the fact that gas generation is more efficient and 

### 17 uses less heat to produce the same megawatt hour, it 

### 18 is -- turns to be highly competitive. However, when 

### 19 you also factor in efficiencies and the value of 

### 20 emissions, for example CO2, natural gas realizes a 

### 21 distinct advantage. 

### 22 Natural gas also has a major advantage in 

### 23 construction cost and time lines. New natural gas 

### 24 power generation capacity cost as little to twenty to 

### 25 thirty percent to build as coal or nuclear resourcesAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 87 1 and can be built in about half the time. 

### 2 Another misconception is that projected coal 

### 3 unit retirements will cause reliability problems. In 

### 4 fact, on a national basis, capacity margins are very 

### 5 healthy growing annually since 2005 to twenty-two 

### 6 percent in 2009 according to the Energy Information 

### 7 Administration. 

### 8 The proposed rule provides adequate time and 

### 9 flexibility to allow construction of new generation 

### 10 where required and existing oversight bodies are in 

### 11 place to ensure a smooth transition to new generation 

### 12 resources. 

### 13 Thank you for the opportunity to comment on 

### 14 the mercury and hazardous air pollutant proposed rule. 

### 15 Encana will be submitting written comments and 

### 16 detailing the abundance, affordability, and 

### 17 availability of natural gas as a solution under the 

### 18 rule. Thank you. 

### 19 MR. CLARK: Thank you very much. Mr. Hogue. 

### 20 DR. HOGUE: Thank you for the opportunity to 

### 21 testify on these proposed new standards for mercury and 

### 22 air toxics. My name is Dr. Michael Hogue, H-O-G-U-E. 

### 23 I'm a Professor of theology at a local seminary, the 

### 24 author of two books on religion and the environment and 

### 25 numerous articles on the same topics. I have been aAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 88 1 past faculty coordinator for student religious 

### 2 environmental group. I am a volunteer at Faith in 

### 3 Place, a member of the Chicago Clean Power Coalition 

### 4 and a Unitarian Universalist and Episcopal lay leader. 

### 5 I'm also the father of three young children; one of 

### 6 whom was born with a severe congenital heart defect 

### 7 that makes her especially vulnerable to respiratory 

### 8 illness. My wife and her brother, who have lived here 

### 9 in Chicago all of their lives, are also among the many 

### 10 Chicagoans with environmentally related respiratory 

### 11 illnesses. 

### 12 I strongly endorse the EPA's proposed mercury 

### 13 and air toxics standards; standards which will also 

### 14 limit the emission of fine particulate matter. I would 

### 15 like to use the bulk of my time to explain why this is 

### 16 important to me. 

### 17 But before I do let me first of all say that 

### 18 I reject the assertion of those who oppose these 

### 19 standards, that their implementation would lead to a 

### 20 loss of jobs. From all that I have read and from 

### 21 testimony offered already today, this is a false 

### 22 assertion for two reasons. 

### 23 First, oil and coal based energy corporations 

### 24 continue to make massive profits even after 

### 25 retrofitting for compliance with past regulatoryAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 89 1 regimes, thus if there is a loss of jobs due to the 

### 2 cost of complying with new regulations, it will only be 

### 3 because energy industry executives refuse to use some 

### 4 of their surplus capital to upgrade their plants. 

### 5 It is fundamentally disingenuous and 

### 6 manipulative to turn this into a jobs issue as one of 

### 7 our recent speakers suggested. It is a cynical ploy 

### 8 that takes advantage of workers, reducing them to pawns 

### 9 in a game. If those who labor in the energy industry 

### 10 should be angry at anyone, it should be the managers 

### 11 and executives who are using them as mere means to the 

### 12 only end that matters to them; corporate profit. 

### 13 The second reason that the jobs assertion is 

### 14 false is that the regulation of dirty energy is a 

### 15 necessary part of a transition to a more sustainable 

### 16 economy and to the job creating markets of green 

### 17 energy. The future of the energy industry and of a 

### 18 whole new job sector is in clean energy. This is where 

### 19 new jobs will be created. The U.S. economy will fall 

### 20 very quickly behind in the global marketplace if it 

### 21 doesn't catch up with other countries whose energy 

### 22 policies are more sustainable. The shift to green 

### 23 energy cannot be entirely grass roots. The raising of 

### 24 consciousness is part of the work and incremental local 

### 25 and state based legislation is also necessary, but theAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 90 1 demand for renewable energy, which will draw the 

### 2 research and development and refinement of renewable 

### 3 energy sources needs in part to be shaped by energy 

### 4policy and regulation at the federal level. If 

### 5 Congress can't or won't do it, and if it falls under 

### 6 the purview of the EPA's responsibility, then the EPA 

### 7 becomes a critical player in the work of reshaping our 

### 8 energy economy to become more humane, more sustainable, 

### 9 more ecologically and economically responsible. 

### 10 I've just offered comments critical of the 

### 11 response of some oil and coal industry representatives 

### 12 to the EPA's proposed regulations. Now, I would like 

### 13 to offer some constructive comments. 

### 14I am committed to an understanding of justice 

### 15 as solidarity. Justice as solidarity is about a way of 

### 16 being in relationships that honors the worth and 

### 17 dignity of all persons and living beings. It is a way 

### 18 of being in a relationship that seeks to preserve and 

### 19 to the extent possible, to enhance the conditions of 

### 20 shared flourishing. 

### 21 Justice as solidarity extends beyond the 

### 22 present to include the future. It extends beyond 

### 23 humanity to include non-humans as well. It is a 

### 24 fundamentally ecological justice principal. From the 

### 25 teachings of my religious traditions and through reasonAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 91 1 and experience, I've come to understand that justice as 

### 2 solidarity grants special concern to the most 

### 3 vulnerable among us, human and non-human, and also to 

### 4 the broader ecological patterns and processes that 

### 5 sustain life. 

### 6 Justice as solidarity assumes that no 

### 7 individual living thing exists in isolation, but 

### 8 instead through relationships and these relationships 

### 9 include not only those between the forms of life, human 

### 10 and more than human, but also between life and the 

### 11 broader ecologies of water and land and air. 

### 12 In order then to act justly in solidarity 

### 13 with the most vulnerable, young children, the poor and 

### 14 those without political voice, it's imperative that we 

### 15 do all that we can to preserve and when possible, to 

### 16 enhance the ecological conditions conducive to 

### 17 flourishing. 

### 18 Clean air and water are among the most 

### 19 fundamental conditions necessary to the flourishing of 

### 20 all forms of life. Without clean air and water, the 

### 21 very possibility of life, not to mention healthy, 

### 22 flourishing life, is compromised. 

### 23 Since it has been established that coal and 

### 24 oil burning power plants are responsible for half of 

### 25 our nation's mercury and acid gas emissions and aAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 92 1 quarter of our nation's toxic metal emissions and since 

### 2 the presence of these toxins in our environment has 

### 3 been shown to cause cancer and to cause neurological 

### 4 damage, not to mention the harm that it is caused to 

### 5 other forms of animal and plant life, it is our human 

### 6 moral duty and the EPA's governmentally appointed duty 

### 7 to provide mercury, air toxics and fine particulate 

### 8 standards for our country's power plants. 

### 9 And since it is well known that our coal 

### 10 burning power plants emit high levels of fine 

### 11 particulate matter into our air and since this fine 

### 12 particulate matter has been linked to numerous 

### 13 respiratory related deaths and illnesses of which my 

### 14 own family suffers, it is our moral duty and the EPA's 

### 15 governmentally appointed duty to establish and monitor 

### 16 standards that limit the fine particulate emissions. 

### 17 Establishing and regulating standards for the 

### 18 emissions of mercury, air toxics and fine particulate 

### 19 matter in face of the evidence of the harm they cause 

### 20 is a basic moral responsibility. It is also an 

### 21 economically wise thing to do since it will provide 

### 22 reasons for further research and development into the 

### 23 clean energy industries that will drive the future of 

### 24 the global economy. 

### 25 Please know that on these matters, I do notAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 93 1 speak only for myself, but also for my family and for 

### 2 the hundreds of students and people of faith with whom 

### 3 I have worked over the years and who have expressed to 

### 4me their concerns for cleaner and safer environment. 

### 5 Thank you. 

### 6 MR. CLARK: Thank you. Thank you both. Any 

### 7 questions for either? No? Okay. Thank you. 

### 8 Our next two speakers, Matthew Soerens and 

### 9 Jerome Stone please. And again, we are trying to ask 

### 10 that everyone stay to, to five minutes if possible so 

### 11 we can be sure we are able to get everybody in, so 

### 12 Mr. Soerens. If you could spell your name also. 

### 13 MR. SOERENS: Sure. My name is Matthew 

### 14 Soerens, S-O-E-R-E-N-S and I'm from Glen Ellyn, 

### 15 Illinois. 

### 16 I'm here, not on behalf of an organization or 

### 17 an industry, but just as a citizen and as an 

### 18 Evangelical Christian. My faith is what motivates me 

### 19 to take a half day off of work and come voice my 

### 20 support for these proposed, proposed regulations. 

### 21 As a Christian, I believe that human life is 

### 22 sacred and it is because I believe in the dignity of 

### 23 each human being that I'm very concerned with research 

### 24 that finds that one in six babies born in this country 

### 25 have unhealthy levels of mercury in their blood, whichAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 94 1 can cause a whole range of serious health problems that 

### 2 you've already heard about from some of the other 

### 3 people testifying. 

### 4I'm also about to get married in about three 

### 5 weeks and, which is exciting and so for the first time 

### 6 in my life, I'm thinking about having a family and 

### 7 having kids, which is very exciting and also a little 

### 8 bit intimidating. There's a whole number of factors 

### 9 that, of course, you can't control with bringing human 

### 10 life into this world, but one of the things we should 

### 11 be able to control as a society is the amount of 

### 12 mercury that would be in my kids' blood and in any 

### 13 other child's blood. 

### 14And that comes through the air and the water 

### 15 into the fish that we might eat, so I'm -- I think 

### 16 that's something that's very important that we, that we 

### 17 limit and I'm actually really startled and disturbed to 

### 18 find out that we have that much mercury in, in fish for 

### 19 example and that's already affecting health. I 

### 20 understand why industries that make their profit from, 

### 21 from coal-fired power plants or other industries would 

### 22 be concerned with these regulations, but I think it's 

### 23 the job of the government to look out for the common 

### 24 good and to protect human life wherever possible. 

### 25 So I don't have too much to say, but I guessAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 95 1 I want to encourage you to please support these 

### 2 regulations. 

### 3 MR. CLARK: Thank you very much. Mr. Stone. 

### 4MR. STONE: My name is Jerome Stone, that's 

### 5 spelled S-T-O-N-E. I'm a former United Church of 

### 6 Christ Minister and Professor [indecipherable] of 

### 7 Philosophy and Former Chair of the Department of 

### 8 Philosophy at William Brady Harper College in Palatine, 

### 9 Illinois, where I taught environmental ethics. 

### 10 I hold in my hands a calculator and a picture 

### 11 of my grandchildren. They could be your children or 

### 12 grandchildren. Now a calculator is useful in cost 

### 13 benefit analysis. But the worth of children cannot be 

### 14 determined by a calculator. We cannot ignore cost 

### 15 benefit analysis, but if life is sacred, we need more 

### 16 than a calculator. We need jobs, but we also need 

### 17 health. 

### 18 There's an elementary principal and 

### 19 scientific methodology that says that correlation does 

### 20 not prove causation. True enough. However, there's 

### 21 also an important principal in environmental ethics. 

### 22 When the stakes are high, we can't always take the time 

### 23 to establish airtight proof of causation. When 

### 24 children's health is threatened, the stakes are high. 

### 25 Delaying action when children's lives are at stake isAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 96 1 irresponsible. After all, when the preliminary studies 

### 2 connecting smoking and lung cancer first came in, the 

### 3 tobacco companies pointed out that correlation does not 

### 4prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that smoking causes 

### 5 lung cancer, yet right at that point, many doctors gave 

### 6 up smoking. Why? Because they knew the stakes were 

### 7 high. 

### 8 Ladies and gentlemen, the sky is not falling. 

### 9 But toxic substances are being discharged. I hold in 

### 10 my hand a calculator and a picture of my grandchildren. 

### 11 Cost benefit analysis and the health of the coming 

### 12 generations. If life is sacred, we need more than a 

### 13 calculator. We need, in short, strong national toxic 

### 14 waste regulations. Thank you. 

### 15 MR. CLARK: Thank you both very much. 

### 16 Doesn't look like we have any questions, so we will 

### 17 move on to the next two speakers; Cathy Woollums and 

### 18 Lin Kaatz Chary please. 

### 19 MS. WOOLLUMS: Good morning. 

### 20 MR. CLARK: Good morning. 

### 21 MS. WOOLLUMS: My name is Cathy Woollums, 

### 22 W-O-O-L-L-U-M-S. I'm a Senior Vice President of 

### 23 Environmental Services with Mid American Energy 

### 24 Holdings Company. Mid American is a global energy 

### 25 services provider serving almost six point nineAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 97 1 customers worldwide. I'm also a parent. I live with 

### 2 my two sons two miles away from a coal-fired plant. 

### 3 I'm here today on behalf of Mid American 

### 4 Energy Company's two electricity supplying companies, 

### 5 Mid American Energy and PacificCorp. They serve 

### 6 electricity customers in California, Oregon, 

### 7 Washington, Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, South Dakota, Iowa 

### 8 and Illinois. We supply those customers through a 

### 9 variety of resources including wind, hydro, natural 

### 10 gas, geothermal, nuclear, and coal. Mid American is 

### 11 the largest regulated utility owner of wind generation 

### 12 in the United States. 

### 13 On behalf of two of Mid American's operating 

### 14 entities, Mid American Energy and Pacific Corp., I 

### 15 appreciate the opportunity to comment today on the 

### 16 proposed Utility HAPs MACT. We will be submitting more 

### 17 extensive written comments prior to the July 5 close of 

### 18 the comment period. 

### 19 Today I'd like to focus on three aspects of 

### 20 the proposed rule; achievement of the mercury limits, 

### 21 use of particulate matter continuous emission monitors 

### 22 or CEMS and the relationship between the timing and 

### 23 compliance requirements and the cost of implementation. 

### 24Relating to mercury limits and performance 

### 25 criteria. Mid American brings a perspective based onAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 98 1 actual performance of installed equipment. Our Walter 

### 2 Scott Junior Energy Center unit four was one of the 

### 3 first facilities in the country to actively control 

### 4mercury emissions. Utilizing sub-bituminous coal 

### 5 source from the power river basin, and equipped with 

### 6 a full suite of controls, including a scrubber, bag 

### 7 house, selective catalytic reduction, and activated 

### 8 carbon injection, the facility commenced commercial 

### 9 operation in mid-2007. After a case by case MACT 

### 10 review for mercury, Walter Scott unit four was 

### 11 expected to achieve a mercury emission rate of one 

### 12 point seven pounds per trillion Btu; approximately 

### 13 an eighty-three percent reduction after activated 

### 14 carbon injection. 

### 15 Stack testing and monitoring data from the 

### 16 facility has demonstrated significant variability in 

### 17 mercury emissions suggesting that the averaging period 

### 18 for the applicable emission limit is critical to any 

### 19 final rule. 

### 20 Likewise our stack testing measurements were 

### 21 not well correlated with the mercury continuous 

### 22 emission monitors. With the monitors consistently 

### 23 reporting twenty to twenty-five percent higher 

### 24 emissions than those measured through actual stack 

### 25 testing. Stack testing conducted between 2007 and 2010AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 99 1 suggested that the performance of the activated carbon 

### 2 injection system, even at an eighty-three percent 

### 3 removal efficiency, may prove challenging on a long 

### 4 term basis and additional methods to reduce emissions 

### 5 may need to be pursued. 

### 6 Ironically, Mid Americans mercury control 

### 7 experience at the new Walter Scott Energy Center unit 

### 8 four is in sharp contrast to one of its other 

### 9 facilities that's fifty years old. The Carbon plant in 

### 10 Price, Utah, utilizes bituminous Utah coal at its two 

### 11 units that became operational in 1954 and 1957. 

### 12 Equipped only with electrostatic precipitators, the 

### 13 carbon plant typically achieves a mercury emission 

### 14 level below one pound per trillion Btu. While there 

### 15 are several reasons for the difference in the mercury 

### 16 emissions between a new well controlled unit and a 

### 17 fifty year old facility, the primary distinguishing 

### 18 factor lies in the coal itself. 

### 19 As EPA finalizes the MACT, we urge you to 

### 20 consider the fact, the coal from the Powder River Basin 

### 21 and other areas exhibit characteristics similar to 

### 22 lignite and that mercury is primarily elemental and 

### 23 more difficult to collect, suggesting that further 

### 24 sub-categorization may be appropriate. 

### 25 Likewise, we believe it's important for EPAAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 100 1 to examine the basis on which of the determination of 

### 2 the best performing sources has been made prior to 

### 3 finalizing the rule. 

### 4Regarding to the, regarding the issue of PM 

### 5 CEMS, we do express concerns about the functionality of 

### 6 that equipment that has largely only been deployed 

### 7 through consent decrees under new source review 

### 8 requirements and, and largely has off ramps. Our 

### 9 experience with CEMS, plus SO2 and mercury suggest that 

### 10 there's a lot that needs to be worked through as we 

### 11 consider moving forward with those as a compliance 

### 12 mechanism. 

### 13 Lastly, while our plants will ensure that 

### 14 we're in compliance with the final rule, we believe 

### 15 that the short time frame between the final ruling and 

### 16 compliance date will increase costs for electricity 

### 17 customers. The impact will be greatest on some of the 

### 18 smaller, older facilities that may, in fact, be located 

### 19 in key transmission grid areas that provide voltage 

### 20 support that can't be addressed within the specified 

### 21 time frame. As such, please consider carefully the 

### 22 options for some of those facilities relative to the 

### 23 impact on availability, reliability and cost. 

### 24Thank you for the opportunity. 

### 25 MR. CLARK: Thank you very much. Ms. Chary,AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 101 1 please. 

### 2 DR. CHARY: Morning. My name is Dr. Lin 

### 3 Kaatz Chary and my name is spelled L-I-N, K-A-A-T-Z, 

### 4 and third name, no hyphen, C-H-A-R-Y. And I am the 

### 5 Executive Director and Founder of Indiana Toxics 

### 6 Action. I live in Gary, Indiana, and I also teach at 

### 7 Indiana University where I teach labor in the 

### 8 environment and labor in global warming and I have a 

### 9 PhD from the University of Illinois at Chicago School 

### 10 of Public Health in Public Health with a lot of 

### 11 emphasis on epidemiology. 

### 12 I really appreciate the opportunity to come 

### 13 here today and chat with you, but I have to say that -- 

### 14 I better move my book here -- I have to say that in 

### 15 some respects, it feels like been there, done that. 

### 16 I've been around for a long time working on these 

### 17 issues and the same arguments -- I'm still reeling from 

### 18 the coal representative's arguments a little bit 

### 19 earlier. 

### 20 If you had been here in the 1970's when the 

### 21 Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act were passed, if 

### 22 you had been here later with the Toxic Substances 

### 23 Control Act (TOSCA) and the Resource Conservation and 

### 24 Recovery Act (RCRA) and all the different laws, we 

### 25 could have written the same script. We don't even needAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 102 1 to sit here. We could just take recordings from those 

### 2 meetings and play them back and you would be hearing 

### 3 exactly the same thing. And you look over the history 

### 4 as was mentioned earlier, jobs have not been lost. 

### 5 The world has not come to an end because there are 

### 6 regulations. And leaving it up to the companies 

### 7 themselves has not achieved the goals that we're trying 

### 8 to, to go for. 

### 9 So what I want to say is, the science is 

### 10 there, the technology is there. What are we waiting 

### 11 for? I raised my daughter under the philosophy that 

### 12 there are many things in life that we can't control and 

### 13 we've seen that tragically just recently in Joplin with 

### 14 the tornadoes and many other natural disasters. We 

### 15 can't control those things, but we can control other 

### 16 things and the choice is up to us whether or not we 

### 17 choose to do that. 

### 18 And the kinds of tragedies that come from 

### 19 not -- from making -- even if, if you don't do 

### 20 something, that's a choice and the results of that are 

### 21 on all of us if we don't pass these regulations, which 

### 22 we know. We don't have to argue about the science 

### 23 anymore or the technology or the cost for that matter. 

### 24 I mean this is probably heretical to most people, but 

### 25 we should be paying higher costs for this kind ofAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 103 1 stuff, for getting these regulations because they're 

### 2 expensive and the cost in health care and other kinds 

### 3 of costs that can't even be measured are not included 

### 4 in the cost benefit analysis of the coal 

### 5 representatives and others. 

### 6 So actually, I was really, I was really done 

### 7 in by the gentleman's discussion. I thought it was 

### 8 staggering to hear him defend his -- that in this, you 

### 9 know, in this way, in this day and age. The coal 

### 10 industry -- I'm, I'm curious as to what he thinks good 

### 11 regulations would be. He talked about bad regulations. 

### 12 And I mean, the reality is that they're completely 

### 13 stuck in the nineteenth century. 

### 14And why would EPA be biased against coal. 

### 15 That's absolutely -- that's really a ridiculous 

### 16 argument and to frame it that way is a real indication 

### 17 of how they see the world, rather than framing it in a 

### 18 way of the EPA doing its job which is to protect the 

### 19 American public and be its advocate in, in holding up 

### 20 the intent of Congress when they made the Clean Air Act 

### 21 and the Clean Water Act and based it on health based 

### 22 standards, not whether or not it was good for the coal 

### 23 industry, which is, I believe -- I might be wrong -- 

### 24 one of the industries which receives quite a bit of 

### 25 subsidies from the United States, even though it's aAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 104 1 multi-billion dollar industry. If we spend some of 

### 2 that money on looking at clean energy and investing in 

### 3 other alternatives, we'd be a lot farther along. 

### 4So, to me the -- without, you know, 

### 5 disrespect anybody who's testified, really this 

### 6 discussion, this argument is over. We should be moving 

### 7 on. We should accept the information that we have and 

### 8 the loss of anyone's job is a tragedy. We all know 

### 9 that especially in this economy. So it's our 

### 10 obligation to acknowledge this and respond 

### 11 appropriately promoting and, promoting research and 

### 12 development using approaches such as green chemistry 

### 13 and it's twelve principles will, in fact, benefit the 

### 14market, producing energy in ways that reduce waste, 

### 15 increase efficiency and therefore reduce costs. 

### 16 So, I'm -- with my last ten seconds, in 

### 17 saying, just imagine where we would be at today if this 

### 18 regulation had been promulgated twenty years ago when 

### 19 it was first proposed. I guarantee you that if we were 

### 20 sitting in this room today, we wouldn't be talking 

### 21 about the same things and if we want to talk about cost 

### 22 benefit analysis, how many lives would have been saved? 

### 23 How many illnesses prevented? So, let's leave this 

### 24 behind and move on to innovative job creating, health 

### 25 protective ways of generating energy. It's not reallyAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 105 1 a complicated choice. 

### 2 Thank you very much. 

### 3 MR. CLARK: Okay. Thank you very much. Ask 

### 4 if -- do you have -- no, no. I guess we don't. I 

### 5 guess we're good, so thank you both so much. 

### 6 Okay. Next two speakers; Dawn Nothwehr and 

### 7 Helen Binns please. 

### 8 DR. NOTHWEHR: Good morning. 

### 9 MR. CLARK: Good morning. 

### 10 DR. NOTHWEHR: And thank you for the 

### 11 opportunity to comment this morning. My name is Dawn 

### 12 M. Nothwehr, it's D-A-W-N and last name is 

### 13 N-O-T-H-W-E-H-R. I'm a Franciscan Sister and Professor 

### 14 of Catholic Theological Ethics at Catholic Theological 

### 15 Union, the largest Roman Catholic graduate school of 

### 16 Theology and Ministry in North America. I am also the 

### 17 Director of the Certificate and Healthcare Emission 

### 18 Leadership Program at the Catholic Theological Union. 

### 19 I teach courses in environmental ethics and I've also 

### 20 published books and articles on various environmental 

### 21 topics. 

### 22 I speak in full support of the proposal for 

### 23 the reduction of toxic air pollutants from the power 

### 24 plants, specifically the reduction from the emissions 

### 25 from new and existing coal and oil fueled electricAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 106 1 utilities generating units. 

### 2 In 2004, with Dr. Silvia Hood Washington of 

### 3 UIC, I coauthored Struggles for Environmental Justice 

### 4 and Health in Chicago and African American and Catholic 

### 5 Perspective. That book deals with the health impact of 

### 6 PCB's, lead and mercury and the poor air quality in 

### 7 Chicago, particularly the harm done by those toxins on 

### 8 the poor; especially children, the elderly and pregnant 

### 9 women who tend to live in the most highly polluted 

### 10 areas of the city. 

### 11 The scientific data is clear that Cook 

### 12 County, Illinois has one of the highest asthma 

### 13 mortality rates with most deaths occurring in the City 

### 14 of Chicago. Coal burning power plants are one of the 

### 15 most egregious sources of mercury toxins. This is a 

### 16 moral issue. 

### 17 As Catholics, we share the belief with other 

### 18 peoples of faith that we are called to be stewards of 

### 19 God's creation and to actively participate in 

### 20 sustaining creation by caring for our children and 

### 21 their physical environment. We believe that every 

### 22 person possesses a fundamental dignity that comes from 

### 23 God. In our view, human life deserves full respect and 

### 24 protection at every stage and in every condition. We 

### 25 defend the right of children to live with dignity andAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 107 1 to realize the bright promise and opportunity of 

### 2 childhood. We are particularly concerned that the most 

### 3 vulnerable among us, the powerless and children, are 

### 4most often directly the ones who bear the burden and 

### 5 suffer disproportionately from the harmful 

### 6 environmental effects of toxins. 

### 7 Though its, it extends -- through its 

### 8 extensive experience in providing healthcare and social 

### 9 services to many children and families, particularly 

### 10 among the poor, Catholics are concerned that the poor 

### 11 and the vulnerable often remain unaware of the harmful 

### 12 effects of mercury as well as other toxins. As you 

### 13 know, the ability of children's bodies to cope with 

### 14mercury and other harmful substances is significant 

### 15 less than that of adults. When pregnant women are 

### 16 exposed to mercury and other toxins, unborn children 

### 17 face neurological development from environmental 

### 18 exposure to toxins such as mercury. According to 

### 19 public health experts, neurological damage caused by 

### 20 mercury exposure is irreversible. Children's futures 

### 21 could be undermined by the release of harmful toxins 

### 22 like mercury in our environment. 

### 23 Among Chicago's prime polluters are the Fisk 

### 24 and Crawford coal-fired power plants. Fisk started 

### 25 generating electricity in 1903 and was rebuilt in 1959.AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 108 1 Crawford's latest turbines were installed in 1958 and 

### 2 1961. Pollution from those two coal-fired plants cost 

### 3 neighboring communities a hundred and twenty-seven 

### 4million dollars per year in hidden health damages 

### 5 according to the report released in October of 2010 by 

### 6 the Environmental Law and Policy Center. 

### 7 Nationally, coal-fired power plants are the 

### 8 leading cause of global warming and pollution in the 

### 9 United States. The Fisk and Crawford plants are two of 

### 10 Chicago's largest contributors to climate change. In 

### 11 2007, they emitted nearly five million metric tons of 

### 12 carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. 

### 13 In his world day of peace message in 2010, 

### 14 Pope Benedict the sixteenth insisted and I quote, "To 

### 15 protect the environment and to safeguard natural 

### 16 resources and climate, there is a need to act in 

### 17 accordance with clearly defined rules, while at the 

### 18 same time taking into due account the solidarity we owe 

### 19 those living in the poorer areas of the world and to 

### 20 future generations." Unquote. 

### 21 Further, guided by their 2001 statement 

### 22 global climate change, a plea for dialogue, prudence 

### 23 and the common good, the United States Catholic Bishops 

### 24 promote prudent action based on solid scientific 

### 25 evidence while placing needs of the poor and theAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 109 1 vulnerable at the center of environmental legislation. 

### 2 The proposed rule would reduce emissions, the 

### 3 toxic pollutions from power plants, specifically the 

### 4 reduction of emissions from new and existing coal and 

### 5 oil fuel, the electric utility steam generating units 

### 6 and this is an important step in bringing about 

### 7 environmental justice and bringing it to a practical 

### 8 reality. 

### 9 Thank you very much. 

### 10 MR. CLARK: Thank you very much. Ms. Binns. 

### 11 DR. BINNS: I am Dr. Helen Binns, spelled 

### 12 B-I-N-N-S. I am a pediatrician at Children's Memorial 

### 13 Hospital and Professor of Pediatrics at Northwestern 

### 14 University. 

### 15 I'm here today representing the American 

### 16 Academy of Pediatrics, which is a non-profit, 

### 17 professional organization of more than sixty thousand 

### 18 primary care pediatricians, pediatric medical 

### 19 sub-specialists and pediatric surgical sub-specialists 

### 20 dedicated to the health, safety, and well being of 

### 21 infants, children, adolescents and young adults. We 

### 22 are proud to have a long history supporting the work of 

### 23 the EPA and cleaning up the air we breathe. 

### 24Polluted air makes people sick, particularly 

### 25 infants and young children. Toxins in the air, whichAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 110 1 can further accumulate in our water and food supply 

### 2 cause numerous health effects. These include damage to 

### 3 the developing fetus and child, respiratory problems, 

### 4particularly asthma exacerbations and heart disease. 

### 5 Our children and communities bear the 

### 6 consequences for our polluted air in the form of 

### 7 illness, hospitalizations, increased susceptibility to 

### 8 diseases and reduced abilities and skills. 

### 9 Our current federal standards requiring power 

### 10 plants to limit emission of hazardous air pollutants 

### 11 are weak and outdated. The American Academy of 

### 12 Pediatrics supports stronger regulatory efforts to 

### 13 limit air pollution. 

### 14Mercury emissions are of particular concern 

### 15 since they accumulate in the water and food supply. 

### 16 Mercury is released into the air from the fossil fuels 

### 17 and then deposited in the water where living things 

### 18 convert it to methyl mercury, which is a particularly 

### 19 toxic form. Children can be exposed in utero and from 

### 20 eating the contaminated fish that may come from these 

### 21 waterways. States have already issued many warnings 

### 22 about eating fish from contaminated waters and health 

### 23 concerns have led to advising more limited intake of 

### 24 certain types of fish, particularly by children and 

### 25 pregnant women.AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 111 1 Methyl mercury is toxic to the developing 

### 2 brain of the fetus and young child. In utero, 

### 3 exposures to levels of mercury which can be obtained 

### 4 through exposures to fish, have been associated with 

### 5 effects on memory, attention and language. 

### 6 Importantly, mercury is concentrated in the fetus. 

### 7 Fetal mercury levels are about a hundred and seventy 

### 8 percent of maternal levels. 

### 9 Fish provide an important nutrient source of 

### 10 Docosahexaenoic Acid or DHA which is an essential omega 

### 11 three fatty acid. DHA is important for healthy 

### 12 pregnancies and studies also suggest that DHA in fetal 

### 13 life and early childhood has positive long term impacts 

### 14 on children's brain development. 

### 15 Improving our air quality can lead to 

### 16 lowering mercury contamination of fish and this is an 

### 17 important public health goal. 

### 18 Fine particulates are known to increase 

### 19 respiratory symptoms and contribute to a range of other 

### 20 disorders. In children in particularly, those with 

### 21 asthma, days of increased air pollution levels are 

### 22 associated with increased asthma symptoms and asthma 

### 23 exacerbations. Other studies in adults link air 

### 24 pollution to all-cause mortality and respiratory 

### 25 related mortality.AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 112 1 American people have been waiting for many 

### 2 years for this important rule and we cannot afford 

### 3 further delays. In 1990 the Clean Air Act Amendments 

### 4 raised the need to assess power plant emissions. Ten 

### 5 years later, in 2000, the EPA determined it was 

### 6 appropriate and necessary that these hazardous air 

### 7 pollutants, particularly mercury emissions, be reduced. 

### 8 Now eleven years later, we still have yet to take 

### 9 appropriate action. 

### 10 The EPA -- the American Academy of Pediatrics 

### 11 fully supports EPA's new standards for reducing toxic 

### 12 air pollutants from power plants. These vital 

### 13 standards will reduce emissions of mercury and other 

### 14 toxic pollutants. 

### 15 We -- the AAP supports using the standard of 

### 16 maximum achievable control technology to obtain these 

### 17 reasonable goals. We also support requiring the 

### 18 implementation of this technology within three years as 

### 19 proposed under the rule. 

### 20 While some may argue that this rule will 

### 21 impose costs upon power plants, the AAP would respond 

### 22 that the high cost of pollution are currently being 

### 23 born by our children and other vulnerable populations. 

### 24 This rule will lead to cleaner air and better health 

### 25 for millions of American children and families. TheAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 113 1 AAP looks forward to the prompt implementation of these 

### 2 standards. 

### 3 MR. CLARK: Thank you both very much. Any 

### 4 questions for? Thank you. 

### 5 Okay. Our next two speakers, Nancy 

### 6 Bultinck -- hopefully that's close -- and Jim 

### 7 Ginderske. Both good candidates to spell your name 

### 8 for the court reporter. 

### 9 MS. BULTINCK: My name is Nancy, spelling of 

### 10 last name is B, as in boy -U-L-T, as in Tom, -I-N-C-K. 

### 11 I do live in the City of Chicago and I'm a great 

### 12 advocate for the American Respiratory Association of 

### 13 Greater Chicago. 

### 14Unfortunately, I am inflicted with COPD, 

### 15 otherwise known as Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary 

### 16 Disease. Not only that, I have a family history of 

### 17 asthmatic [indecipherable]. My mother is ninety and 

### 18 has it, I have sisters and nieces and nephews as well. 

### 19 I don't understand all these 

### 20 [indecipherable], but I do know that they are very 

### 21 dangerous. I know that bus fumes alone put me out. I 

### 22 should be sitting here with my oxygen on. I'm too 

### 23 embarrassed to go out with it. I keep it at home and I 

### 24 keep it a secret. 

### 25 I'm begging you to please do something toAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 114 1 clean up the air. The better the clean air we have, 

### 2 the better life I have and I -- I mean, I'm up for a 

### 3 transplant as it is. If I was to get another lung 

### 4 transplant, I certainly would like to live a healthier 

### 5 life and of course even better breathing life as well. 

### 6 That's really all I have to say. I could go 

### 7 on about my graduate degrees, but I don't think you 

### 8 want to hear about that. I'm here for the cause. 

### 9 MR. CLARK: Okay. 

### 10 MS. BULTINCK: Thank you. 

### 11 MR. CLARK: Thank you. Mr. Ginderske. 

### 12 MR. GINDERSKE: I am Jim Ginderske, it's 

### 13 G-I-N-D-E-R-S-K-E and I'm with the -- I'm the Director 

### 14 of the Group Neighbors for a Healthy Rogers Park. 

### 15 For many reasons we support strongly 

### 16 increased limits and oversight of toxic emissions. In 

### 17 a comprehensive health needs assessment we conducted 

### 18 several years ago, we learned that our community has a 

### 19 higher than average percentage of children now 

### 20 afflicted with asthma, especially among our Hispanic 

### 21 and African American residents. These results are 

### 22 consistent with findings by other researchers. Asthma 

### 23 events, of course, are often triggered by poor air 

### 24 quality. 

### 25 Air quality in Chicago has long been impactedAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 115 1 by emissions from coal-fired power plants, which were 

### 2 built generations ago before science understood and 

### 3 technology was developed to counteract the emissions 

### 4 hazards. 

### 5 However, debating whether each instance of 

### 6 childhood asthma or other ailments are entirely due to 

### 7 one or another source of toxic emission misses the 

### 8 point in this case. The fact is that no one outside 

### 9 the industries that profit from these emissions and 

### 10 their paid consultants seriously contends that this 

### 11 situation is not harmful. The real -- the only real 

### 12 dilemma is how much longer to delay coming to terms 

### 13 with this known public health emergency. 

### 14We are presented by the coal industry with a 

### 15 false choice; either accept their absurd claims that 

### 16 obscene -- that obsolete plants are safe or cower 

### 17 before their threats to fire union employees if forced 

### 18 to stop polluting our cities. Sadly, this tactic isn't 

### 19 new. Recall the day when the CEO's of America's 

### 20 tobacco companies swore under oath before Congress that 

### 21 they were unaware that cigarette smoking causes ill 

### 22 effects on health. Those men are rightly viewed today 

### 23 as relics of a twisted moral ethic. 

### 24We know that burning thousands of tons of 

### 25 coal in a densely populated urban setting absentAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 116 1 meaningful controls on the products of that emission is 

### 2 harmful. Setting aside the ample scientific evidence, 

### 3 it is simple common sense. 

### 4Years ago, I worked for Commonwealth Edison 

### 5 making me a proud member of local fifteen of the IBEW 

### 6 . I remember pitched battles with our 

### 7 management over safety issues, not just for ourselves, 

### 8 but for our friends and neighbors in the communities 

### 9 where we lived and worked. When I see union brothers 

### 10 and sisters gathered in support of a management that 

### 11 commands them to choose between poisoning our children 

### 12 or starving their families, I am shocked that any of us 

### 13 would accept that essential falsehood. We were always 

### 14 better than that. We knew better than to believe the 

### 15 people who would endanger our lives rather than 

### 16 properly maintain equipment or properly -- or demand 

### 17 our help to cover their negligence when things 

### 18 inevitably went wrong. 

### 19 How many IBEW members can really say that a 

### 20 seven year old child being rushed to an emergency room 

### 21 after waking up terrified and unable to breathe is 

### 22 someone -- is a person that we would not under any 

### 23 other circumstances move heaven and earth to aid. I 

### 24 know we would. I know we did and if this is no longer 

### 25 that IBEW, then brothers and sisters, how far we doneAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 117 1 fell. 

### 2 To be clear, IBEW people stand fast in the 

### 3 harshest conditions and do incredibly dangerous work 

### 4 every single day. They are the reason the ventilators 

### 5 at that hospital have the electricity needed to help 

### 6 that desperate child. Groups like mine and the Sierra 

### 7 Club honor that commitment deeply. We have best 

### 8 tasked, all of us here today, with righting something 

### 9 that is tremendously harmful to our community. Each of 

### 10 us has a role to play. Like the IBEW, we come from 

### 11 working families. Like the IBEW, we are willing to 

### 12 sacrifice and work hard to build a better 

### 13 infrastructure. The odd man out here are the few 

### 14 corporations that know that remains a few dollars that 

### 15 can be carved out of the lungs of this city's children. 

### 16 Let those of us who live in this community, 

### 17 IBEW and Sierra Club, Neighbors for a Healthy Rogers 

### 18 Park and Local fifteen stand together against such 

### 19 predatory forces. 

### 20 You will hear from many interests today. The 

### 21 question I would ask, the one that cuts through all the 

### 22 competing claims about science and safety and jobs and 

### 23 progress is this; what should the future of energy look 

### 24 like? What should the future of energy look like? 

### 25 Should we license and build more coal-fired plantsAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 118 1 identical to the ones now operating in Chicago? If the 

### 2 answer is no, then the reasons for that must be 

### 3 pollution related and if that's the case, then as a 

### 4 nation, we must make a full commitment to the goal of 

### 5 clean air now because we know that even with that 

### 6 commitment, it will take time for us to get there. 

### 7 Otherwise, ten years from now, we will again have this 

### 8 very same conversation and many more people will have 

### 9 been sickened or died because of our failure to act. 

### 10 At the end, this is an opportunity for EPA to 

### 11 move us from fighting over the defects of an antiquated 

### 12 system to planning for the smart -- excuse me -- to 

### 13 planning for the smart power generation that will 

### 14 transcend our current situation. We should begin that 

### 15 journey right now. 

### 16 Thank you. 

### 17 MR. CLARK: Thank you both very much. 

### 18 MS. BULTINCK: I would like to add one other 

### 19 thing because I'm looking at all of you and seeing 

### 20 you're numbers people. Keep in mind that there are 

### 21 twelve million inflicted with COPD today. Another 

### 22 twelve million are probably un-diagnosed. We've done 

### 23 race across America and everything for COPD, we've seen 

### 24 [indecipherable] race car do it and we've had some good 

### 25 people behind it and we've come up with a lot moreAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 119 1 diagnosed people with COPD. Please keep those numbers 

### 2 in mind because it keeps growing; unfortunately, it 

### 3 does keep growing. Thank you gentlemen. 

### 4MR. CLARK: Thank you very much and actually 

### 5 Jim, let me just ask you quickly, can you just say a 

### 6 quick word about Neighbors for a Healthy Rogers Park 

### 7 and that organization? 

### 8 MR. GINDERSKE: Sure. We're in the Rogers 

### 9 Park neighborhood of Chicago on the north side, east 

### 10 corner right where it borders the lake in Evanston. We 

### 11 were responsible for the organizational drive that 

### 12 opened the Rogers Park Health Center. It's a 

### 13 thoroughly qualified Health Center. 

### 14MR. CLARK: Great. Okay. Appreciate it. 

### 15 Thank you both very much. 

### 16 MR. GINDERSKE: Thank you. 

### 17 MR. CLARK: Okay. Next two speakers, 

### 18 Mr. Michael Murray and Ms. Eve Pytel please. I keep 

### 19 getting a note from the folks outside to say, to remind 

### 20 folks to please sign in even if you're pre-registered, 

### 21 so that, that if you are scheduled to speak, so that 

### 22 they know that you're here, so they can be sure to get 

### 23 you in. Okay? Thank you. Mr. Murray. 

### 24MR. MURRAY: Hello. My name is Mike Murray 

### 25 and I'm from Roselle, Illinois. Last name isAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 120 1 M-U-R-R-A-Y. I'm not a scientist and I'm not an expert 

### 2 witness on the mercury issue, but I'm here to represent 

### 3 two important people to me who couldn't be here today. 

### 4 I'm here speaking for my grandchildren like the 

### 5 gentleman from Harper College. I, of course, as a 

### 6 proud grandparent have pictures of my two grandchildren 

### 7 here. Murray who is three and Lucy who is five and I 

### 8 also have two additional grandchildren on the way 

### 9 within the next six weeks. 

### 10 MR. CLARK: Congratulations. 

### 11 MR. MURRAY: On the news and talk shows, a 

### 12 lot of people seem to be talking about the national 

### 13 debt. I guess they think that's something that's 

### 14 important, but when I get together with old friends, 

### 15 that's far from the first thing on our minds. When we 

### 16 talk, it's about our families and our health. Money is 

### 17 pretty far down the list, even if it is a problem. 

### 18 We've lived long enough to know that money 

### 19 isn't really real. It's made up. It's what socialist, 

### 20 social, social scientists call a social construct that 

### 21 can be changed at any time for the better or the worse. 

### 22 On the other hand, anything that jeopardizes our health 

### 23 or pollutes our earth is really important and something 

### 24 we need to think about carefully and talk about 

### 25 frequently because it effects everyone.AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 121 1 Health and pollution are not social 

### 2 constructs, they are real. I told Murray and Lucy's 

### 3 Mom, my daughter, Rachel, who's currently pregnant, I 

### 4 was going to comment on the mercury issue at an EPA 

### 5 meeting. She said, "Pop, this is my third child, so I 

### 6 know all about that. The doctors don't even have to 

### 7 mention it to me." It's a sad commentary in our 

### 8 society, isn't it? We worry about the unreal and money 

### 9 and something that we know is wrong, we know is bad, 

### 10 and we've known about for a long time. As a 

### 11 matter-of-fact, we knew about it when my children were 

### 12 born and we know how to fix it and we really haven't 

### 13 done anything about it. 

### 14One of the things my son-in-law, Nick, who 

### 15 I'm proud to say is a great Pastor, and he changes the 

### 16 dirtiest diapers and my daughter, Rachel, are working 

### 17 on with Lucy and Murray is getting them to clean up 

### 18 after themselves. They are getting better, but it 

### 19 still takes a lot of reminding and even though they're 

### 20 young, they have developed quite a few lists of reasons 

### 21 to procrastinate. It's scary. Sometimes I hear them 

### 22 say things I say from time to time. 

### 23 From what I've read on the web, mercury 

### 24 polluters have quite a few excuses, just like Lucy and 

### 25 Murray, for not cleaning up after themselves. I guessAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 122 1 the role EPA has to play on this mercury and other 

### 2 critical issues in our society is like my daughter and 

### 3 son-in-law have to do with Murray and Lucy. You have 

### 4 to remind polluters to do what is right. Indeed, in 

### 5 some cases, you have to demand they do what is right 

### 6 because it effects even them. 

### 7 Obviously doing what is right is not always 

### 8 the easiest course of action and it might take more 

### 9 time and effort, but unequivocally, the outcome turns 

### 10 out better when you do the right things. When the EPA 

### 11 stands up for what is right in this mercury debate, a 

### 12 lot of people will holler about jobs, lights dimming, 

### 13 too costly, and too many regulations. Lots of excuses 

### 14 to do nothing; just like Murray and Lucy and sometimes 

### 15 their grandpa does. But in the end, jobs will be 

### 16 created, we'll have a healthier world, things will be 

### 17 unequivocally better. 

### 18 Of course, we won't really know how much 

### 19 better until we decide to do the right thing. That's 

### 20 the irony. The only way to know for sure how much 

### 21 better is to stop doing the wrong thing. If we do the 

### 22 right thing on this issue, maybe Lucy and Murray will 

### 23 be able to think about other things when they have 

### 24 their own children and grandchildren. It will be 

### 25 really sad if we fail to take action we know is right.AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 123 1 In summary, everyone agrees mercury is a 

### 2 pollutant. We know how to make it better. It's not 

### 3 easy. People are going to holler and complain, but my 

### 4 assumption as an optimistic American is we're going to 

### 5 do the right thing. If that doesn't happen, I'd have 

### 6 one thing I'd like to ask you to do for Murray and 

### 7 Lucy. Something I don't think a grandparent should 

### 8 have to do. I would like you -- excuse me -- for those 

### 9 who impede this action, to explain to them how come 

### 10 they're letting a known poison into the environment. 

### 11 Thank you. 

### 12 MR. CLARK: Thank you. Thank you, 

### 13 Mr. Murray. Ms. Pytel. 

### 14MS. PYTEL: My name is Eve Pytel, that's P as 

### 15 in Paul, Y as in York, T-E-L like telephone and I work 

### 16 on the Clean Air Counts campaign. 

### 17 The Clean Air Counts campaign began in March 

### 18 1999 as a policy development forum called the Regional 

### 19 Dialogue on Clean Air and Redevelopment, that was 

### 20 initiated to find a way to improve air quality and meet 

### 21 the standards of the Clean Air Act without compromising 

### 22 economic development for the region. 

### 23 Clean Air Counts was initiated because of 

### 24 repeated violations of the National Ambient Air Quality 

### 25 Standards for ground level ozone that had resulted inAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 124 1 metropolitan regions designation as a severe 

### 2 non-attainment area. 

### 3 The original goal of the program was to 

### 4 reduce pollution by five tons per day. Twelve years 

### 5 later, five hundred businesses and over a hundred local 

### 6 government have voluntarily committed to implement 

### 7 strategies that reduce ozone precursor emissions in 

### 8 quantifiable ways. 

### 9 To date, that program has reduced pollution 

### 10 by thirteen point five tons per day or five million, 

### 11 seven hundred ten thousand pounds. 

### 12 Through Clean Air Counts, we've shown that 

### 13 air quality in many ways is determined by an infinite 

### 14 series of mundane decisions and that voluntary 

### 15 programming can make a significant impact. Despite 

### 16 exceeding the programs goals and the region's achieving 

### 17 management status for attainment of the ozone standard, 

### 18 it is widely agreed by scientists and public health 

### 19 experts that our current standards are not rigorous 

### 20 enough to protect public health. 

### 21 Air pollutants are responsible for four 

### 22 hundred fifty five hospitalizations and one thousand, 

### 23 one hundred eighteen deaths in this region alone. 

### 24 Respiratory problems take children out of school and 

### 25 parents out of jobs. Hospitalizations can cost as muchAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 125 1 as twenty thousand dollars constituting a major cost 

### 2 for a family and a community. This is a huge drain 

### 3 emotionally and financially on the families and our 

### 4 region. 

### 5 Many of these pollutants have tertiary and 

### 6 secondary costs that impact our quality of life. That 

### 7 might include haze or diminished vegetation. 

### 8 Additionally, air quality makes this region less 

### 9 business friendly due to special permits that are 

### 10 required. 

### 11 The Chicago metropolitan region continues to 

### 12 struggle with air quality issues because it is a major 

### 13 population center and a job center, however the region 

### 14 requires a management response that includes both 

### 15 regulatory and voluntary responses. Programs such as 

### 16 Clean Air Counts and Commuter Trip Reduction programs 

### 17 can make an impact, but that impact is a fraction of 

### 18 what can be achieved through the proposed mercury and 

### 19 toxic standards. 

### 20 Thank you. 

### 21 MR. CLARK: Thank you both very much. Okay. 

### 22 Thank you very much. 

### 23 MS. KURLANSKY: Can I ask Ms. Pytel just a 

### 24 short question, if you could tell me just in a couple 

### 25 sentences what sort of voluntary programs you've beenAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 126 1 advocating and are these things that you're asking 

### 2 individuals to do or is it something that the local 

### 3 governments are participating in? 

### 4MR. PYTEL: Sure. Clean Air Counts works 

### 5 principally with local governments and businesses. 

### 6 They are -- to participate, they have to implement at 

### 7 least one of nine strategies and they are all 

### 8 quantifiable strategies. That may include an energy 

### 9 efficiency program including energy efficient lighting, 

### 10 use of energy efficient office equipment, other 

### 11 reductions. It could also include many types of fleet 

### 12 management strategies, transportation, work place 

### 13 transportation options, various types of landscaping 

### 14 strategies to reduce mowing and burning and small 

### 15 engine use and then with -- and then also the use of 

### 16 various types of low VOC products and those are all 

### 17 things that are very easily quantifiable with peer 

### 18 reviewed methodology. For local governments, we 

### 19 ask them to engage in outreach as a sort of beginning 

### 20 level, but then we ask them to also become much more 

### 21 energy efficient, to use low VOC products in just about 

### 22 everything that they're doing and then we also have an 

### 23 expansive amount of fleet management and transportation 

### 24 strategies. They are also asked as they participate in 

### 25 the program for a longer amount of time to look atAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 127 1 other, other types of regulatory programs; for example, 

### 2 small incinerator bands and, and that kind of things, 

### 3 so it really is a very rigorous program and we only 

### 4 engage in things that are quantifiable. 

### 5 MS. KURLANSKY: Thank you. 

### 6 MR. CLARK: Thank you. Okay. Next two 

### 7 speakers please; Terry Grace and Cory Jones. 

### 8 MR. GRACE: Hello. My name is Terry Grace. 

### 9 I am a recently retired, after thirty-one years, as an 

### 10 elementary school social worker from the suburb of Oak 

### 11 Park and four plus years in the Department of Mental 

### 12 Health for the State of Illinois. 

### 13 I'm committed to testifying on this important 

### 14matter due to my thirty-five plus years of experience 

### 15 working with children. As indicated on the EPA 

### 16 website, on the effects of mercury on children, mercury 

### 17 effects the cognitive thinking skills, memory, 

### 18 attention, language development, fine motor development 

### 19 and visual spacial skills of children. 

### 20 In my role as a school social worker, I have 

### 21 worked with regular education and the special education 

### 22 student populations in my schools; that is, all of the 

### 23 students. During my thirty-one years as a social 

### 24 worker, I and many of my professional colleagues in my 

### 25 schools noticed a gradual, but definite steady increaseAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 128 1 in the frequency of different disabilities occurring in 

### 2 the student population. Colleagues in other schools 

### 3 and districts also observed and shared their 

### 4perceptions about seeing similar patterns. 

### 5 For instance, the occurrence of attention 

### 6 deficit, hyper active disordered children increased 

### 7 dramatically over the course of my career. Children 

### 8 commonly referred to as hyperactive were fairly rare 

### 9 phenomenon when I first began working. Excuse me. My 

### 10 estimate would be that there was approximately one 

### 11 child out of seventy students when I first started that 

### 12 exhibited those kinds of behaviors. When I retired in 

### 13 June of 2010, it was common for every classroom to have 

### 14 two or even three children functioning as hyperactive; 

### 15 that is up to one child out of ten. These children 

### 16 almost always remained in the regular education 

### 17 class, but they tend to be disruptive with behavioral 

### 18 and learning challenges that drain the teacher's time, 

### 19 energy and attention away from the other students. 

### 20 Learning disabilities are another concern 

### 21 that increased steadily over time. Children with a 

### 22 wide range and variety of learning issues that require 

### 23 substantial special education intervention have become 

### 24 a major burden on the finances and human resources of 

### 25 public education. These student issues require a wideAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 129 1 range of resources and/or interventions to address 

### 2 their learning needs. 

### 3 Another phenomenon is the dramatic increase 

### 4 in the frequency of asthma. During the last fifteen 

### 5 years, asthma inhalers became common items for school 

### 6 nurses to have for numerous students in every building. 

### 7 That air pollution can influence the frequency and 

### 8 severity of asthma attacks is well documented. 

### 9 The steady increase in autism in our children 

### 10 has also been well documented. Again, it is a 

### 11 phenomenon that is, was fairly rare when I started as a 

### 12 social worker, but became progressively more frequent 

### 13 in our schools. These students often need a very 

### 14 significant level of services that again absorb 

### 15 financial, time and energy resources. 

### 16 When I started my career, there was one 

### 17 occupational therapist for ten schools to help 

### 18 remediate students' fine motor difficulties. When I 

### 19 retired, there were at least five in my district. 

### 20 I'm not suggesting that all the changes over 

### 21 the past thirty one years are directly related to air 

### 22 pollution in general and mercury pollution 

### 23 specifically. I realize determining a precise direct 

### 24 correlation between air pollution and these issues is 

### 25 extremely difficult. What I am suggesting is thatAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 130 1 pollution factors have, in my judgment, and according 

### 2 to considerable research definitely impacted to varying 

### 3 degrees on the educational and likely life functioning 

### 4 of our children. That impact is unacceptable in my 

### 5 judgment when the ability to alleviate these concerns 

### 6 is definitely available. 

### 7 I pose the question, what is going to dictate 

### 8 our cultural priorities; valuing the lives of our 

### 9 children and the health of all of us, or valuing 

### 10 corporate profits? The political cost benefit analysis 

### 11 has always seemed to focus on corporate profits. The 

### 12 true cost of toxic pollutants including educational, 

### 13 medical and loss life productivity of our children and 

### 14 all of us greatly exceeds any cost that corporate 

### 15 giants in my judgment. 

### 16 Even though most conservative EPA analysis 

### 17 indicates at least a three to one benefit estimate to 

### 18 cost from the implementation of these regulations. If 

### 19 your midpoint estimate proved to be true, it is an 

### 20 overwhelming thirty to one benefits to cost estimate. 

### 21 I do not see this as a children and/or health versus 

### 22 jobs issue from my point of view. If corporations 

### 23 commit to meeting these guidelines, more jobs should be 

### 24 available, not less. 

### 25 The focus needs to be on corporateAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 131 1 responsibility, not only for our air quality, but also 

### 2 for treating their own employees with respect and 

### 3 integrity. The fear mongering among the corporations 

### 4 has their workers very apprehensive, which I regret, 

### 5 but to some degree understand. 

### 6 However, the reality of how the economics 

### 7 actually works does not appear to support the corporate 

### 8 threats. This would be especially true, in my 

### 9 judgment, if the corporations function responsibly with 

### 10 integrity for all of us. 

### 11 I really strongly support the implementation 

### 12 of these regulations for toxic controls. Thank you 

### 13 very much. 

### 14MR. CLARK: Thank you very much. Ms. Jones. 

### 15 MS. JONES: Good morning. My name is Cory 

### 16 Jones. I'm actually an international business 

### 17 consultant; more importantly probably, I'm actually a 

### 18 Sierra Club volunteer. I like, I like their pragmatic 

### 19 approach. 

### 20 The reason I'm here today, actually I have a 

### 21 story to tell. A story about heroes actually. And 

### 22 just to preface that a little bit, I'm an American, but 

### 23 half of my family live in England. I recently came 

### 24 back from a visit in England and had a chance to chat 

### 25 with the older generations. Interestingly enough, theyAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 132 1 still talk about World War II, like World War II was 

### 2 just a couple of years ago and it actually made me 

### 3 think about the EPA and today's mercury hearing in a 

### 4 little bit of a different way actually. 

### 5 Putting it back in the context, I was just 

### 6 having conversations with my, my elder relatives. Back 

### 7 in the 1940's during World War II, big business and big 

### 8 energy were actually our heroes, interestingly enough. 

### 9 They were the engines of industry that helped us win 

### 10 the war. 

### 11 Unfortunately, they really haven't done 

### 12 anything for us since then. In my lifetime, the real 

### 13 hero, to be honest in retrospect, has been the EPA, the 

### 14 Environmental Protection Agency. Since the inception 

### 15 of the EPA in December of 1970, the EPA has been a hero 

### 16 of common sense for the protections of the common man, 

### 17 for all Americans. 

### 18 After World War II, pollution continued to 

### 19 increase. I mean, that was their boom time, right? 

### 20 Industry saved us, got us the work. We won the war 

### 21 because of big business, big energy. So they put it in 

### 22 fifth gear and after World War II, pollution continued 

### 23 to increase. Pollution continued to get worse. To big 

### 24 business at some point, to the coal industry, big 

### 25 energy at some point decide to do anything about theAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 133 1 consequence of their success? All this pollution. 

### 2 They didn't really. They pretty much maintained their 

### 3 singular pursuits of corporate profits. 

### 4And again, a disclaimer, I'm a corporate 

### 5 international business consultant. I kind of see both 

### 6 sides of the story here. And just to kind of put it in 

### 7 context about the history of where this profiteering 

### 8 kind of comes from, I mean it's gotten better. Don't 

### 9 get me wrong. I think, after having conversations with 

### 10 my elders in England, having conversations with some 

### 11 friends who are economists, things have definitely 

### 12 gotten better. Does that mean we should be happy and 

### 13 complacent with where things are? 

### 14Think of it this way. In the 1960's, there 

### 15 was a car called the Ford Pinto. It had a design flaw; 

### 16 a gas tank that exploded if the car was rear ended. 

### 17 It's true. Now the design change, at a cost of five 

### 18 dollars and eight cents per vehicle was considered to 

### 19 be an unreasonable cost of doing business and yes 

### 20 thousands of people would burn to death, but big 

### 21 business said because they did a cost benefit analysis 

### 22 on the situation, it wasn't profitable to make the 

### 23 safety changes to the car. 

### 24So did big business and corporate profits 

### 25 eventually make cars safer? No, actually they didn't.AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 134 1 Government regulations did. So at the same time, 

### 2 during these crazy times in the 1960's, big energy was 

### 3 adding new coal plants and spewing pollution at 

### 4 unprecedented rates. Actually approximately about 

### 5 eighty percent of the worst polluting coal plants in 

### 6 America were built during the same time. 

### 7 Clearly, big business and big energy were no 

### 8 longer our heroes. But then came the creation of the 

### 9 EPA in December 2, 1970, and then the 1970 Clean Air 

### 10 Act and then the makings of a new kind of hero. 

### 11 Government regulations; surprise, surprise. A new kind 

### 12 of hero in EPA representatives, representatives of the 

### 13 common people. Not corporate profiteers, but real 

### 14 people put in place to help address the issue of the 

### 15 ever escalating pollution problems. 

### 16 And then came the 1990 Clean Air Act 

### 17 Amendments from the EPA. Thank you. And something 

### 18 quite remarkable happened. Now that corporate profits 

### 19 no longer decided how much pollution was too much 

### 20 pollution. It was no longer their decision. Things 

### 21 got better. The air got cleaner and according to the 

### 22 CDC, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 

### 23 after the burning of leaded gasoline in cars was phased 

### 24 out, thank you EPA, the percentage of children with 

### 25 elevated levels of lead in their blood dropped fromAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 135 1 eighty-eight percent in 1970 to four percent in 1995. 

### 2 Thanks to you guys. 

### 3 That's success and that success is not driven 

### 4 by corporations with an altruistic mind sets. It, it, 

### 5 that success is purely driven by the mandates set forth 

### 6 by the EPA. 

### 7 So in conclusion, the EPA has been a real 

### 8 champion of common sense and a new heroes for Americans 

### 9 after World War II. That's been the EPA, so America 

### 10 now, again, needs that support for common sense and new 

### 11 mercury standards. We need a new hero. We need 

### 12 someone to stand up for common sense. 

### 13 MR. CLARK: Thank you. You guys, go ahead. 

### 14MR. SYPNIEWSKI: Just wanted to say as a 

### 15 former owner of a Pinto, I appreciated your analogy. 

### 16 MR. CLARK: Any other questions or comments? 

### 17 Okay. Thank you guys very much. 

### 18 Next speakers, Don -- Mr. Don Ferber and 

### 19 Reverend Homer Cobb please. And again, for folks 

### 20 coming in. Hopefully everybody, even if you've signed 

### 21 up previously that you're checking in at the desk so 

### 22 that they can get you in the queue here to speak and we 

### 23 are -- because of the overwhelming nature of the 

### 24 speakers today and into tonight, we're hoping everybody 

### 25 can stay within a five minute limit, so with that,AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 136 1 Mr. Ferber. 

### 2 MR. FERBER: Thank you. I appreciate the 

### 3 chance to be here. My name is Don Ferber, that's 

### 4 F-E-R-B-E-R and I'm down here today from Madison, 

### 5 Wisconsin, to testify on behalf of the Wisconsin 

### 6 John Muir Chapter of the Sierra Club. 

### 7 I do have to say that it's a pleasure to be 

### 8 in a state that welcomes progressive Wisconsin 

### 9 legislators today too. 

### 10 I want to provide some perspective from 

### 11 Wisconsin where two thirds -- about two thirds of our 

### 12 electricity comes from coal and we have mercury in all 

### 13 of our waters in the state and that's really a critical 

### 14 issues; not just for health, but because we rely a lot 

### 15 on recreation and fishing in the state and Wisconsin, 

### 16 in 2008, had the wisdom to pass a mercury rule and 

### 17 under this rule, our coal-fired power plants must 

### 18 either meet a ninety percent emission reductions or 

### 19 limit the concentration of mercury emissions to point 

### 20 zero, zero eight pounds of mercury per gigawatt by 

### 21 2015. 

### 22 There was sort of an out -- a multi-pollutant 

### 23 patrol approach that with sufficient reductions in 

### 24 nitrous oxides and sulfur dioxides, levels of mercury 

### 25 could be reduced by seventy percent only by 2015 andAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 137 1 ninety percent by 2021. 

### 2 Obviously, the Department of Natural 

### 3 Resources was looking to this in the state and in 

### 4 response to the question why is controlling mercury 

### 5 emissions in Wisconsin important, the response was 

### 6 health effects experts worldwide have identified the 

### 7 reduction of mercury exposures as a major public health 

### 8 goal. 

### 9 All of Wisconsin's inland water have gone 

### 10 through a general fish consumption advisory that 

### 11 recommends people, particularly pregnant women and 

### 12 young children, limit the number of some fish species 

### 13 they eat because of elevated mercury levels and that 

### 14 there are a lot of effects from mercury. 

### 15 Currently, the emissions from coal-fired 

### 16 power plants account for sixty percent of the annual 

### 17 emissions from state sources. 

### 18 In the time since then, the mercury emissions 

### 19 have been cut actually in about half, so there has been 

### 20 some good progress, but that's still twenty-seven 

### 21 hundred pounds a year. If you think about how much it 

### 22 takes to pollute any body of water and that mercury 

### 23 accumulates over time and tends not to degrade readily, 

### 24 that's a lot. 

### 25 The Secretary of the DNR in giving testimonyAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 138 1 about this, indicated that the reasons for reducing 

### 2 power plant mercury emissions and other pollutants are 

### 3 clear. Nearly all of Wisconsin's fifteen thousand 

### 4 lakes and fifty-seven thousand miles of rivers and 

### 5 streams are under a general fish consumption advisory 

### 6 that recommends that people limit the number of some 

### 7 fish species they eat because of elevated mercury 

### 8 levels and six percent of Wisconsin, of women of 

### 9 childbearing age have elevated levels of mercury in 

### 10 approximately four hundred, thirty-seven thousand men 

### 11 and women are exposed to higher than safe levels of 

### 12 mercury and that that, again, they enumerate the 

### 13 effects. 

### 14There are also economic concerns. Each year, 

### 15 the Department of Natural Resources sells approximately 

### 16 one and a half million fishing licenses. I'm sure a 

### 17 lot of those go to people in Illinois. One million to 

### 18 state residents, yes and the rest from non-residents. 

### 19 Fishing generates two point three billion dollars in 

### 20 economic impact in Wisconsin. This was back in 2008. 

### 21 Reductions in sulfur dioxide and nitrogen 

### 22 oxide in the air we breathe will improve public health 

### 23 and lower the instances -- incidents of asthma, chronic 

### 24 bronchitis, decreased lung function, other respiratory 

### 25 health problems, cardiovascular disease, strokes, andAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 139 1 premature death. 

### 2 Currently, there's still many counties in 

### 3 eastern Wisconsin that are still in non-attainment for 

### 4 the federal ozone standards adopted in 1997 and eleven 

### 5 counties in eastern and southern Wisconsin failed to 

### 6 meet new federal ozone standards adopted in 2008, so 

### 7 there's still some big problems from other pollutants 

### 8 occurring in Wisconsin and much of our mercury 

### 9 pollution, even with the rules, we have come out of the 

### 10 state and of course, enforcement, especially with our 

### 11 current political climate, is really an issue. So we 

### 12 really need stronger rules from the EPA than what we've 

### 13 done by ourselves. We're not guaranteed will either be 

### 14 enforced or will be continued. 

### 15 Also to echo some of what the EPA has found, 

### 16 there have been Natural Resources Defense Council 

### 17 studies that have consistently showed a very high 

### 18 benefit to cost ratio from regulations. The savings in 

### 19 health alone far surpass the cost of pollution controls 

### 20 or switching to cleaner energy sources and that these 

### 21 regulations actually create new jobs. It's only where 

### 22 they take away a few jobs and who they hurt in terms of 

### 23 the money that's really the affect. We can replace 

### 24 sources of energy. We can't replace clean air or clean 

### 25 water.AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 140 1 Finally want to put this in human terms, 

### 2 given the [indecipherable] of democracy and that 

### 3 mercury is a dangerous neurotoxin. If I were to go out 

### 4 there and do bodily harm to somebody else, I'd be 

### 5 charged with a crime. Why are businesses being allowed 

### 6 to do bodily harm to us and they are not being charged 

### 7 with anything and being allowed to continue to do this? 

### 8 Is this the American way? I think not. Thank you. 

### 9 MR. CLARK: Thank you Mr. Ferber. Reverend 

### 10 Cobb. 

### 11 REVEREND COBB: Hello. My name is Reverend 

### 12 Homer Cobb, C-O-B-B. I'm from Hammond, Indiana, and 

### 13 I'm President of the NAACP of Hammond Branch, thirty 

### 14 fifty-two. I thank you for this opportunity to be 

### 15 able to speak to you today and as I, as I begin to look 

### 16 around and the things that were brought to my attention 

### 17 is that right in our backyard is the State Line power 

### 18 company. 

### 19 And the State Line power company has been 

### 20 there every since I've been in Hammond. I've been in 

### 21 Hammond, I've been married for forty-four years. I've 

### 22 raised children, my grandchildren, my great nephews, 

### 23 all of them are still in Hammond. And as it polluted, 

### 24 I didn't realize that it was even there because I 

### 25 always thought that it was in the state of Illinois,AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 141 1 for one thing. 

### 2 The next thing that when it became, when it 

### 3 came to our attention, the amount of harm, amount of 

### 4 hydro carbons and the amount of pollutants, the 

### 5 particulates that was put in the air, that it was an 

### 6 alarming thing. I found it to be quite frightening as 

### 7 a matter-of-fact because we're playing with children. 

### 8 I watch children as they, as we work with the school 

### 9 system. I see them playing on the playground equipment 

### 10 and when they're playing on the playground equipment, 

### 11 whatever is there is undisturbed over night. These 

### 12 companies run twenty-four hours a day. 

### 13 When these pollutants are put out, it settles 

### 14 on that equipment during the course of the day and from 

### 15 one day to the next. When they come out for recess, 

### 16 they come out and they're technically playing in the 

### 17 very dust, the mercury. They're playing in all of 

### 18 these things in that next day. 

### 19 When I came in here today, I saw a little 

### 20 child out here and he was, he was there and he was 

### 21 waiting for us to clear the sidewalk and he was sitting 

### 22 there in his stroller and he had his little leg, his or 

### 23 her little legs crossed and I was saying, wow, you 

### 24 know, that's a wonderful thing not to have a care in 

### 25 the world. But then you look up in the face of theAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 142 1 parent and you see a different look. In the face of 

### 2 the parent expresses what's in their heart. They 

### 3 express their concern about things that are in the air. 

### 4We as people, we know that we've been given 

### 5 charge as stewards over this earth and I don't think 

### 6 that we have been very good stewards over the earth. 

### 7 We leave carbon footprints. The biggest footprint is 

### 8 coming from coal burning power plants. It's a danger 

### 9 to our communities. Our community is of eighty 

### 10 thousand hard working people that work every day. I 

### 11 worked in the steel mills. I retired after 

### 12 thirty-seven and a half years. I talked to some of the 

### 13 individuals that came out of there after I and I 

### 14 realized that some of them had different cardiovascular 

### 15 diseases. My father was fifty-one when he died. He 

### 16 worked in the steel mills. 

### 17 I noticed a remarkable improvement in the 

### 18 release of different chemicals in the steel mill as a 

### 19 result of the EPA. But then there's other things that 

### 20 lay, like a silent giant in the darkness. Some silent 

### 21 monster that's spewing forth a gobbling mouth that's 

### 22 slowly taking away the health of anyone that's near it. 

### 23 My cousin had a baby that was born on the 

### 24 twenty-first of May, born prematurely, still in the 

### 25 hospital right now. I had a great nephew who hadAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 143 1 surgery and it was, and he was only three months old 

### 2 and they said that it was common in this area for that 

### 3 type of surgery and it was a digestive problem. 

### 4Many friends, I have lost many friends in 

### 5 relationship to cancer and cancer seems to -- instead 

### 6 of having a better hold and a better grip, we have 

### 7 people in here with great minds and those that are out. 

### 8 We've sent people to the moon. We've changed things in 

### 9 a lot of areas. We even -- the other day I saw a paper 

### 10 headline that they were even going to attempt to change 

### 11 the weather. But you tell me that in fifty years, that 

### 12 no one has made an attempt to enforce the guidelines in 

### 13 which are in place and that they are not enforceable on 

### 14 places that we know are polluting our air and the 

### 15 reason I know that you know is because I can go to the 

### 16 internet and I can go to -- type in pollution, I can 

### 17 find it anywhere in the United States. 

### 18 Our country has fallen far behind in 

### 19 premature births. When I was growing up, we played 

### 20 with mercury on, on pennies. We covered it. We, we, 

### 21 we covered pennies to make it shine because nobody told 

### 22 us how dangerous it was. And now we're finding that 

### 23 we're breathing it, we're eating it in our fish and 

### 24 nobody's done anything about it in over fifty years. 

### 25 It's time to do something. Today is a good day.AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 144 1 MR. CLARK: Thank you both very much. Any 

### 2 questions for -- appreciate it very much. Thanks. 

### 3 Next two speakers please, Ms. Kimberly 

### 4 Wasserman and Ian Viteri. All right. I apologize. 

### 5 Ms. Wasserman. 

### 6 MS. WASSERMAN: Sure no problem. Good 

### 7 afternoon. My name is Kimberly Wasserman and I am the 

### 8 Executive Director of the Little Village Environmental 

### 9 Justice Organization. I am also a member of the 

### 10 National Environmental Justice Advisory Council. 

### 11 On behalf of the Little Village community, we 

### 12 thank the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for 

### 13 hosting one of the hearings here in Chicago where we 

### 14 are home to the Crawford and Fisk coal power plants. 

### 15 The Crawford plant is located in the South 

### 16 Lawndale community which is home to over one hundred 

### 17 thousand residents in a five mile radius. 

### 18 On a day to day basis, we are exposed to 

### 19 deadly pollution put out by these outdates coal power 

### 20 plants and we are here today as a community to say we 

### 21 support the regulations that are being proposed for 

### 22 mercury and heavy metals. 

### 23 Far too long, industry has allowed profit to 

### 24 dictate safety. The reality is, I could sit here for 

### 25 four minutes and fifteen seconds and talk about howAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 145 1 mercury is affecting our communities, but I believe 

### 2 that the EPA knows how it's affecting our communities. 

### 3 What I'm here to do today is put a face to those 

### 4 communities. 

### 5 As Executive Director and as a community 

### 6 member of Little Village, that is my responsibility, 

### 7 not just to my community, but to my children and my 

### 8 family as well. 

### 9 Our community should no longer and can no 

### 10 longer afford no controls over these emissions and as 

### 11 I'm sure you will hear in the hearings, there are 

### 12 communities across the United States who will support 

### 13 your efforts, not just for themselves, but for the 

### 14 families and communities as well. 

### 15 I'm also here today because I feel it's 

### 16 important to talk about not just our community members, 

### 17 but the people who are employed in these plants as 

### 18 well. 

### 19 The reality is, is our communities are 

### 20 impacted just as much as those workers are and 

### 21 unfortunately, I hope some of them will come out, but 

### 22 the reality is, is they're being scared to believe that 

### 23 their jobs are at stake, that their companies are at 

### 24 stake and that their welfare is at stake and the 

### 25 reality is, is we as a community and the EPA can noAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 146 1 longer afford to believe those excuses. 

### 2 Money cannot be put over that of health and 

### 3 that of protecting the environment. As a community, we 

### 4 have been doing our part and we will do our part to 

### 5 support the passing of these rules, by not just by 

### 6 supporting our community, but by supporting those 

### 7 workers and saying no to the scare tactics of those 

### 8 plants who don't want to put profit over people. 

### 9 I'm sure you know the responsibility falls on 

### 10 the EPA to protect our environment and we're here on 

### 11 behalf of our community to support these rulings and 

### 12 support the structure that is the Environmental 

### 13 Protection Agency. So thank you. 

### 14MR. CLARK: Thank you. Mr., Mr. Viteri. 

### 15 MR. VITERI: All right, thank you. First of 

### 16 all, I'd like to say thank you for your time in 

### 17 allowing me to make a statement and testify at this 

### 18 hearing. My name is Ian Viteri. I'm a Community 

### 19 Organizer with the Little Village Environmental Justice 

### 20 Organization and a born and raised resident of the 

### 21 Little Village community. 

### 22 I spent my whole twenty-four years of life in 

### 23 Little Village under the shadow of the toxic coal-fired 

### 24 power plant known as the Crawford generating station. 

### 25 I have seen firsthand the devastating health effectsAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 147 1 from all the pollution that comes out of these smoke 

### 2 stacks and how it has affected my friends, my family, 

### 3 my neighbors and my community. 

### 4Mercury has invaded Little Village. It's 

### 5 been around for a long time already. You can find 

### 6 mercury all over the neighborhood; in the sanitary 

### 7 canal where the coal plant discharges their boiling hot 

### 8 water, where we can't fish or at least nobody should 

### 9 eat the fish that we find in the canal and nobody there 

### 10 jump in, for who knows what kind of illness, you'll end 

### 11 up coming out with. 

### 12 You can find mercury in the soil, in the 

### 13 ground where people grow their produce and their 

### 14 vegetables from their own home gardens, which is why we 

### 15 highly advocate and encourage people to grow their 

### 16 vegetables in raised beds and import the compost and 

### 17 soil from outside sources because the ones that we have 

### 18 in community is just not useable. 

### 19 You can find mercury in the air where we 

### 20 breathe on a daily basis from just living in the Little 

### 21Village community and of course the most devastating 

### 22 place where we can find mercury is within ourselves. 

### 23 Mercury pollution is known to cause 

### 24 complications in the development process and problems 

### 25 in the neurological system in growing children. In ourAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 148 1 neighborhood, I can see this effects most evidence in 

### 2 my generation. My parents, along with most of the 

### 3 older generation in Little Village, have only there 

### 4 about half their lives. They immigrated from other 

### 5 countries like Mexico and they weren't raised in the 

### 6 community like myself and many of my friends. Their 

### 7 bodies and minds weren't developing amongst the midst 

### 8 of all this mercury pollution in the area. 

### 9 Now as my generation reaches that age where 

### 10 we're starting to pair off and do what we do best as a 

### 11 species, we start realizing, we start realizing the 

### 12 effects of mercury in our systems and in our bodies. 

### 13 Personally, I have begun to notice a rise in low birth 

### 14 weight babies and premature babies in my friends and my 

### 15 neighbors in the Little Village community. I myself, 

### 16 have two couple friends who are young, healthy couples 

### 17 in the prime of their baby making years, who over this 

### 18 past year, they got pregnant -- both couples got 

### 19 pregnant, but instead of giving birth to a beautiful 

### 20 healthy children, they failed and they miscarried. 

### 21 I have yet planted my seed myself, but I'd 

### 22 like to think that when I do, my child is given a fair 

### 23 right to breathe clean air and a fair chance to grow 

### 24 and live a healthy life, so I'm, I'm standing here 

### 25 asking you as an affected community member and as aAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 149 1 first hand witness to the effects of mercury and all 

### 2 sorts of pollution that comes from these coal-fired 

### 3 power plants to, you know, to take a stand and enforce 

### 4 stricter regulations on mercury, on mercury pollution 

### 5 as well as all other pollution, especially when it 

### 6 comes from places like this ancient, out dated coal 

### 7 fired power plants that we have here in Chicago right 

### 8 now. 

### 9 That's all I'd like to say. Thank you for 

### 10 this time and thank you for this opportunity. 

### 11 MR. CLARK: Thank you. A quick question 

### 12 about your organization; Little Village Environmental 

### 13 Justice Organization. Yeah, just if you could, just 

### 14 say something, some -- give us some sort of sense about 

### 15 the organization itself. 

### 16 MS. WASSERMAN: Sure. We're a not for profit 

### 17 environmental justice organization. We are turning 

### 18 fifteen years old this year and our primary work is 

### 19 around the coal power plants, public transit and urban 

### 20 agriculture. 

### 21 MR. CLARK: And? 

### 22 MS. WASSERMAN: Urban agriculture. 

### 23 MR. CLARK: Okay. Thank you. 

### 24MR. HUTSON: And what can you tell us about 

### 25 Little Village? Where, where is that located and whatAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 150 1 is the makeup. 

### 2 MS. WASSERMAN: Sure. We're located on the 

### 3 southwest side of Chicago. We have around a hundred 

### 4 thousand residents within a five mile radius. The 

### 5 community is primarily Mexican, Mexican/American. 

### 6 Anywhere between new immigrants through third 

### 7 generation immigrants. Spanish speaking, reading, 

### 8 writing neighborhood and over half of our population is 

### 9 under the age of twenty-five, which means we have a lot 

### 10 of little people in our neighborhood and we're seeing 

### 11 the effects of these plants every generation that comes 

### 12 through. 

### 13 MR. CLARK: Thank you both. 

### 14MS. WASSERMAN: Thank you. 

### 15 MR. CLARK: Okay. Our next two speakers, 

### 16 please. Victoria Persky and John Blair. Ms. Persky. 

### 17 MS. PERSKY: Good morning. Thank you for, 

### 18 for being here and accepting testimony. My name is 

### 19 Victoria Persky. I'm an Internist by training and an 

### 20 Epidemiologist these days by practice. I worked for 

### 21 thirty years in a community health center in an under 

### 22 served neighborhood on the west side of Chicago. 

### 23 Currently, I'm a Professor of Epidemiology at the 

### 24 University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public 

### 25 Health.AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 151 1 I'm testifying as an individual today, 

### 2 however, not as a representative of UIC. I want to 

### 3 congratulate you first of all, the EPA for the mercury 

### 4 and air toxics standards and hopefully for the adoption 

### 5 and rigorous enforcement. You know, you're well aware 

### 6 of the three pronged approach. I'll be addressing a 

### 7 few of those. 

### 8 The approach of standards for mercury, the 

### 9 other metals captured by particulate measurements and 

### 10 toxic gasses measured and the downstream effects of SO2 

### 11 are supported by a large extensive and robust 

### 12 epidemiologic data base in terms of health effects. 

### 13 The EPA estimates of saving of seventeen 

### 14 thousand premature deaths, eleven thousand heart 

### 15 attacks, a hundred twenty thousand asthma attacks, 

### 16 twelve thousand hospital and ER visits and five million 

### 17 restricted days have extensive support in the 

### 18 literature. 

### 19 You've heard, I'm sure, the support around 

### 20 the mercury standards. The database around this is 

### 21 really quite extensive. The newer developmental 

### 22 effects, the cardiovascular effects in terms of newborn 

### 23 children, early life, and then the cardiovascular 

### 24 effects both in early life and in adults is well 

### 25 documented.AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 152 1 There are cognitive effects, auditory 

### 2 effects, visual, fine motor and cerebellum, as well as 

### 3 changes in heart rate variability and, and hypertension 

### 4 then get reflected into heart attacks and deaths. 

### 5 The current recommendation of, of restricting 

### 6 fish in potentially pregnant women that was adopted 

### 7 several years ago by EPA is also well founded. It 

### 8 is -- and it is unfortunate and dependent upon, in 

### 9 large part upon our mercury exposures and as a result 

### 10 is limiting the ingestion of other potentially positive 

### 11 components of fish such as omega three fatty acids and 

### 12 antioxidants. 

### 13 The estimate of seven point eight percent of 

### 14 potentially pregnant women exposed to potentially toxic 

### 15 levels of mercury again is fairly well founded on 

### 16 previous studies and disturbing and the best way, as 

### 17 you've heard already to decrease this exposure and 

### 18 allow us to eat fish again, is through decreasing, 

### 19 decreasing coal emissions and gas emissions. 

### 20 Again, the literature around fine particulate 

### 21 effects is even more extensive and more robust. Here 

### 22 in Chicago as elsewhere in the country, we're 

### 23 estimating that thirteen to fifteen percent of children 

### 24 have asthma. There are discrepancies or differences 

### 25 around the city in terms of prevalence. Maybe, maybeAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 153 1 fifty percent differences among, among low income, 

### 2 minority populations. What's very disturbing here in 

### 3 Chicago is that there are five to eight fold 

### 4 differences in deaths from asthma with low income 

### 5 minorities at far higher risk and with pollution 

### 6 thought to be at least a part of that differential. 

### 7 Again, as with mercury, the data is, is 

### 8 profound. The American Cancer Society study published 

### 9 a few years or several years ago now, by POPE and the 

### 10 Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) 

### 11 in 2002 estimated that a ten microgram per 

### 12 millimeter cubed -- per meter cubed increase in fine 

### 13 particulates is associated with a four percent increase 

### 14 in all cause mortality, six percent increase in 

### 15 cardiopulmonary and an eight percent increase in lung 

### 16 cancer. 

### 17 Jonathan Levy's Harvard 

### 18 report again of, of several years ago now estimated 

### 19 that we could be saving two hundred lives in the 

### 20 greater Chicago and surrounding area if we, if we 

### 21 actually put better controls on pollution. 

### 22 The database for the metals, although, 

### 23 although less robust is there and we're seeing more and 

### 24more evidence of cardiovascular effects from arsenic in 

### 25 different studies and the data around other gasses isAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 154 1 huge and the SO2 effects alone by, by the downstream 

### 2 effects of, of decreasing acid gasses is really huge 

### 3 and substantial. 

### 4So I guess I'm here as an individual with a 

### 5 long history of both primary care medicine and 

### 6 epidemiology to support you, EPA, in the efforts both 

### 7 in terms of the standards and also, ultimately, in 

### 8 terms of the implementation. Thank you. 

### 9 MR. CLARK: Thank you very much. Mr. Blair. 

### 10 MR. BLAIR: Good afternoon. My name is John 

### 11 Blair. I'm the President of a group called Valley 

### 12 Watch, it's location is in southwestern Indiana. I've 

### 13 got a map here showing the numerous power plants, very 

### 14 large power plants that surround the area that I live 

### 15 in. These power plants, according to the E-GRID data, 

### 16 put out two hundred and eighty-eight thousand tons of 

### 17 nitrogen oxides, five hundred and ten thousand tons of 

### 18 sulfur dioxide, a hundred and five million tons of 

### 19 carbon dioxide, over two tons of mercury a year, and in 

### 20 2009, forty-two million, two hundred and fifty-nine 

### 21 thousand, nine hundred and seventy pounds of toxic 

### 22 chemicals according to the toxic release inventory. 

### 23 I live in the center of the beast. We 

### 24 produce fifteen thousand megawatts. It's actually 

### 25 fifteen thousand and three megawatts of electricityAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 155 1 with those plants. Fifteen thousand megawatts. Of 

### 2 that, we use about forty-four hundred megawatts in this 

### 3 same region, to power, among other things, three of the 

### 4 remaining nine aluminum smelters that are in the 

### 5 nation. Results of that are really kind of bad. This 

### 6 is a terrible environmental justice issue. 

### 7 In 1998, there was a study done by the 

### 8 University of Southern Indiana and a private group 

### 9 called Tri-State Partners for Health that showed that a 

### 10 kid in Evansville from nine to thirteen was five times 

### 11 more likely to be hospitalized with asthma than his 

### 12 counterpart in Fort Wayne. Why is that? Because we're 

### 13 surrounded by coal-fired power plants and Fort Wayne 

### 14 has none, at least appreciably none within a close 

### 15 distance. 

### 16 Like Mr. Lowe who said earlier -- the first 

### 17 gentleman who spoke as an evangelical, talked about the 

### 18 carp that he caught and gave to a, a man whose family 

### 19 was hungry. I've seen that happen time and again and 

### 20 I, I'm torn now whenever I see somebody -- a 

### 21 subsistence fisherman doing that and catching large 

### 22 catfish, carp, buffalo, and others out of the Ohio 

### 23 River because I know that they're hungry and I know 

### 24 that they're giving their children a problem that 

### 25 they're going to have to face.AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 156 1 Recently, we found a mercury poisoned eagle 

### 2 in the region. Why would that be? Mercury are in 

### 3 fish, the fish are consumed by the eagles. 

### 4You know, it's been twenty-one long years 

### 5 since the Clean Air Act of 1990 was passed. It's been 

### 6 thirty years since Valley Watch got, got started and 

### 7 the reason we got started, among other things, was 

### 8 because of a study that you guys did back in 1980 

### 9 called the Ohio River Basin Energy Study. In that, 

### 10 just dealing with sulfur dioxide alone, it said that 

### 11 there would be two hundred and eighteen thousand 

### 12 increased deaths in the Ohio Valley if sulfur dioxide 

### 13 wasn't controlled. I personally thought, well you 

### 14 know, if we control it, what's it going to be, so ORBES 

### 15 projected that; a hundred and nine thousand. They said 

### 16 it would cut it in half if we cut sulfur dioxide 

### 17 emissions in half. 

### 18 Well that was in 1980. By 1990, the Bill was 

### 19 passed to cut those sulfur dioxide emissions and about 

### 20 2000 it was implemented and low and behold, we got 

### 21 thirty-five percent reduction by the year 2000 in 

### 22 sulfur dioxide emissions. How many of those people I 

### 23 knew? I know a lot of people who have died at early 

### 24 ages, at young, very young ages. I know a lot of 

### 25 people that are sick. In, in my community, there'sAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 157 1 four major cancer facilities and we send a lot of 

### 2 people to Nashville, St. Louis, Louisville and 

### 3 Indianapolis to get treated for cancer as well. 

### 4Our community has a hundred and fifteen 

### 5 thousand people with four major cancer facilities. You 

### 6 know, I'm a little concerned that so far it's been 

### 7 ninety five percent of the people that you've heard 

### 8 today. I think it's thirty-eight to two that have 

### 9 spoken in favor of this rule and I'm a little concerned 

### 10 that the reason the other side didn't bother to show up 

### 11 at this hearing is because they think the fix is in; 

### 12 that you guys will take all this testimony, have three 

### 13 hundred thousand people testify or offer comments and 

### 14 then you'll let the OMB boss you around. 

### 15 It's time to take a stand. My life depends 

### 16 upon it. Everybody I know depends upon this. It's 

### 17 time, now. Thank you. 

### 18 MS. KURLANSKY: Mr. Blair, I'm interested in 

### 19 the study about the children in Evansville being, I 

### 20 think you said five times more likely to have asthma. 

### 21 Is that something you'll submit to us please? 

### 22 MR. BLAIR: Yes, I sure will. 

### 23 MS. KURLANSKY: Okay. Thank you. And 

### 24 Ms. Persky, you were talking about this study done from 

### 25 [indecipherable] study. This is the one that he did ofAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 158 1 the power plants in the -- 

### 2 MS. PERSKY: Yes. The estimate of the 

### 3 effects of actually maintaining better control of the 

### 4pollution of the power plants in Illinois. He, he 

### 5 looked at the group of power plants in Illinois and the 

### 6 surrounding both within Chicago and the surrounding 

### 7 area of thirty-three million people. I think this was 

### 8 published in 2002. 

### 9 MS. KURLANSKY: Right. Okay. Thank you. 

### 10 MR. CLARK: Thank you both very much. We 

### 11 appreciate it. 

### 12 Next two speakers please, Leigh Touchton and 

### 13 Howard Ehrman. 

### 14MS. TOUCHTON: Good afternoon. My name is 

### 15 Leigh Touchton. I'm a mother. I have an eight year 

### 16 old daughter that I had late in life. I learned that 

### 17 after I moved to Georgia, I'm from Valdosta, Georgia. 

### 18 I came all this way just to testify. I learned that 

### 19 the Georgia Department of Natural Resources had issued 

### 20 a warning ten years ago that pregnant women in Georgia 

### 21 should limit their consumption of Georgia fish to once 

### 22 a month, but two, two fish species; bass and red 

### 23 breasted sun fish, which is a type of perch were 

### 24 classified as too dangerous to eat. Swordfish and 

### 25 albacore tuna also fall in this category. Even one bitAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 159 1 contains dangerous levels of mercury which comes 

### 2 primarily from these antiquated coal-fired power 

### 3 plants. 

### 4I'm a trained biologist. I have a master's 

### 5 in science from the University of Virginia. I've 

### 6 taught high school and college biology. I also have 

### 7 taught environmental science. I live in an area of 

### 8 Georgia where most of the boys grow up hunting and 

### 9 fishing. None of the college students that I've ever 

### 10 taught have ever known, before they came into my class, 

### 11 that the Department of Natural Resources has warnings 

### 12 against eating wild caught fish. I am the first time 

### 13 that they've ever been informed of this dangerous 

### 14 situation. 

### 15 I'm also the President of the Valdosta NAACP 

### 16 Branch. I'm the first white woman in history to hold 

### 17 this role in the nation. In Valdosta, Georgia, like 

### 18 many places, the African American community suffers 

### 19 higher rates of poverty. In our community, the average 

### 20 salary for African Americans is eighteen thousand 

### 21 dollars while the average salary for Caucasian 

### 22 Americans is thirty-six thousand dollars. What we see, 

### 23 as a consequence is that a lot of African American 

### 24 families will fish in order to supplement their diet, 

### 25 to bring protein into their diet.AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 160 1 When I learned about mercury poisoning due to 

### 2 the fish consumption, I began to finally understand 

### 3 that the African American community was suffering a lot 

### 4 of health problems that might and probably are directly 

### 5 related to this high incidence of mercury in their 

### 6 diet. 

### 7 The Valdosta African American community has 

### 8 been designated an environmental justice community by 

### 9 the EPA already and this is because of one incinerator 

### 10 that's already located in their community, but this 

### 11 community suffers an infant mortality rate that is 

### 12 twice as high as the white community in Valdosta. The 

### 13 rate of ADD, ADHD, birth defects, slow speech, and 

### 14 other neurological disorders as were documented by 

### 15 Dr. Persky is much higher in the African American 

### 16 community than in the, than in elementary schools that 

### 17 are predominantly white. 

### 18 Nationwide, the rate of asthma is three to 

### 19 five times higher for black Americans as for white 

### 20 Americans and hospital admissions for asthma are higher 

### 21 for black families. This causes undue hardship, both 

### 22 on the amount of money that families have to spend to 

### 23 get treated and on the amount of salary that's lost 

### 24 from their jobs when they have to take time off. 

### 25 I believe this is directly due to theAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 161 1 disproportionate burden of pollution that this 

### 2 community has to face. About eight years ago, a local 

### 3 physician in our community started collecting hair 

### 4 samples and sending them in to a medical lab for 

### 5 testing for mercury. The rate of mercury levels in the 

### 6 African American community was astronomical compared to 

### 7 the white community. 

### 8 When I was pregnant, I was educated as to the 

### 9 dangers of eating wild caught fish, but most Georgia 

### 10 families are simply not aware of these warnings and I'm 

### 11 sure everybody here realizes that southern states, 

### 12 historically score at the bottom in levels of 

### 13 graduation rates and levels of testing and so on and so 

### 14 forth. Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi always vie 

### 15 for last place, so we are not the most educated portion 

### 16 of our nation. 

### 17 So that's why we depend on the EPA. Not only 

### 18 are most Georgians uninformed on this subject, but the 

### 19 Georgia Department of Education School Nutrition 

### 20 Program hasn't even gotten up to speed on this 

### 21 information. I was shocked to learn that tuna and fish 

### 22 sticks, which are from cod, are often a part of their 

### 23 school lunch. 

### 24To return to the neurological and behavioral 

### 25 disorders like ADHD that can be caused by mercuryAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 162 1 poisoning, our school system expels and refers African 

### 2 American students at a rate twenty-five percent higher 

### 3 than Caucasian Americans and many of us wonder are 

### 4 these behavior problems due to untreated ADD and ADHD? 

### 5 There's also a higher rate of autism. 

### 6 In addition, the EPA's score card data, our 

### 7 county is listed in the top twenty percent worst air 

### 8 polluted counties in the nation. So when you look at 

### 9 all of this information, it's easy to connect the dots 

### 10 to what's happening to a community in terms of the 

### 11 health risks, mortality, and morbidity data that is 

### 12 accumulating. 

### 13 Georgia is a red state. Everybody knows 

### 14 that. We are a right to work state. We hate unions. 

### 15 We think President Obama is a socialist. We, we have 

### 16 to go to the Department of Justice every time we redraw 

### 17 our voting district lines, which we're doing right now. 

### 18 We have had to fight -- I'm fifty-one years old and as 

### 19 long as I can -- I went through bussing, I went through 

### 20 integration. We have had to fight for civil rights in 

### 21 Georgia for as long as I've been alive and we still are 

### 22 and environmental rights are a civil right. 

### 23 So, that's why we're coming to the EPA 

### 24 because we need your help. We need you to strengthen 

### 25 these laws. If you don't do it, our state is not goingAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 163 1 to take any action. We have never, as a state, passed 

### 2 a law that was stronger than what the EPA has passed. 

### 3 And so we're asking you for the health of these people 

### 4 who oftentimes don't have a voice and don't have the 

### 5 money to come to these EPA hearings and testify on 

### 6 their behalf. We're asking you to please strengthen 

### 7 that rule and take mercury out of the atmosphere. 

### 8 Thank you. 

### 9 MR. CLARK: Thank you. Dr. Ehrman, please. 

### 10 DR. EHRMAN: Good afternoon. My name is 

### 11 Howard Ehrman. I'm a faculty member like Vicki Persky 

### 12 at the University of Illinois at Chicago, a few blocks 

### 13 from here, in the College of Medicine and also in the 

### 14 school public health. But I'm speaking today as a 

### 15 Board Member of the Little Village Environmental 

### 16 Justice Organization. 

### 17 I support the U.S. EPA's proposed mercury and 

### 18 air standards for coal and oil power plants. 

### 19 When I was a child in the south side of 

### 20 Chicago, my grandfather would take me fishing along 

### 21 rivers and Lake Michigan. Like many, my grandfather 

### 22 was a sustenance fisherman, helping to sustain our 

### 23 family, not just doing it for sport. 

### 24The present deepening economic depression 

### 25 among the vast majority of Americans is forcing moreAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 164 1 and more people to do sustenance fishing. Right here 

### 2 in Chicago, we can go to the lake, we can go -- 

### 3 actually to the sanitary canal to the Chicago River 

### 4 nearby; hundreds of people today, on a day like this, 

### 5 nice bright and sunny are doing fishing. 

### 6 The crisis is greatest among working class 

### 7 and poor people of color. Many fish that we ate when I 

### 8 was a child, I would not give to my two daughters of 

### 9 child bearing age or my three grandchildren because of 

### 10 high mercury levels. I want to take my grandchildren 

### 11 fishing, but I can't. I can afford not to, but many 

### 12 cannot and unknowingly and increasingly feeding, are 

### 13 feeding their families mercury poisoned fish. 

### 14The twelve hundred U.S. coal-fired power 

### 15 units put fifty three tons of mercury in the air each 

### 16 year. Half of all the total mercury emissions in the 

### 17 United States. This is a digital thermometer. If this 

### 18 was an old fashioned mercury thermometer, it would 

### 19 contain one gram of mercury. If this one gram of 

### 20 mercury comes out of the Fisk Power Plant, which is two 

### 21 miles that way, that's enough to contaminate a twenty 

### 22 acre lake. However, the mercury emissions from U.S. 

### 23 power plants and power units is fifty-three tons a 

### 24 year. That's enough, basically to contaminate one 

### 25 billion acres of fresh water. A hundred and sixtyAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 165 1 times the size of the five Great Lakes combined, the 

### 2 largest body of fresh water in the world. 

### 3 Three days a week, I teach medical students 

### 4 and see patients at a university clinic in, in the 

### 5 Chicago back of the yards neighborhood, two miles south 

### 6 of the Fisk Plant -- within the death zone. Yesterday, 

### 7 Jose Sanchez came for uncontrolled asthma, Elijah Smith 

### 8 for high lead levels and Nancy Solice [phonetic] for 

### 9 learning disabilities. Elijah, Nancy and Jose are not 

### 10 unusual patients. There are tens of thousands like 

### 11 them in the Chicago region and millions in the United 

### 12 States. They are the most vulnerable to the 

### 13 particulate matter or soot. The mercury, the lead, the 

### 14 dioxin and other poisons they breathe and eat everyday 

### 15 that come from the Fisk Crawford and the twelve hundred 

### 16 power units in the United States which this new rule 

### 17 seeks to decrease. 

### 18 They exist in every U.S. city, suburb, town 

### 19 and farm, particularly in areas of people of color 

### 20 which are closer to coal power plants than where whites 

### 21 live. The two mile and five mile death zones around 

### 22 Fisk Crawford and all coal power plants are where the 

### 23 greatest fall out of these poisons occurs. 

### 24The Chicago Fisk and Crawford plants have the 

### 25 greatest number of people living in these death zonesAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 166 1 of any of the twelve hundred coal powered units in the 

### 2 entire United States. Over three hundred thousand 

### 3 people, eighty-three percent of whom are people of 

### 4 color. Forty-two of us die in that death zone every 

### 5 year, within the Fisk and Crawford death zones with 

### 6 twenty-eight hundred asthma attacks and five hundred 

### 7 and fifty emergency room visits. 

### 8 This data is from the 2001 Harvard School of 

### 9 Public Health Study, part of which Vicki Persky 

### 10 referred to. 

### 11 Within the death zones around these two 

### 12 Chicago power plants are fifty elementary and high 

### 13 schools with over fifty thousand children attending 

### 14 school. We forgot to bring a map here from the Chicago 

### 15 Metropolitan Agency for Planning, but they did for us 

### 16 in 2007 which shows exactly where all these school are, 

### 17 what their names are, etcetera. 

### 18 According to a study released in the last 

### 19 year, these two plants are costing the people and 

### 20 economy of the City of Chicago over one billion dollars 

### 21 a year just in healthcare costs and work days lost. 

### 22 I'm very happy to see in the data, in the write up that 

### 23 your agency did on these coal power plants, that you 

### 24mentioned those things. However, there's a big thing 

### 25 that you overlooked.AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 167 1 According to the National Center for Health 

### 2 Statistics latest data, persons in the U.S. with asthma 

### 3 missed ten point five million school days and fourteen 

### 4point two million work days due to their asthma. 

### 5 Parents missed twenty million school -- work days 

### 6 because they were taking care of their kids at home 

### 7 with their asthma. According to the U.S. Centers for 

### 8 Disease Control, far and away, asthma is the number one 

### 9 cause of school absences. 

### 10 What this means to public school systems, 

### 11 whether they're in rural Georgia or right here in the 

### 12 Chicago Public School System is that hundreds of 

### 13 million, probably billions of dollars are being lost 

### 14 because in every state of the union, schools are paid 

### 15 for by average daily attendance. Since the number one 

### 16 cause of people missing school is asthma, schools are 

### 17 losing hundreds of millions of dollars and the primary 

### 18 cause of this asthma, as well as exacerbations are coal 

### 19 power plants. 

### 20 This is a really important group of studies 

### 21 that have been done in the last fifteen years. When I 

### 22 was in medical school and until recently, we always 

### 23 taught the medical school and students and residents 

### 24 that asthma was not caused by particulate matter. That 

### 25 it was just exacerbated. We have many good studies,AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 168 1 starting with the UCLA study of 1996 next to the 

### 2 freeways in Los Angeles that show that clearly indeed, 

### 3 particulate matter is very probably a cause of asthma, 

### 4 and not just a cause for exacerbation. 

### 5 I've been teaching medical and public health 

### 6 students and family medicine residents at Cook County 

### 7 Hospital and the University of Illinois and doing 

### 8 research about the dangers of coal power plants, the 

### 9 particulate matter, soot, mercury, lead, ozone dioxin 

### 10 for over thirty-five years and I'm sick and tired of 

### 11 seeing patients, friends, and family members, including 

### 12 my wife, son and grandson who are sick and tired 

### 13 because of these twelve hundred coal power units in our 

### 14 country. 

### 15 In 1969, I had the pleasure of meeting a 

### 16 retired coal miner in Chicago's uptown neighborhood 

### 17 with black lung disease. Gasping for air with every 

### 18 strained breath. Uptown had the densest population of 

### 19 retired coal miners in the United States; over twenty 

### 20 thousand of our brothers and sisters. Since then I 

### 21 have taken care of hundreds of them, most of whom who 

### 22 have now passed away to greater peace than they had in 

### 23 the last two decades when they were alive. 

### 24While implementing the U.S. EPA rule by 

### 25 November of this year is a real step forward, we mustAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 169 1 all work together to shut down forever all the U.S. 

### 2 coal power plants in the next decade, starting with 

### 3 Chicago's Crawford and Fisk by 2012. Through energy 

### 4 conservation, selected energy efficiency and massive 

### 5 increases in solar and wind power. 

### 6 Keep oil in the soil, coal in the hole and 

### 7 tar sands in the land. Our lives and those of our 

### 8 children and grandchildren depend on it. Thank you. 

### 9 MR. CLARK: Thank you. Any questions guys? 

### 10 MS. KURLANSKY: Yes. Ms. Touchton, you 

### 11 talked about some mercury hair testing that was done in 

### 12 your community and I'm hoping that -- 

### 13 MS. TOUCHTON: It never made it to a study, 

### 14 but I can get you some studies from other places. 

### 15 MS. KURLANSKY: Please. 

### 16 MS. TOUCHTON: But this never was published. 

### 17 It was simply what we put together to show ourselves 

### 18 what was happening. 

### 19 MS. KURLANSKY: All right. 

### 20 MS. TOUCHTON: Okay. 

### 21 MS. KURLANSKY: Whatever you can send. 

### 22 MS. TOUCHTON: Okay. 

### 23 MS. KURLANSKY: And of course, Dr. Ehrman, 

### 24 you mentioned a lot of studies and I hope you will make 

### 25 sure we've got them all. Okay?AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 170 1 DR. EHRMAN: Sure. No problem. 

### 2 MR. CLARK: Great. Thank you. Thank you 

### 3 both very much. 

### 4The next two speakers. We're going to do 

### 5 four more speakers before the lunch break and then 

### 6 reconvene at one thirty instead of two o'clock, so the 

### 7 next two speakers would be Mr. Ben Stewart and 

### 8 Mr. Frank Solowski, Solowsi. Are you Ben 

### 9 or -- 

### 10 MR. STEWART: I'm Ben. 

### 11 MR. CLARK: You're Ben. Okay. Is Frank 

### 12 here? All right, in that case, let me ask Jan Boudart. 

### 13 Are you here Jan? No Frank Solowsi, no Jan Boudart? 

### 14 So, and then Dave Shaw? Dave? Come on up. 

### 15 FEMALE: She's a Jan. 

### 16 MS. BOHN: I'm a Jan and [indecipherable]. 

### 17 MR. CLARK: Is it B-O-U-D-A-R-T? 

### 18 MS. BOHN: No. B-O-H-N. 

### 19 MR. CLARK: Okay. 

### 20 MS. BOHN: They just told me 

### 21 [indecipherable]. 

### 22 MR. CLARK: Okay. Well, well Jan why don't 

### 23 you -- Dave, if you don't mind. Yeah, take -- well, 

### 24 actually, I was going to say now Jan, if you -- yeah. 

### 25 Go ahead. Dave will grab a seat and that will beAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 171 1 great. Thanks. Yeah, sure. Thanks Dave. And if you 

### 2 guys could just also spell, spell your names. 

### 3 MR. STEWART: Sure. I'm Benjamin Stewart, 

### 4 B-E-N-J-A-M-I-N, S-T-E-W-A-R-T. I'm a Professor of 

### 5 Worship at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago 

### 6 where I also serve as Dean of [Indecipherable] Chapel 

### 7 and I'm a Lutheran Pastor. Thank you for the 

### 8 profoundly important work that you're doing on this 

### 9 proposed rule and for this opportunity to comment. 

### 10 As a scholar of religion and a religious 

### 11 practitioner, I want to speak to some of the religious 

### 12 interests of the religious community, especially 

### 13 Christian community related to this proposed rule. 

### 14In the original languages of the bible, there 

### 15 is a single word that is used for three related things; 

### 16 wind, spirit, and breath. It's "pneuma" in Greek, 

### 17 "ruah" in Hebrew, got that? Both mean wind, spirit and 

### 18 breath. So right away, you can see that in 

### 19 Christianity and Judaism, there is a spiritual interest 

### 20 in the physical things that are at issue in this 

### 21 hearing; the air, the wind all around us, the breath in 

### 22 our lungs. Wind, breath, spirit, it's the same word. 

### 23 Using this word as a lens, I want to name 

### 24 three ways our religious tradition looks at this 

### 25 proposed rule and they are illustrative of why I amAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 172 1 here to speak in support of this rule. First, this 

### 2 word for wind, spirit, breath actually shows up in the 

### 3 very first sentence of the bible. In the beginning 

### 4 when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth 

### 5 was a formless void and darkness covered the face of 

### 6 the deep while a wind, spirit breath from God swept 

### 7 over the face of the waters. 

### 8 Today, the wind that sweeps over the face of 

### 9 the waters carries mercury into those waters poisoning 

### 10 the fish and poisoning those who eat the fish. 

### 11 Your proposed rule goes a long way towards 

### 12 recovering a wind that will again bring life to the 

### 13 waters instead of degrading them and making them toxic. 

### 14 Thus, I want you to hear that this proposed rule helps 

### 15 to regain a traditional religious good among many other 

### 16 kinds of goods. A good that is evoked in the first 

### 17 sentence of the bible; life giving winds that sweep 

### 18 across the face of the waters. 

### 19 Second, in another creation story in Genesis, 

### 20 God scoops up the mud of the earth and forms it and 

### 21 then breathes the breath of life into it. This story 

### 22 symbolizes the way Jews and Christians consider every 

### 23 breath for all of us to be a gift from God, but at this 

### 24 very moment, in emergency rooms all across this city, 

### 25 right now, there are people struggling for that basicAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 173 1 gift, gasping, sweating, panicked with asthma attacks; 

### 2 many of which are caused by the pollution this proposed 

### 3 rule would regulate. 

### 4Over the course of just two years, this 

### 5 proposed rule would prevent a quarter of a million 

### 6 asthma attacks, restoring the breath of life to people 

### 7 struggling simply to breathe. That's an ethical good 

### 8 and Christians and Jews along with many others, say it 

### 9 is also a religious good, that breath is a gift from 

### 10 God and it's a deplorable theft for coal and oil 

### 11 industries to rob people of that gift. 

### 12 Third, at what is for many Christians, the 

### 13 most important festival of the year, the vigil of 

### 14 Easter, one of the traditional scripture readings is 

### 15 from Ezekiel in which Ezekiel sees a vision of a valley 

### 16 of dry bones and so the prophet Ezekiel says, "Come 

### 17 from the fore winds oh breath and breathe upon these 

### 18 slain that they may live." Ezekiel continues, "I 

### 19 prophesied as God commanded me and the breath came into 

### 20 them and they lived and stood on their feet a vast 

### 21 multitude." 

### 22 If you brought a vast multitude back to life, 

### 23 what would it look like? In the first four years of 

### 24 this rule coming fully into effect, this rule would 

### 25 save the lives of more Americans than have been killedAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 174 1 in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Vietnam combined. With this 

### 2 rule, thousands upon thousands will stand on their feet 

### 3 and live; a vast multitude. 

### 4For my denomination, the Evangelical Lutheran 

### 5 Church in America, made up of four point five million 

### 6 people here in the United States, right now the 

### 7 advocacy action that is literally at the top of our 

### 8 list is this proposed rule and I leave you with words 

### 9 from our national office. 

### 10 Without these protections, our neighbors, 

### 11 particularly the most vulnerable; children, the 

### 12 elderly, those living in poverty and unable to afford 

### 13 healthcare, will continue to suffer the harmful impacts 

### 14 of toxic air pollution. We urge the EPA to adopt the 

### 15 strongest standards possible for these pollutants and 

### 16 to continue its important work to defend our 

### 17 communities from environmental harm. 

### 18 Thank you for this hard and good work. 

### 19 MR. CLARK: Thank you. Jan, I'll let you do 

### 20 the last name. 

### 21 MS. BOHN: Okay. I'm a little nervous about 

### 22 this, but and yet -- I'm an asthmatic as you can hear. 

### 23 It's in my voice. Mercury is in my body. My name is 

### 24 Jan, Janet Bohn, B-O-H-N. I live in Wisconsin and for 

### 25 thirty-four years, I was a teacher and a schoolAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 175 1 guidance counselor. During that time, the increase in 

### 2 hyper activity and asthma and other problems that are 

### 3 due to air pollution increased astronomically. It was, 

### 4 it's such a sad thing to see that. Thirty-four years 

### 5 ago, I very seldom saw those problems. 

### 6 I became asthmatic eighteen years ago when I 

### 7 moved to Lacrosse, Wisconsin, and unknown to me at that 

### 8 time, there was a large incinerator burning waste and 

### 9 plastics. This resulted in these smoke stacks belching 

### 10 out heavy smoke which included mercury emissions. 

### 11 Since then that plant has been closed and recycling 

### 12 instituted in Lacrosse, but then I retired and I moved 

### 13 to Madison, Wisconsin, where the pollution is even 

### 14 worse. I live in Middleton, Wisconsin, and that's 

### 15 located between a triangle of coal plants; the Charter 

### 16 Plant in Madison, the Columbia Plant in Portage, and 

### 17 the Plant Fill Plant. My asthma has continued to 

### 18 become worse since moving here. 

### 19 A recent Lung Association study said that 

### 20 Madison area was the twenty-first, twenty-fourth worst 

### 21 city in the U.S. for air pollution and I believe it. I 

### 22 can attest to it. My friends used to call me the 

### 23 canary in the coal mine. Now I've noticed that many of 

### 24my friends are coughing also. It's spreading. 

### 25 The Wisconsin DNR used to be an advocate forAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 176 1 clean water and air. As you know, our political 

### 2 situation has recently changed. Other things are 

### 3 changing quickly. We now have a corporate person at 

### 4 the head of our DNR. Recent legislation in Wisconsin 

### 5 has now allowed no regulation of what DNR does. 

### 6 Wisconsin needs your help. 

### 7 I'm an active person. I've taken exercise -- 

### 8 I've taken to exercising mainly indoors at an athletic 

### 9 club, however I miss nature and I now find it necessary 

### 10 to wear this mask whenever I walk outside or if I 

### 11 bicycle outside. For me, for me this sign says it all. 

### 12 Dirty coal takes my breath away. We don't like mercury 

### 13 and we like the job that you're going to do and we need 

### 14 your help. Thank you for that. 

### 15 MR. CLARK: Thank you. Thank you both. Any 

### 16 questions, guys? Okay. Thank you both very much. 

### 17 Our last two speakers then before the lunch 

### 18 break would be Dave Shaw -- thanks Dave, for that -- 

### 19 and Brenda Archambo. Brenda, you can correct my 

### 20 pronunciation and do the spelling when -- 

### 21 MS. ARCHAMBO: That was good. 

### 22 MR. CLARK: Okay. All right. 

### 23 MS. ARCHAMBO: He's first? 

### 24MR. CLARK: Sure. You all right with that 

### 25 Dave?AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 177 1 MR. SHAW: Sure. Good afternoon. My name is 

### 2 David Shaw. I'm the Director of a Division of Air 

### 3 Resources at the New York State Department of 

### 4 Environmental Conservation, but today I'm testifying on 

### 5 behalf of NACAA, the National Association of Clean Air 

### 6 Agencies of which I am Co-President. 

### 7 NACAA is an association of -- representing 

### 8 fifty-one states and a hundred and sixty-five 

### 9 metropolitan areas across the country who have the 

### 10 primary responsibility under the Clean Air Act for 

### 11 implementing our nation's clean air program. Thank you 

### 12 for this opportunity to testify on EPA's proposed 

### 13 maximum achievable control technology standards and new 

### 14 source performance standards for coal, oil and fossil 

### 15 fuel fired electric generating units. 

### 16 EGU's are among the largest emitters of 

### 17 toxics and criteria pollutants in the country. They're 

### 18 also among the oldest sources of air pollution in the 

### 19 country with many being built before the Clean Air Act 

### 20 was adopted in 1970. Because of their age, many of 

### 21 these units lack modern controls, accordingly the 

### 22 benefits to public health and the environment that will 

### 23 result from the implementation of these well considered 

### 24 rules are substantial and EPA -- and NACAA strongly 

### 25 supports the adoption of effective limitations onAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 178 1 mercury, toxic acid gas, toxic metal emissions, and 

### 2 criteria pollutants from these large sources. 

### 3 An evaluation of the proposed rule will 

### 4 require a detailed review of a substantial amount of 

### 5 new information and analysis provided by EPA. NACAA 

### 6 will submit detailed comments on these proposals by the 

### 7 deadline identified in the proposal, however, we 

### 8 appreciate this early opportunity to provide the agency 

### 9 with our preliminary thoughts and will focus on three 

### 10 major points today. 

### 11 First, NACAA believes that the effective 

### 12 regulation of emissions from EGU's is long overdue and 

### 13 should not be delayed further. EGUs emit approximately 

### 14 one half of the manmade emissions of mercury in the 

### 15 U.S. as well as sixty percent of the arsenic, sixty 

### 16 percent of the SO2, thirteen percent of the NO2, thirty 

### 17 percent of the nickel, twenty percent of the chromium, 

### 18 and more than fifty percent of the acid gasses in our 

### 19 nation's emissions inventory. 

### 20 It is now well past time for EPA to complete 

### 21 these rules and for the first time limit emissions of 

### 22 HAPs from these very significant sources as originally 

### 23 contemplated by Congress. 

### 24Second, we believe the control of emissions 

### 25 from EGUs is of critical important from public healthAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 179 1 and environmental perspectives. EGUs release mercury, 

### 2 arsenic, other metals, acid gasses and particulates 

### 3 that all harm human health. Uncontrolled releases of 

### 4mercury from power plants damage children's developing 

### 5 brains, reducing their IQ and their ability to learn. 

### 6 Mercury and many of the other toxic 

### 7 pollutants also pollute our nation's lakes, streams, 

### 8 and fish. Every state in our nation has a fish 

### 9 advisory because of mercury contamination. Metals such 

### 10 as arsenic, chromium six, and nickel can cause cancer. 

### 11 Acid gasses cause lung damage and contribute to asthma, 

### 12 bronchitis and other chronic respiratory disease 

### 13 especially in children and the elderly. Particulate 

### 14 emissions contribute to premature death and a wide 

### 15 range of lung and heart diseases. 

### 16 Clearly these emissions are posing 

### 17 unacceptable health risks to the public and must be 

### 18 addressed. 

### 19 Third, NACAA believes that effective 

### 20 regulation of emissions from EGUs is technically 

### 21 feasible and affordable. In recent years, there have 

### 22 been significant improvement and advances in 

### 23 technologies for reducing emissions of mercury and 

### 24 particulate metals from EGUs. Indeed, many states -- 

### 25 excuse me -- many states adopted programs that call forAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 180 1 substantial emission reductions from sources in their 

### 2 jurisdiction and these facilities need to be included 

### 3 in the MACT floor determination. 

### 4While there are always new technologies being 

### 5 developed and existing technologies are constantly 

### 6 being improved, the proposed emission levels do not 

### 7 seem to reflect such improvements. We recommend that 

### 8 EPA consider strengthening the provisions in the rule 

### 9 including using beyond the MACT floor provisions when 

### 10 warranted. 

### 11 Besides being technically feasible, we 

### 12 believe that the proposed reductions are likely to be 

### 13 cost effective, especially considering the fact that 

### 14 the controls used to limit toxics emissions will 

### 15 provide an additional benefit by reducing emissions of 

### 16 fine particulate matter associated with heart disease, 

### 17 stroke, asthma and other ailments. 

### 18 Great information is available concerning the 

### 19 economic and public health benefits of reducing PM 

### 20 emissions and this information demonstrates that the 

### 21 proposed rules will provide a very significant positive 

### 22 public health and economic benefit beyond what is 

### 23 associated with reductions in the HAPs themselves. 

### 24EPA's estimate of the co-benefits from 

### 25 reducing PM emissions will result in six thousand eightAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 181 1 hundred to seventeen thousand fewer premature deaths to 

### 2 say nothing of reductions in illnesses. The economic 

### 3 benefit associated with this is in the range of 

### 4 fifty-nine billion to a hundred and forty billion per 

### 5 year at a cost of, of only ten point nine billion per 

### 6 year for controls, thus the rate of return to the 

### 7 public is six dollars to fourteen dollars for each 

### 8 dollar spent. This is a wise investment. 

### 9 NACAA looks forward to further review and 

### 10 analysis of the proposals and we'll submit more 

### 11 detailed comments by the deadline. Thank you very much 

### 12 for the opportunity to be here today. 

### 13 MR. CLARK: Thank you. Thank you very much. 

### 14 Ms. Archambo. 

### 15 MS. ARCHAMBO: I, I'd also like to thank you 

### 16 for having this hearing and hearing us out because we, 

### 17 we cherish our clean air and our clean water. 

### 18 My name is Brenda Archambo. I live on Black 

### 19 Lake in Sheboygan, Michigan, which is at the very tip 

### 20 of the mitt and it's a water wonderland there. I'm 

### 21 also an angler and the Founder and President of 

### 22 Sturgeon for Tomorrow and -- which is a non-profit 

### 23 organization whose Michigan -- whose mission is to 

### 24 assist fisheries, managers in their rehabilitation and 

### 25 recovery of lake sturgeon. Lake sturgeon are aAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 182 1 threatened species in the state of Michigan. 

### 2 Michigan's wildlife and natural resources are 

### 3 the backbone of our five billion dollar recreational 

### 4 tourism economy. The Great Lakes are a national 

### 5 treasure. Michigan's wildlife is as unique as the 

### 6 shape of its shoreline and the variety of the habitats 

### 7 found within its borders. Whether it's a moose in the 

### 8 upper peninsula, a musky in Lake Sinclair or the iconic 

### 9 lake sturgeon in northern lower peninsula, wildlife 

### 10 helps define Michigan's sense of place. 

### 11 Our state's history is inseparably linked to 

### 12 its wildlife and it's what makes us pure Michigan. As 

### 13 a sportswoman, I am particularly concerned about 

### 14mercury. This harmful air toxic settles from the air 

### 15 onto our lakes, rivers, and forests, polluting the 

### 16 environment and accumulating up the food chain as the 

### 17 fish and wildlife consume the contamination. This 

### 18 directly effects many species including water fowl, 

### 19 walleye, perch, bass, musky, and sturgeon. All are 

### 20 revered as part of our state's angling and hunting 

### 21 conservation heritage. 

### 22 This potent neurotoxin is especially harmful 

### 23 to children whose exposure effects the child's ability 

### 24 to walk, talk, read and learn. As many as one in six 

### 25 women of childbearing age is likely to have mercuryAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 183 1 levels in her blood high enough to put her baby at risk 

### 2 and that's just uncanny. 

### 3 Few experiences in life are more precious 

### 4 than witnessing the excitement of a child who reels in 

### 5 their first fish, then takes it home proudly for 

### 6 dinner. How do we explain to them that they cannot 

### 7 eat, safely eat the fish that they caught? 

### 8 Our families should not -- our families 

### 9 should be able to eat safe fish without having to worry 

### 10 about mercury in their bloodstream. As hunters and 

### 11 anglers, we know how widespread mercury is in our 

### 12 environment, posing a danger to all who eat mercury 

### 13 laden fish. 

### 14Anglers have had to worry about mercury fish 

### 15 advisories for decades. Last year in Michigan, there 

### 16 were a hundred and twenty fish advisories. A hundred 

### 17 and twenty of them. All fifty states at some point in 

### 18 time will have a fish advisory. 

### 19 In Michigan, there are one point seven 

### 20 million hunters and anglers that spend three point 

### 21 three billion dollars a year. Of that, those support 

### 22 forty-six thousand, forty-six thousand jobs, so 

### 23 safeguarding our natural resources is important to 

### 24 those of us Michiganders who hunt fish and spend time 

### 25 in the woods and on the waters. But it's also a wiseAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 184 1 investment into our economic future. Reducing mercury 

### 2 and air toxics will help protect our long standing 

### 3 investment and our outdoor heritage. 

### 4The difference today is that we now have the 

### 5 technology to feasibly and affordably solve this 

### 6 problem. By utilizing our environmental laws, we could 

### 7 help rid the air and water of those harmful pollutants 

### 8 and restore the health of our ecosystems. We cannot 

### 9 afford to return to the days when our rivers burned, 

### 10 smog darkened our skies and our native species were 

### 11 driven to the brink of extinction. 

### 12 I strongly urge EPA to move forward the 

### 13 strong mercury rule and air toxic standard insuring our 

### 14 outdoor legacy for future generations. Now and in the 

### 15 future, the EPA and other federal and state 

### 16 environmental laws can help insure that the legacy we 

### 17 leave our children is a clean and healthy planet. 

### 18 Thank you. 

### 19 MR. CLARK: Thank you very much. Appreciate 

### 20 it very much. 

### 21 MS. ARCHAMBO: Thank you. 

### 22 MR. CLARK: We are going to suspend the 

### 23 hearing for lunch. We are going to come back -- 

### 24 actually I had said before one thirty, I'm not being 

### 25 told it's one forty-five, so we are going to be back toAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 185 1 start with the next set of witnesses at one forty-five. 

### 2 Thank you. 

### 3 (Lunch break from 1:03 p.m. until 1:54 p.m.) 

### 4MR. CLARK: -- and I know there's a number of 

### 5 people that are on a bus, that came down from Wisconsin 

### 6 that are, that are looking to try to get in as well, so 

### 7 I'm going to sort of pass on reading my, my opening 

### 8 statement which we basically start each one of these 

### 9 sessions with, but I, I will say that we're here to 

### 10 take public comment on, on a rule that we proposed 

### 11 March 16; a couple of months ago on toxic -- 

### 12 controlling toxic emissions from power plants and a new 

### 13 source performance standard to reduce pollutants like 

### 14 sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides from power plants as 

### 15 well. 

### 16 That rule is open for public comment right 

### 17 now. Public comment period closes on July the 5th of 

### 18 this year. We are under consent decree with the Court 

### 19 to issue the, the final rule by November the 16th of 

### 20 this year. So we have quite a lot of work ahead of us. 

### 21 We're, we're taking public comment at this hearing 

### 22 today. We've also got one going on in Philadelphia and 

### 23 we're going to have another public hearing in Atlanta 

### 24 on Thursday. Thank you. 

### 25 What I would like to do here is just explain,AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 186 1 for those of you that weren't in earlier. The system 

### 2 that we've got, we're going to invite the speakers up 

### 3 two at a time to, to come up and, and sit down and 

### 4 we'll ask each speaker to, to speak. We're hoping to 

### 5 hold everybody to five minutes if possible just from 

### 6 the sheer number of folks that we've got. We're going 

### 7 to go through the afternoon until -- we're supposed to 

### 8 go until five o'clock. We might extend that a bit for, 

### 9 for a dinner break and then pick back up at six thirty 

### 10 and go until as long as it takes tonight, so we plan on 

### 11 being here fairly, fairly late. 

### 12 With me is Ellen Kurlansky from EPA's Office 

### 13 of Program Analysis and Review in Washington, D.C. and, 

### 14 and Nick Hutson from EPA's Office of Air Quality 

### 15 Planning and Standards in Research Triangle Park, North 

### 16 Carolina and John Mooney from the EPA Regional Office 

### 17 here in Chicago and Doug Aburano from the EPA Regional 

### 18 Office in, in Chicago as well. My name is Jeff Clark 

### 19 and I'm Associate Director for EPA's Office of Air 

### 20 Quality Planning and Standards in North Carolina and, 

### 21 and our office is responsible for developing the rule. 

### 22 So, with that, if there's hopefully -- unless 

### 23 anybody wants to add anything, let's just go ahead and 

### 24 call up the, the next two speakers, Rose Gomez and 

### 25 Chris Pado please. While you guys are coming up, ifAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 187 1 you were here this morning, you, you know this already, 

### 2 but the most important guy in the room is the court 

### 3 reporter, Chris, who's sitting against the wall there 

### 4 and Chris is -- if, if -- he needs to be able to hear 

### 5 everyone, so we're asking that you pull the microphone 

### 6 up, up to you when you speak and, and also ask that you 

### 7 could spell -- say your name and spell your name for 

### 8 the court reporter as well, that would be great, so 

### 9 Ms. Gomez, if we could start with you. Appreciate it. 

### 10 MS. GOMEZ: Hi, my name is Rose Gomez and my 

### 11 first name, R-O-S-E, my last name is G-O-M-E-Z. I'm 

### 12 here because I feel compelled not to stand by the 

### 13 sidelines and not voice my heartfelt opinion regarding 

### 14 this rule because it effects and is going to affect so 

### 15 many future generations. This doesn't end with us. 

### 16 This is bigger than all of us in this room because it's 

### 17 going to affect the future and the future is in the 

### 18 hands of us regarding what we're going to do today. 

### 19 And myself, I grew up in the community of 

### 20 Little Village, which is west of here about more or 

### 21 less five to seven miles west of here and I grew up 

### 22 near the Crawford Power Plant which is on thirty-four 

### 23 hundred South Polasky. I grew up in that neighborhood 

### 24 not really knowing exactly what that coal power plant 

### 25 represents, which is a lot of health damaging effectsAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 188 1 that still goes on today as we speak. And the numbers 

### 2 are staggering and indisputable. The data is -- has 

### 3 been proven with so many different statistics. 

### 4 Scientists continue to let us know about the scary 

### 5 health effects regarding the community where that power 

### 6 plant exists. 

### 7 Myself, I have a son and actually the reason 

### 8 why I got involved. As an environmentalist 

### 9 specifically with the Sierra Club is because actually 

### 10 my son represents the future and an investment which I 

### 11 believe a lot of us do have. Because what we do is 

### 12 going to affect the children and it would be shameful, 

### 13 I would say, nothing less than shameful knowing 

### 14 everything that we can do today to make a difference 

### 15 regarding the technology that's available. 

### 16 And again, I believe that those coal power 

### 17 plants have the ability to stop killing really the 

### 18 people and the, the statistics are forty-one premature 

### 19 deaths, fifteen hundred asthma attacks, and countless 

### 20 other statistics. 

### 21 Again, I'm here because of the future and it 

### 22 depends on us what we're going to do today and I 

### 23 believe nothing less than acting out on passing this 

### 24 rule would be shameful on our part. 

### 25 I do want to say that the other reason whyAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 189 1 I'm here is because of the other coal power plant which 

### 2 exists in Pilsen. That is on Surmack [phonetic] and 

### 3 Holsted [phonetic]. That's even closer, actually, to 

### 4 this hotel which is on Holsted and Surmack which is 

### 5 about two miles west of this location and you, you 

### 6 can't miss that coal power plant when you're down the 

### 7 [indecipherable] or the I55. 

### 8 You can see the smoke stack which is scary at 

### 9 night because it continues endlessly to blow all the 

### 10 toxins in city air and then sadly, there is a high 

### 11 school, which has physical education right across the 

### 12 street from this coal power plant. I think that is 

### 13 something I would say morally wrong to have those 

### 14 children have physical education. The name of the 

### 15 school is [indecipherable] and that school is down the 

### 16 street, across the street you could say from that coal 

### 17 power plant which is Fisk, F-I-S-K, which is also owned 

### 18 by Midwest Generation like that other power plant, 

### 19 Crawford. Both are owned by that same company, Midwest 

### 20 Generation. 

### 21 And I have been working with other members of 

### 22 the coalition to get that clean power ordinance passed 

### 23 and it's something that I hope that we can get done, 

### 24 but this, in itself, I hope that we can get this 

### 25 through regarding the mercury rule, including all theAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 190 1 other toxins that would be included with this rule. 

### 2 Thank you. 

### 3 MR. CLARK: Thank you very much. Ms. -- I 

### 4 don't know. 

### 5 MS. PADO: Hi. My name is Christine Pado, 

### 6 C-H-R-I-S-T-I-N-E, P-A-D-O and I'm here to testify 

### 7 today in favor of EPA's mercury and air toxics rule. 

### 8 I have a master's degree in neurobiology and an MBA. 

### 9 I spent several years working in laboratories and have 

### 10 been working in corporations at the level of director 

### 11 for the past fifteen years. 

### 12 Given that much of today's testimony centers 

### 13 on the toxic effects of methyl mercury on developing 

### 14 fetus and children, I will not rehash the facts on that 

### 15 issue. Rather, I'd like to address the issue of 

### 16 particulates. 

### 17 As a background, I lived near a landfill that 

### 18 has had significant trouble controlling emissions of 

### 19 hydrogen sulfide and sulfur dioxide. In the course of 

### 20 my research regarding the landfill emissions, I found 

### 21 that sulfur dioxide has significant direct adverse 

### 22 health effects, including damage to the lungs of 

### 23 healthy, non-asthmatic adults at concentrations as low 

### 24 as one to two parts per million. 

### 25 Longer term health damaging effects areAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 191 1 associated with sulfur dioxide in combination with fine 

### 2 particulates of which sulfur dioxide is a precursor. 

### 3 These fine particulates penetrate deeply into sensitive 

### 4parts of the lungs and can cause or worsen respiratory 

### 5 disease such as emphysema and bronchitis and can 

### 6 aggravate existing heart disease, leading, as has been 

### 7 discussed many times this morning, to increased 

### 8 hospital admissions and premature deaths. 

### 9 Even more disturbingly, though rarely 

### 10 mentioned, it's becoming more evident through human and 

### 11 animal studies that fine and ultra-fine particulates 

### 12 can travel into the brain where they are neurotoxic 

### 13 causing inflammation and neurodegenerative 

### 14 diseases. 

### 15 This is the air we're breathing right now, 

### 16 air that's toxic to our lungs, to our heart and to our 

### 17 brains. 

### 18 I applaud EPA for seeking to decrease the 

### 19 amount of these damaging particulates in the air we 

### 20 breathe. Sadly, but predictably, the power generation 

### 21 industry is fighting this regulation. This is not 

### 22 unusual. Industry reflexively fights regulation, often 

### 23 complaining about the cost of compliance and trotting 

### 24 out the specter of lost jobs or in this case dire 

### 25 warnings of wildly inflated increases in the cost ofAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 192 1 energy. 

### 2 Being in management in corporate America, 

### 3 I've seen my fair share of regulations. I have three 

### 4 observations about regulations. 

### 5 The first is that they are routinely held to 

### 6 be job killers and/or profit killers. My experience 

### 7 is, this is nonsense. No company I've worked for has 

### 8 ever gone out of business or seen its profit evaporate 

### 9 due to regulation nor has any company I worked for shed 

### 10 jobs due to regulations. Profits and jobs go away for 

### 11 many reasons, but a brief review of the business 

### 12 literature indicates that mismanagement and ineffective 

### 13 corporate govern is the key reasons for loss of profits 

### 14 and the key reason for loss of jobs is to create a 

### 15 quick boost to the bottom line. 

### 16 Regulation is never mentioned in this 

### 17 literature. Rather the opposite proves to be true. 

### 18 Regulations, particularly those requiring new 

### 19 technology are net job creators. 

### 20 The second observation is that regulation 

### 21 exists because industry declines to do the right thing 

### 22 in the first place. Industry has known for years about 

### 23 the adverse health and environmental effects of 

### 24 uncontrolled emissions and industry knows how to do the 

### 25 job. Dozens of coal-fired power plants have alreadyAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 193 1 done the job of controlling emissions and presumably 

### 2 these plants are the ones contributing to the ten 

### 3 percent decline in emissions from power plants since 

### 4 1990. In fact, one utility executive has said that 

### 5 compliance will not be unduly burdensome. Paul Allen, 

### 6 SVP of Constellation Energy was quoted in the New York 

### 7 Times as saying, "We know from experience that 

### 8 constructing this technology can be done in a 

### 9 reasonable time frame, especially with good advance 

### 10 planning and that there is meaningful job creation 

### 11 associated with the projects." 

### 12 However, despite technology being available 

### 13 and despite the leadership of other power generation 

### 14 companies, the majority of the industry has chose to 

### 15 wage a costly battle against regulations rather than 

### 16 simply doing the right thing and investing in the 

### 17 development and employment of control technology. 

### 18 The third and final observation is that 

### 19 regulations get the job done. EPA's own statistics 

### 20 back this up. Municipal solid waste and medical waste 

### 21 incinerators are subject to regulations. Since 1990, 

### 22 these sources have decreased their emissions by over 

### 23 ninety-five percent. In stark contrast to the 

### 24 unregulated power plant industry that has seen 

### 25 emissions over that time period drop by only tenAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 194 1 percent. 

### 2 The proposed regulations will save lives. 

### 3 They will save money. They will create jobs. I 

### 4 strongly support EPA's mercury and air toxics rule and 

### 5 I thank the EPA for the opportunity to speak and for 

### 6 standing for the health of the American citizens. 

### 7 Thank you. 

### 8 MR. CLARK: Thank you. Thank you both very 

### 9 much. Anyone have a comment or questions? No? Okay. 

### 10 Thank you both. 

### 11 Next two speakers please, Susanna McColley 

### 12 and Richard Cogan. Hi. Susanna, please. 

### 13 DR. McCOLLEY: Hi. My name is Dr. Susanna 

### 14 McColley, S-U-S-A-N-N-A, M-C-C-O-L-L-E-Y and I'm the 

### 15 Head of Pediatric Pulmonology at Children's Memorial 

### 16 Hospital here in Chicago. 

### 17 I'm speaking today on behalf of the American 

### 18 Thoracic Society, a medical professional organization 

### 19 of over fifteen thousand physicians, researchers and 

### 20 allied health professionals who are dedicated to the 

### 21 preventing, detection, treatment and cure of 

### 22 respiratory, sleep and critical illnesses through 

### 23 research, education and advocacy. 

### 24In my professional life, I treat kids with 

### 25 lung disease. These are very sick kids who are veryAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 195 1 sensitive to environmental assaults like air pollution. 

### 2 When Chicago has a high ozone day, which is very 

### 3 frequent during the summer, we admit a lot more 

### 4 children to the hospital with asthma exacerbations. 

### 5 That's just an anecdote, but many scientific research 

### 6 studies support that observation. Air pollution is a 

### 7 major contributor to hospital stays for children with 

### 8 asthma and cystic fibrosis and it causes, not only the 

### 9 direct harm to these children by making them ill, but 

### 10 it markedly increases healthcare costs. 

### 11 Chicago has among the highest asthma 

### 12 hospitalization and death rates in the United States 

### 13 and air pollution is a significant contributor to this. 

### 14 There's a lot of research demonstrating that air 

### 15 pollution is bad for your health. Experiments show 

### 16 that exposure to air pollution reduces pulmonary 

### 17 function and promotes inflammation in the airways. 

### 18 Epidemiologic studies have linked air 

### 19 pollution to a whole host of adverse health 

### 20 consequences, including cardiac death, respiratory 

### 21 death, heart attacks, vascular remodeling, COPD 

### 22 exacerbations, the asthma and CF exacerbations that I 

### 23 just mentioned, as well as low birth weight. 

### 24As I and my pediatric colleagues often say, 

### 25 kids are not just little adults. They're differentAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 196 1 from adults in important ways that make them uniquely 

### 2 vulnerable to environmental assaults from air 

### 3 pollution. They tend to be outside more. They're more 

### 4 engaged in exercise outside. They breathe faster and 

### 5 that makes them get proportionately higher levels of 

### 6 air pollution into their lungs. They also have smaller 

### 7 airways which makes them more vulnerable to the effects 

### 8 of that inflammation triggered by air pollution. 

### 9 Coal and oil fired power plants are a 

### 10 significant source of air pollution in the U.S. Coal 

### 11 powered plants emit a complex mixture of air 

### 12 pollutants, including acid gasses, heavy metals and 

### 13 particulate matter. The pollutions emitted from smoke 

### 14 stacks are precursors for other pollutants like ozone 

### 15 and PM2.5. Pollution from power plants has an 

### 16 immediately health impact on nearby communities as well 

### 17 as sending pollution to downwind communities. 

### 18 The American Thoracic Society strongly 

### 19 supports the EPA's proposed rules to reduce air toxic 

### 20 emissions from coal-fired and oil fired power plants. 

### 21 The proposed rule when implemented will have a 

### 22 significant and positive impact on our nation's health. 

### 23 The rule will require all coal and oil powered plants 

### 24 to install pollution control equipment to reduce air 

### 25 pollution emissions. It is very encouraging that overAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 197 1 half of coal-fired power plants already have taken 

### 2 this responsible action and installed equipment that 

### 3 meets the standards of the proposed rule. 

### 4It's our hope that with urging of the EPA 

### 5 rule, the remaining power plants will follow the 

### 6 actions of their industry partners and install readily 

### 7 available pollution control technology. 

### 8 Reducing air pollution will have significant 

### 9 health benefits for the U.S. especially for kids. EPA 

### 10 estimates that the rule, when fully implemented will 

### 11 prevent a hundred and twenty thousand cases of asthma 

### 12 symptoms, eleven thousand cases of acute bronchitis and 

### 13 twelve thousand emergency room and hospital visits 

### 14 every year. That means fewer sick kids, fewer anxious 

### 15 parents, a healthier America and lower health care 

### 16 costs. 

### 17 In conclusion, the dangers that exposure to 

### 18 air pollution opposes is real. The science documenting 

### 19 the adverse health effects of air pollution is 

### 20 conclusive. The technology required to reduce air 

### 21 pollution is readily available and already in use and 

### 22 the benefits are meaningful and significant to passing 

### 23 this rule. For this reason, the American Thoracic 

### 24 Society and I personally strongly support the proposed 

### 25 air toxic rule.AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 198 1 Thank you for your time. I'm happy to take 

### 2 any questions. 

### 3 MR. CLARK: Thank you very much. Excuse me. 

### 4 Thank you very much. Mr. Cogan, is that right? 

### 5 MR. COGAN: Cogan. 

### 6 MR. CLARK: Cogan. 

### 7 MR. COGAN: My name is Richard Cogan, 

### 8 C-O-G-A-N. I have been the owner and President of a 

### 9 company here in Chicago called Textile Industries since 

### 10 1985. In essence, I guess I have the EPA to thank for 

### 11 keeping me in business because we make fabric 

### 12 replacement filters for air pollution control; dust 

### 13 collector bags. 

### 14So the truth of the matter is that even 

### 15 though I have the EPA to thank for that, I would much 

### 16 prefer to be out of business completely. I would like 

### 17 to be in a position where the EPA has done such a good 

### 18 job of keeping our air clean, that I no longer need to 

### 19 be in existence. I would love for the EPA to put me 

### 20 out of business. 

### 21 That's simply all I have to say. Thank you. 

### 22 MR. CLARK: Thank you. 

### 23 MR. COGAN: Any questions? 

### 24MR. CLARK: I was just going to say, any 

### 25 questions?AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 199 1 MR. HUTSON: Yeah I have a question. Your 

### 2 company makes replacement filters for, the type of 

### 3 fabric filters that go in power plants? 

### 4MR. COGAN: We make a lot of different kinds 

### 5 of dust collector bags for air pollution control. 

### 6 MR. HUTSON: Okay. 

### 7 MR. COGAN: Whether it's power plants, 

### 8 whether it's zinc manufacturers, whether -- it, it 

### 9 could be glue. We, we, we deal with so many different 

### 10 kinds of businesses that require dust collector bags 

### 11 and dust collector cartridges that depending on what 

### 12 their application is, the fabric could be a dozen, 

### 13 maybe several dozen different kinds of fabrics 

### 14 depending on what the, the quality of their need is. 

### 15 So that's what we do. We've been doing it since before 

### 16 I took over the business when my dad had a heart 

### 17 attack, so I took over in `85 and we've been doing this 

### 18 since before then. 

### 19 Any other questions? 

### 20 MR. CLARK: I guess not. Thank you both very 

### 21 much. Appreciate it. 

### 22 MR. COGAN: Thank you. 

### 23 DR. McCOLLEY: Thank you. 

### 24MR. COGAN: Thank you for the opportunity to 

### 25 speak with you.AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 200 1 MR. CLARK: Next two speakers, Jan Boudart 

### 2 and Barry Woods please. All right. Either Jan or 

### 3 Barry here? Okay. Let's move to the next two. 

### 4 Margaret Nelson and Joyce -- oh gosh, it looks like 

### 5 Bloominshine [phonetic], Bloominshine I think. Okay. 

### 6 So those are the last next -- oh I'm sorry. Here we 

### 7 have -- I'm sorry, you are? 

### 8 MS. NELSON: Margaret Nelson. 

### 9 MR. CLARK: Margaret Nelson. Okay, great. 

### 10 Excuse me for interrupting for a second. Can I ask you 

### 11 a question? Excuse me, the woman that just came in -- 

### 12 can you get one of the EPA people to come in here 

### 13 please? Thank you. Margaret please go ahead. 

### 14MS. NELSON: My intention had been to present 

### 15 myself as a, an Aunt and grand Aunt with many younger 

### 16 relatives that I would like to see grow up. That point 

### 17 has been made and made well many times during this 

### 18 testimony. So I'm going to duck back to my other 

### 19 stance which is that of a folk singer and pretty much 

### 20 give you my opinion in song. This is in strong support 

### 21 of the act to reduce the release of toxins to the 

### 22 atmosphere. This is in strong support of the EPA and 

### 23 has something to do with the fact that what we do here 

### 24 does not only affect the USA, it effects all of North 

### 25 America. It effects all of the world. The wind doesAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 201 1 not, does not cease to blow. 

### 2 Brothers all stand together. Sisters all 

### 3 join your hands. We are children of one mother though 

### 4 we're born in distant lands. 

### 5 In the circle of the ocean, on the pathway of 

### 6 the wind, by the blood and breath within us, to all 

### 7 creatures we are kin. 

### 8 False the words that have divided, now a 

### 9 better truth is known. All things living one great 

### 10 family, earth our mother, earth our home. 

### 11 In the circle of the ocean, on the pathway of 

### 12 the wind, by the blood and breath within us, to all 

### 13 creatures we are kin. 

### 14We can change our way of living to protect 

### 15 and not destroy. Serve the earth and love each other, 

### 16 in community find joy. 

### 17 In the circle of the ocean, on the pathway of 

### 18 the wind, by the blood and breath within us, to all 

### 19 creatures we are kin. 

### 20 What in ignorance we have damaged, we will 

### 21 work now to repair. To the coming generations, leave 

### 22 an earth that's green and fair. 

### 23 In the circle of the ocean, on the pathway of 

### 24 the wind, by the blood and breath within us, to all 

### 25 creatures we are kin. By the blood and breath withinAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 202 1 us, to all creatures we are kin. 

### 2 MR. CLARK: Thank you very much for that 

### 3 unique testimony and too bad it will show up in the 

### 4 transcript just as words, but that was, that was great. 

### 5 Thank you. 

### 6 So next please Shannon Fisk and Al Williams. 

### 7 You are Al. Shannon couldn't -- 

### 8 MR. FISK: I, I'm Shannon. 

### 9 MR. CLARK: Oh you're Shannon. I'm sorry. 

### 10 All right. 

### 11 MR. FISK: That's okay. 

### 12 MR. CLARK: Al Williams is not here, so let 

### 13 me go on to -- holy smokes, Boise Jones please. Is 

### 14 Boise Jones here? 

### 15 FEMALE: I think he's in the other room. 

### 16 MR. CLARK: Okay. Well, maybe we'll get him 

### 17 in a second. Brad Vam Guilder please. Is Brad here? 

### 18 Susan Michetti? Laura Kratz. All right. Laura, 

### 19 you're -- thank you. I was getting worried. We have a 

### 20 room full of people and no witnesses, so. 

### 21 Okay, so Mr. Fisk. 

### 22 MR. FISK: Great. Thank you. I'm Shannon 

### 23 Fisk. I am a Senior Attorney with the Midwest Office 

### 24 of the Natural Resources Defense Council and I'd like 

### 25 to thank the EPA for the opportunity to submitAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 203 1 testimony on the proposed mercury and air toxic 

### 2 standard. 

### 3 NRDC is a national non-profit public interest 

### 4 organization. It's dedicated to protecting human 

### 5 health and the environment. We have more than one 

### 6 point two million members and online activists in all 

### 7 fifty states. 

### 8 We will be submitting in-depth written 

### 9 comments by the July 5th comment deadline. Today, 

### 10 however, I'd like to just touch on three basic points. 

### 11 The important public health benefits this 

### 12 proposal, how the coal industry has improperly avoided 

### 13 the Clean Air Act's requirement to clean up harmful 

### 14 toxic emissions for over twenty years and why EPA must 

### 15 resist pressure to delay these standards even further. 

### 16 Coal-fired power plants are the largest 

### 17 emitters of mercury and scores of other toxic air 

### 18 pollutants in the country today. Mercury is a powerful 

### 19 poison. It damages the developing brain of children 

### 20 and fetuses, lowering IQ's and harming motor functions. 

### 21 As a result of mercury emissions from uncontrolled coal 

### 22 plants throughout the Midwest, every river, lake and 

### 23 stream in the region, including the Great Lakes have 

### 24 fish consumption advisories that establish limits on 

### 25 the amount of fish that is safe to eat.AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 204 1 Polluting coal plants also emit many other 

### 2 toxic air pollutants that cause cancer, heart attacks, 

### 3 strokes, asthma symptoms and premature deaths. 

### 4EPA's proposal would finally require coal 

### 5 plants to reduce these toxic emissions by ninety 

### 6 percent, resulting in substantial public health 

### 7 benefits including the prevention every year of up to 

### 8 seventeen thousand premature deaths, a hundred and 

### 9 twenty thousand cases of childhood asthma, and eleven 

### 10 thousand cases of acute bronchitis. 

### 11 The proposed rule should be stronger. 

### 12 Reductions of ninety-five percent or more of mercury 

### 13 and acid gasses are achievable with existing 

### 14 technologies and should be required in the final rule, 

### 15 but there could be no reasonable dispute that the 

### 16 proposed mercury and air toxic standard at issue today 

### 17 represents a strong step forward towards insuring that 

### 18 the long required reduction of air toxic emissions are 

### 19 finally achieved. 

### 20 Given the significant public health impacts 

### 21 of air toxic emissions, it is outrageous it has taken 

### 22 so long for these regulations to be proposed. The 

### 23 maximum achievable control technology provisions at 

### 24 issue here were established by Congress in 1990 and 

### 25 should have been complied with by about 1998. Instead,AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 205 1 lobbying by the energy industry and in intransigence 

### 2 by previous administrations has allowed industry 

### 3 profits to be put ahead of protecting public health 

### 4 from coal plant emissions. As a result today, in 2011, 

### 5 coal plants that were built in the 1950's and 1960's 

### 6 still lack modern pollution controls that can cost 

### 7 effectively clean up emissions. 

### 8 The good news is that some in the utility 

### 9 industry have acknowledged that they can and will 

### 10 comply with these standards being proposed today within 

### 11 the three year deadline set forth in the Clean Air Act. 

### 12 Here in Chicago, Midwest Generation, the 

### 13 owner and operator of the Fisk coal plant just a couple 

### 14 of miles down the road from here, has publicly stated 

### 15 support for the goals of the new standards. Such 

### 16 support is due to the fact that the State of Illinois 

### 17 and environmental groups have required Midwest 

### 18 Generation to already make reductions in mercury 

### 19 emissions and it would be helpful if Midwest Generation 

### 20 would comply with its legal duty to install modern 

### 21 pollution control for other pollutants, however its 

### 22 instructive that Midwest Generation believes that it is 

### 23 able to make -- that air toxic standards work on a 

### 24 fleet that includes some of the oldest coal plants in 

### 25 the country that have not had pollution control updatesAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 206 1 in decades. Surely, if this can work in the fifty plus 

### 2 year old boiler at the Fisk coal plant, it can work 

### 3 across the country to protect all Americans. 

### 4Unfortunately, others in industry are pushing 

### 5 the EPA to delay even further. And my questions to 

### 6 these agents of delay is how much is enough. How many 

### 7 lives are they willing to sacrifice in order to have 

### 8 even more time to install pollution controls that have 

### 9 been available for decades? 

### 10 Our response to the agents of delay is that 

### 11 enough is enough. The agency must reject industry 

### 12 pressure because the controls necessary to reduce toxic 

### 13 emissions are readily available and the public health 

### 14 impacts of further delay would be severe. Each year of 

### 15 delay would postpone preventing up to seventeen 

### 16 thousand premature deaths and a hundred and twenty 

### 17 thousand asthma attacks. Each month of delay would be 

### 18 ten thousand unnecessary asthma attacks and fourteen 

### 19 hundred premature deaths. 

### 20 The Midwest and other regions of our country 

### 21 continue to be littered with aging coal plants that 

### 22 fail to control their pollution emissions and as a 

### 23 result have significant impacts on public health and 

### 24 water quality in the Great Lakes. 

### 25 We applaud U.S. EPA's proposed rule. WeAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 207 1 urge you to strengthen it and to finalize it as 

### 2 expeditiously as possible. Thank you. 

### 3 MR. CLARK: Thank you very much. Ms. Kratz 

### 4 and let me just say to the folks in the back, there are 

### 5 some chairs up here in the front row if you, if you 

### 6 feel like sitting down, so feel, feel free to come on 

### 7 up. Laura. 

### 8 MS. KRATZ: Good afternoon. I'm Laura Kratz, 

### 9 a Specialist on Air Quality and Energy Issues with the 

### 10 League of Women Voters of Illinois. 

### 11 Several other league leaders are here in the 

### 12 audience today and we're here together to voice our 

### 13 strong support for implementation of the air toxics 

### 14 rule. 

### 15 As you may know, for over ninety years, the 

### 16 League of Women Voters has promoted the active and 

### 17 informed participation of citizens in all levels of 

### 18 government. This goes well beyond simply showing up at 

### 19 the polls on election day. Our organization conducts 

### 20 in-depth, independent studies on a vast array of public 

### 21 policy matters that include our representative 

### 22 government, education, health care, social services, 

### 23 criminal justice and natural resources. 

### 24Not only do we stay current on these issues, 

### 25 we fully understand the interrelationships betweenAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 208 1 them. Because we are known for well informed, non 

### 2 partisan advocacy, we are regularly called upon to 

### 3 share our expertise with other groups, testify before 

### 4 governmental agencies, and to work on policy task 

### 5 forces, such as the Illinois Smart Grid Collaborative. 

### 6 So this is why we're here today. 

### 7 Since our national study on air pollution in 

### 8 the early 1970's, the League of Women Voters has 

### 9 actively supported federal air pollution controls on 

### 10 industrial production, governmental installation, fuels 

### 11 and vehicles. 

### 12 Furthermore, League members helped pass the 

### 13 landmark Clean Water Act in the early 1970's and worked 

### 14 to protect, expand, and strengthen it throughout the 

### 15 1990's as we continue to do in this century. 

### 16 The materials the EPA has provided in advance 

### 17 of this hearing do an excellent job laying out the 

### 18 health dangers associated with the toxics that are to 

### 19 be regulated once the rule is implemented. Mercury 

### 20 ingestion is a particular concern, whether it is part 

### 21 of the air we breathe or in the fish we eat from our 

### 22 local waters. 

### 23 The failure of some power plants to act on 

### 24 their own to keep mercury and other toxic pollutants 

### 25 out of our air and water must be addressed now. SomeAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 209 1 industry officials are claiming that it's too expensive 

### 2 to change their methods of operation for the sake of 

### 3 cleaner air, but their failure to change results in 

### 4 higher costs for others as families struggle to provide 

### 5 care and comfort to afflicted loved ones, healthcare 

### 6 systems are called upon to treat growing incidence of 

### 7 preventable illnesses and ailments, business, 

### 8 businesses lose ailing workers and schools deal with 

### 9 students whose health and cognitive abilities are not 

### 10 optimal due to pollution exposure. The cost to our 

### 11 society are enormous. 

### 12 We believe that all Americans have the right 

### 13 to the basic necessities of life; air, water and food 

### 14 that is both clean and healthful. We also believe that 

### 15 it is the responsibility of government agencies, such 

### 16 as the EPA, to protect our environment and precious 

### 17 natural resources for our own benefit and for the 

### 18 benefit of generations to come. 

### 19 The League of Women Voters believes that the 

### 20 air toxics rule is in the public interest and we 

### 21 strongly encourage you to implement it without delay. 

### 22 Thank you for letting us testify today. 

### 23 MR. CLARK: Thank you. Anybody -- a 

### 24 question? I think not. Thank you both so much. Let 

### 25 me try again here with, is Al Williams here? Al andAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 210 1 Susan Michetti. Is Susan here? Okay. Brad Vam 

### 2 Guilder. Is Brad here? Brad. Okay. Let's see, Brad. 

### 3 Okay. Mr. Williams. 

### 4MR. WILLIAMS: Good afternoon. My name is Al 

### 5 Williams and I'm here today representing the Detroit 

### 6 NAACP and members of the City of Detroit and 

### 7 Southeastern Michigan. 

### 8 I would like to thank the EPA for taking 

### 9 comments today on such a very important and vital 

### 10 issue. I'm testifying in favor of strong air toxics 

### 11 and mercury standards for power plants. 

### 12 Coal-Fired power plants are the largest 

### 13 source of mercury contamination in the United States, 

### 14 responsible for approximately fifty percent of human 

### 15 caused mercury emissions. Other sources include waste 

### 16 incinerators that burn mercury containing products and 

### 17 coin manufacturers and I'll talk about incinerators 

### 18 further in a second, in my community. However, unlike 

### 19 these sources, power plants are not currently required 

### 20 to limit their mercury pollution. As a result, 

### 21 significant amounts of mercury pollution are released 

### 22 into the air every year from Americans, for -- from 

### 23 Americans and Americas. Approximately six hundred coal 

### 24 fired plants. 

### 25 Mercury emissions primarily fall locally, soAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 211 1 these plants are major contributors to local 

### 2 contamination problems and hot spots. Additionally, 

### 3 some mercury emissions also stay in the atmosphere and 

### 4 travel longer distances, resulting in mercury 

### 5 contamination hundreds or even thousands of miles away. 

### 6 As a lifelong resident in the City of 

### 7 Detroit and in the State of Michigan, I understand the 

### 8 impacts of poor air quality on our communities, 

### 9 families and more importantly, our most prized 

### 10 possession; our children. 

### 11 Having grown up close to the largest waste 

### 12 incinerator in the world, in the City of Detroit, I 

### 13 understand the importance of setting strong air quality 

### 14 standards nationally and most importantly, of course, 

### 15 in my community. If you didn't know, right outside of 

### 16 the largest incinerator in the world, in the city that 

### 17 I live in is the freshest market in the city that I 

### 18 live in; right down the street. Right down the street, 

### 19 we have one of the largest hospitals in our city and 

### 20 within a mile radius, if you knock on the doors and 

### 21 talk to the parents of the children who live in those 

### 22 houses, more than half of them have asthma. 

### 23 Additionally, the American Lung Cancer -- or 

### 24 Lung Association recently gave the City of Detroit an F 

### 25 grade for air quality. Unfortunately that is tooAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 212 1 familiar to me. I know several people who suffer from 

### 2 asthma, several families who have spent more time in 

### 3 hospitals protecting their children than having their 

### 4 children go to school. 

### 5 Cardiovascular disease is -- I know several 

### 6 people with asthma and cardiovascular diseases and 

### 7 other health problems associated with air toxics and 

### 8 poor air quality. It is time to start and to be more 

### 9 aggressive when it comes to addressing air pollution in 

### 10 our community. Fighting toxic pollutions is one of the 

### 11 best ways to improve public health and that's why these 

### 12 historic air quality standards are important, vital, 

### 13 essential not only for my community, not only for my 

### 14 city, but for the State of Michigan and this country. 

### 15 As many of you probably are already aware, 

### 16 and as EPA research already shows, mercury and other 

### 17 air pollutants disproportionately, disproportionately 

### 18 effects communities of color and low income areas 

### 19 because these communities are vulnerable to dangerous 

### 20 impacts. 

### 21 Strong rules addressing these pollutants are 

### 22 even more imperative right now, right here. 

### 23 Let me just give you a few numbers and I'll 

### 24 be done. Seventy-one percent of African Americans live 

### 25 in counties that violate federal air pollutionAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 213 1 standards, compared to fifty-eight percent of white 

### 2 populations. Asthma attacks sent African Americans to 

### 3 the emergency room at three times the rate of white 

### 4Americans. Latinos in twelve states are two times more 

### 5 likely than whites to live in neighborhoods where air 

### 6 pollution poses the most significant danger. I have 

### 7 other stats to add to that as well, but I don't have a 

### 8 lot of time left. 

### 9 So I would like to make sure that you 

### 10 understand that my community is hurting. Our children, 

### 11 our most prized possession is hurting. The state, 

### 12 Illinois and the State of Michigan is hurting and our 

### 13 country will continue to hurt unless we put these 

### 14 important, vital measures in place. Thank you. 

### 15 MR. CLARK: Thank you. Mr. Vam Guilder. 

### 16 MR. VAM GUILDER: Yes. Good afternoon. My 

### 17 name is Brad Vam Guilder and I'm here with the Ecology 

### 18 Center, Main Office of the Ecology Center located in 

### 19 Ann Arbor, Michigan and we have a satellite office in 

### 20 Detroit and I'm our primary person working in Detroit, 

### 21 but I've worked across the entire State of Michigan, 

### 22 working with local community groups. 

### 23 The Ecology Center is a membership advocacy 

### 24 organization. We have more than five thousand members 

### 25 and supporters within the State of Michigan and manyAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 214 1 more across the nation. 

### 2 These regulations are extremely important and 

### 3 it will cause the power plants to finally, finally 

### 4 start to bear more of the actual cost of their 

### 5 operations instead of placing those costs onto the 

### 6 public and to the natural environment. This really is 

### 7 about actually having them take on the actual cost of 

### 8 what it really -- the real cost of what it is for these 

### 9 power plants to operate. 

### 10 I want to make a comparison between the Clean 

### 11 Air Act Amendments of 1990 in terms of what happened 

### 12 with solid waste and medical waste incinerators and the 

### 13 regulations that have taken so long to come forward 

### 14 with power plants. 

### 15 In Michigan, after those regulations went 

### 16 into effect, after 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments, that 

### 17 put in a newer, in place new regulations on solid waste 

### 18 and medical waste incinerators. All one hundred and 

### 19 fifty-seven medical waste incinerators in the State of 

### 20 Michigan closed because they found new ways to be able 

### 21 to handle their waste more better, mostly through 

### 22 reducing the amount of waste that they generated in the 

### 23 first place because they actually had to bear the true 

### 24 cost of what that, handling that waste through 

### 25 incineration actually cost. So they, they went in to,AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 215 1 to reduce the amount of waste they generated and they 

### 2 pursued alternative means. 

### 3 All but three of the solid waste incinerators 

### 4 closed and the City of Detroit incinerator spent a 

### 5 hundred and seventy million dollars adding additional 

### 6 pollution controls which unfortunately created great, 

### 7 dramatic financial stress for the City of Detroit. It 

### 8 would have been better if the facility had closed. But 

### 9 it still continues to be a major source of pollution 

### 10 adding to all of the other sources of pollution within 

### 11 the City. 

### 12 I was a member of the State of Michigan's 

### 13 Environmental Justice working group from July 2008 

### 14 through December 2010 and we really focused on two 

### 15 issues that were extremely important that did not end 

### 16 up becoming a major portion of the plan that the State 

### 17 of Michigan issued. 

### 18 One was cumulative impacts and the other was 

### 19 looking at disproportionate impacts. These facilities 

### 20 power plants have, these regulations are so important 

### 21 because it addresses not only mercury, but acid gasses 

### 22 and many other heavy metal emissions, but cumulative 

### 23 impact of all those different emissions together has a 

### 24 tremendous impact on the local community and has a 

### 25 disproportionate impact on -- because those facilitiesAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 216 1 tend to be located near low income communities of color 

### 2 and that they end up driving down the, the land value 

### 3 and attracting many other facilities. 

### 4So, for example, in southwest Detroit, they 

### 5 have this huge collection of polluting facilities that 

### 6 creates a tremendous cumulative impact. Between Bruce 

### 7 [phonetic] River and the Michigan border with Ohio, 

### 8 there are four coal-fired power plants including one of 

### 9 the largest in North America, the Monroe Power Plant as 

### 10 well as one nuclear power plant and that creates a 

### 11 tremendous impact as it goes forward carried by the 

### 12 wind. 

### 13 So there's a, of course mercury issues is 

### 14 very important because it has a disproportionate impact 

### 15 on those who are very young, who don't have a voice to 

### 16 be able to speak for themselves and those, and seniors 

### 17 because they are very vulnerable populations. And it 

### 18 has a disproportionate impact for those who are 

### 19 subsistence fishers. You know I've seen, you know, 

### 20 residents, low income residents who are fishing in the 

### 21 channel around [indecipherable] Island even though 

### 22 there's all kinds of posted warnings and because 

### 23 they're there as subsistence fishers. 

### 24The last point I wanted to make is with 

### 25 regard to asthma. The average asthma rate in the StateAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 217 1 of Michigan is sixteen per ten thousand. The City of 2 Detroit is anywhere from forty to ninety per ten 3 thousand, but the average -- most of the zip codes in 4 the City of Detroit are more in the sixty per ten 5 thousand. It is a disproportionate impact and creates 6 also a tremendous financial impact, eighty million 7 dollars per year is the estimated impact for Wayne 8 County through the [indecipherable] Michigan and that 9 is disproportionately on the City of Detroit and its 10 long-term residents. 11 Thank you. 12 MR. CLARK: Thank you. I, I have one quick 13 question for Mr. Williams. Do you know if the NAACP 14 national is going to submit comments on the rule, 15 written comments? Do you know? 16 MR. WILLIAMS: Written comments, I'm not 17 sure. I know they are in support of EPA's rulings on 18 reducing. I do believe that there are members of the 19 National NAACP here and they might be on the list as 20 well to make comments. 21 MR. CLARK: Okay. 22 MR. WILLIAMS: So you will be hearing from 23 them as well. 24 MR. CLARK: Okay. 25 MS. KURLANSKY: I was going to ask if youAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 218 1 were going to submit comments because you had a lot of 

### 2 statistics and I couldn't write that fast. 

### 3 MR. WILLIAMS: Absolutely. Sorry about the 

### 4 fast talking. 

### 5 MR. CLARK: No, no. Sorry about the big 

### 6 clock down there. 

### 7 MR. WILLIAMS: Yeah. Just trying to get it 

### 8 all in. 

### 9 MR. CLARK: Thank you guys very much. 

### 10 MR. WILLIAMS: Thank you. 

### 11 MR. CLARK: Next two speakers, Boise Jones 

### 12 and is Boise Jones here? All right. Striking out. 

### 13 Might check that one out, so Howard Learner and Susan 

### 14 Michetti here? Michetti? Okay. Yeah. Great. 

### 15 MS. MICHETTI: I support the EPA's 

### 16 proposal -- 

### 17 MR. CLARK: I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Just give 

### 18 us -- if you could just state your name and, and spell 

### 19 your last name. 

### 20 MS. MICHETTI: I'm Susan Michetti, 

### 21 M-I-C-H-E-T-T-I from Wisconsin. I support the EPA's 

### 22 proposed mercury and air toxic standards for fossil 

### 23 fuel plants that are about twenty years overdue. I 

### 24 happen to be one of the people that may request to 

### 25 update and strengthen the Clean Air Act back in 1985AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 219 1 and 1990. I clearly remember at that time that the 

### 2 fossil fuel energy industry argued that they had their 

### 3 own loved ones that they cared about and that they were 

### 4 trustworthy to self regulate their own pollution. 

### 5 I -- in retrospect, I can say that they lied. 

### 6 They had twenty-one years to stop putting known toxins 

### 7 into the air and are causing a general lack of wellness 

### 8 throughout this nation and they are negligent. The 

### 9 industry did not prioritize cleaning up their own 

### 10 pollution as soon as the decision was made to let them 

### 11 self regulate. They lied. 

### 12 We need to establish the measurable standards 

### 13 which I understand is happening, at least proposed. 

### 14 Each dollar invested in air pollution control 

### 15 technology will save five to thirteen dollars in 

### 16 healthcare cost as well as improving the health of 

### 17 those who are unwell from pollution, but remain outside 

### 18 of the measurable healthcare cost system. 

### 19 The industry must invest in pollution control 

### 20 because it is a fair cost of their doing business that 

### 21 must not be shirked. These health costs are being 

### 22 unfairly transferred to the people who do not often 

### 23 have health insurance and many who have now lost their 

### 24 homes in the last twenty years and are now homeless 

### 25 because of precisely this type of unfair transfer ofAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 220 1 wealth from elite polluters to innocent victims with 

### 2 serious, adverse, chronic health effects that interfere 

### 3 with multiple functions required for societal survival. 

### 4These polluter cost are transferred unfairly 

### 5 to the innocent public and then are often secondarily 

### 6 transferred unfairly to our health insurance system and 

### 7 the tax payers. 

### 8 Manmade arbitrary mechanisms are being used 

### 9 to transfer these significant cost of industry and 

### 10 corporations away from their paying their actual full 

### 11 cost to make large profits for a small group of people 

### 12 unfairly at the expense of others that are being harmed 

### 13 financially and in their health. And to make matters 

### 14 worse, we now have a pro-corporate political crowd 

### 15 that bows to corporate lobbyist rallying against the 

### 16 implementation of "Obamacare." against continuing 

### 17 Medicare and Medicaid as we now know them and saying 

### 18 that good health treatments need to be trimmed from the 

### 19 federal budget when these are the very same corrupt 

### 20 politicians wanting to dismantle the EPA and remove all 

### 21 regulation of pollution from corporate polluters. It 

### 22 is clear that these people are benefitting the industry 

### 23 and corporate profits to get richer at the expense of 

### 24 eighty percent of this population. 

### 25 So for every one dollar of air toxic controlsAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 221 1 not installed, that will cost somebody else five to 

### 2 thirteen dollars in health. It's a health cost. It's 

### 3 an extremely inefficient spread of costs to other 

### 4 people to cover their cost of doing business where if 

### 5 they were weighing their cost of pollution control 

### 6 versus their paying the healthcare treatment of these 

### 7 people, it would be cleaned up. 

### 8 So, it is also time -- why should private 

### 9 insurance premiums, why should Medicare, Medicaid paid 

### 10 by taxpayers, or out of pocket spending by victims have 

### 11 to unfairly finance the cost of this industry doing 

### 12 business in terms of its pollution. The conduct of 

### 13 this industry needs to start paying their full costs. 

### 14I ask the EPA to go to the National Institute 

### 15 of Health's TOXicology Data NETwork (TOXNET) and the 

### 16 Centers for Disease Control's Agency for Toxic Substances 

### 17 and Disease Registry and look at, and, and, and enter 

### 18 into the official record the known inhalation, 

### 19 ingestion and skin contact effects for all of the known 

### 20 air toxins for burning fossil fuels. 

### 21 So it, it's -- essentially I see corporate 

### 22 pollution being unfairly subsidized by misinformation 

### 23 and any how I had something about the GNP that needs to 

### 24 be updated to include all the costs to society, but my 

### 25 time is out.AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 222 1 MR. CLARK: Well, thank you very much. 

### 2 Mr. Learner. 

### 3 MR. LEARNER: Good afternoon and thank you 

### 4 for opening up this hearing. I'm Howard Learner. I'm 

### 5 the Executive Director of the Environmental Law and 

### 6 Policy Center. We work to improve environmental 

### 7 quality, protect public health and preserve natural 

### 8 resources in twelve Midwest and great plain states. 

### 9 We passionately believe that environmental 

### 10 progress and economic development can be achieved 

### 11 together and we put that into practice. I live in 

### 12 Chicago for the last thirty one years, about a mile and 

### 13 a half from where I was born. We care about the city, 

### 14 the state, the region and the Great Lakes and the 

### 15 country. 

### 16 In 2006, many of us stood with groups like 

### 17 Voices for Illinois Children, the March of Dimes, 

### 18 medical professionals, public health professionals when 

### 19 the proposed Illinois mercury pollution reduction 

### 20 standards were announced for coal plants. We were told 

### 21 at the time that those standards were not 

### 22 technologically feasible, they weren't economic, they 

### 23 couldn't be put into practice and it would never 

### 24 happen. 

### 25 One year later, after a series of hearings byAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 223 1 the Illinois Pollution Control Board, work by the 

### 2 Illinois EPA, there were settlements reached with three 

### 3 of the companies that own the largest number of coal 

### 4plants in Illinois and those settlements were adopted 

### 5 by the Pollution Control Board and the Illinois mercury 

### 6 pollution reduction standards went into effect. 

### 7 They're in effect now. They're working. The 

### 8 technology is available. It's economically reasonable 

### 9 and so much of the debate that's being heard at the 

### 10 federal level right now is exactly the bait that 

### 11 happened in Illinois and there were two things that 

### 12 were remarkable about that that you might want to note. 

### 13 We can provide more data on it. 

### 14First of all, after all the ho ha of how 

### 15 technologically it couldn't be done and economically, 

### 16 it wouldn't be reasonable. The three companies that 

### 17 own the largest number of coal plants in Illinois, all 

### 18 reached settlements that were approved by the Illinois 

### 19 EPA and the Illinois Pollution Control Board that went 

### 20 into affect: Midwest Generation, Dynegy, and AMEREN. 

### 21 Three largest owners of coal plants in the 

### 22 state reached settlements and said we can do it and 

### 23 have largely lived within the standards. There have 

### 24 been some exemptions and waivers and other things, but 

### 25 for the most part, there were settlements reached. ItAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 224 1 was doable. 

### 2 Secondly, it's happened. Whenever we hear 

### 3 the claims that this is not technologically reasonable 

### 4 or economically feasible, you have a demonstration of 

### 5 what's happened in Illinois. It is. It's worked. 

### 6 Second point. The health impacts can't be 

### 7 seriously in dispute and the EPA's own regulatory 

### 8 analysis has been very strong on that point. It's been 

### 9 discussed by many people today, I won't go back and go 

### 10 over it and the National Academy of Science's Studies, 

### 11 it's been clear that the population that's at highest 

### 12 risk are the children of women who consume large 

### 13 amounts of fish and seafood during pregnancy. And that 

### 14 that has an impact on education. 

### 15 We're in a city that now is the home of the 

### 16 current Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education, 

### 17 Ernie Duncan, and Mayor Emanuel who's 

### 18 committed passionately to improving and fixing our 

### 19 schools here. We need to give kids a head start. We 

### 20 don't need to be handicapping kids because we can't get 

### 21 it together in terms of reducing mercury in the 

### 22 environment that hurts their health. 

### 23 Third and final point on the can it be done 

### 24 and can it be done soon? My colleague Faith Bugel 

### 25 talked earlier about advancing the compliance. It'sAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 225 1 important to get going and get going sooner, but look 

### 2 at what's happened in the other places where the 

### 3 federal government has enacted standards to reduce 

### 4mercury pollution. Federal standards drove down the 

### 5 amount of mercury pollution from municipal waste 

### 6 incinerators from fifty-seven tons per year in 1990 to 

### 7 two tons per year in 2005. 

### 8 Federal standards reduce mercury pollution 

### 9 from medical waste incinerators to less than one ton 

### 10 per year in 2005 from fifty-one tons per year in 1990. 

### 11 This is doable. It's technologically feasible. It's 

### 12 economically reasonable. The benefits greatly exceed 

### 13 the costs and this is a point where the government 

### 14 should step up through the U.S. EPA standards and 

### 15 protect public health and the environment in ways that 

### 16 make sense. 

### 17 Thank you very much. 

### 18 MR. CLARK: Thank you. Any questions? 

### 19 Anyone? Yeah. Thank you guys. 

### 20 MR. LEARNER: Thank you. 

### 21 MR. CLARK: Okay. Boise Jones I understand 

### 22 is here and Steve McVey [phonetic] please. Is Steve 

### 23 McVey here? I want to say it's Ade -- 

### 24MR. ABDALLAH: Ade. 

### 25 MR. CLARK: Ade. Sorry. Thank you.AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 226 1 MR. ABDALLAH: That's okay. 

### 2 MR. CLARK: That's happened to you before, 

### 3 I'm sure. I apologize. If you can state your name and 

### 4 spell it for the, for the court reporter and Mr. Jones, 

### 5 feel free. 

### 6 MR. JONES: It's Boise, although spelled as 

### 7 in Boise, Idaho, B-O-I-S-E, Jones last name, very 

### 8 common. 

### 9 MR. CLARK: Thank you. 

### 10 MR. JONES: First, I'd just like to say 

### 11 again, thank you for having these hearings. The first 

### 12 time I was actually testifying at these hearings, it 

### 13 was the Bush administration, so you can imagine it was 

### 14 a pretty hostile environment. This actually tends to 

### 15 just have a much better feel, so thank you again for 

### 16 these hearings. 

### 17 I'm here from the State of Minnesota, City of 

### 18 Minneapolis, the north side of Minneapolis which most 

### 19 of you know, have been pretty much ravaged by tornados 

### 20 and such and it is that community that I'm here to 

### 21 speak on behalf of as well. 

### 22 I am a member of the Sierra Club's Diversity 

### 23 Council, also a Co-Founder of the Environmental Justice 

### 24Advocates of Minnesota, as well as a member of the 

### 25 Climate Change Advisory Group for the State ofAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 227 1 Minnesota as well. Not that I want to give any 

### 2 pedigree, but just to simply say that these issues have 

### 3 been very important to our community for years and 

### 4 that's the reason why I sit here before you. 

### 5 As members of the environmental and public 

### 6 health communities, we hope that we can applaud you 

### 7 today for your proposed mercury and air toxic rules 

### 8 which we believe significantly cuts toxic air pollution 

### 9 from power plants. As you work to finalize these 

### 10 rules, we urge you to keep the final rule just as 

### 11 strong as or stronger than the proposed version. 

### 12 Our families should be able to breathe clean 

### 13 air, drink clean water, and eat fish without worrying 

### 14 about mercury in their blood streams, soot in their 

### 15 lungs, or lead in their water. Yet coal-fired power 

### 16 plants spew hundreds of thousands of tons of hazardous 

### 17 air pollutants like these into our air and water every 

### 18 year. These pollutants are linked to cancer, heart 

### 19 disease, neurological damage, birth defects, and you 

### 20 know, many other, other diseases. 

### 21 When coal-fired power plants emit mercury 

### 22 from their smoke stacks, rain, snow and dust particles 

### 23 wash it out into the air, into land affecting our 

### 24 ability to walk, talk, read and write and it's so 

### 25 widespread, that it's many -- as many as one out of sixAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 228 1 women of childbearing age has enough mercury in her 

### 2 blood to put her baby at risk should she become 

### 3 pregnant. 

### 4Moreover, low income and minority communities 

### 5 often bear a greater burden of the effects of toxic 

### 6 pollution from power plants as they live closer to the 

### 7 polluting facilities than most Americans. 

### 8 Because mercury is the most common 

### 9 contaminant in fish in the U.S., every state has some 

### 10 sort of fish advisory due to, due to unsafe levels of 

### 11 toxic pollutants. Wildlife that is exposed to mercury 

### 12 may die, or depending upon the level of exposure, have 

### 13 reduced fertility or complete reproductive failure as 

### 14 well as slower growth and development and other 

### 15 vulnerabilities. 

### 16 High levels of mercury have been found in 

### 17 species that every level in the food -- at every level 

### 18 in the food chain threatening many different species 

### 19 including the common loon and main and the endangered 

### 20 Florida panther. 

### 21 Coal-Fired power plants are the single 

### 22 largest source of mercury pollution, arsenic, and acid 

### 23 gasses and account for twenty-five percent of all toxic 

### 24metal emissions in the United States. Furthermore, 

### 25 coal-fired power plants are responsible forAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 229 1 ninety-nine percent of all mercury emissions from the 

### 2 power sector in the United States, so for decades the 

### 3 coal industry and its powerful allies have successfully 

### 4 delayed implementation of strong standards to cut the 

### 5 emissions of toxic air pollutions from their facilities 

### 6 going so far as to work with Bush administration 

### 7 officials to set a severely -- to, to -- at a severely 

### 8 flawed illegal standard that yielded few at any actual, 

### 9 than any actual benefits. 

### 10 Thank you for proposing a strong standard 

### 11 that will, for the first time, cut mercury emissions 

### 12 from power plants nationwide by ninety-one percent, 

### 13 reduce arsenic and acid gasses by ninety-one percent, 

### 14 prevent twelve thousand two hundred trips to the 

### 15 hospital and save up to seventeen thousand lives each 

### 16 year, once it's, it's, it is implemented. 

### 17 We urge you to keep the standards just as 

### 18 strong or stronger than the proposed rule when you 

### 19 finalize the mercury, air and toxic rules in November 

### 20 and we look for, look forward to working with you on 

### 21 this matter. Thank you very much. 

### 22 MR. CLARK: Thank you. And actually -- Okay. 

### 23 Mr. Abdallah, before you start, let me just remind the 

### 24 crowd here. A couple of things. For folks in the 

### 25 back, anybody again, there are a few chairs up here ifAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 230 1 anybody wants to come sit down, feel free. 

### 2 Secondly, just a reminder on the telephone, 

### 3 if, if folks could put their phone on vibrate or turn 

### 4 them off, that would be respectful to the speakers and 

### 5 let me turn it over to Ade. 

### 6 MR. ABDALLAH: Good afternoon and I'd like to 

### 7 thank you for this opportunity to make a brief comment. 

### 8 My name is Ade Abdallah. I'm the Co-Founder, 

### 9 President, and CEO of two organizations. Energy 

### 10 Efficiency and Environmental Health Services Task Force 

### 11 and Walking on Water, Environmental Stewardship and 

### 12 Recreational Services. 

### 13 The vision of Energy Efficiency and 

### 14 Environmental Health Services Task Force is to recreate 

### 15 heaven on earth. Our mission is to establish a 

### 16 worldwide foundation and universal philosophy to 

### 17 mobilize humanity to recreate optimal ecological 

### 18 conditions for the enjoyment and preservation of life 

### 19 on mother earth. 

### 20 I just want to make a brief statement taken 

### 21 from our city charter. Our preamble and declaration of 

### 22 rights and it states: "The people have the right to 

### 23 expect city government to provide for its residents 

### 24 decent housing, excellence in education, job 

### 25 opportunities, reliable, convenient, and comfortableAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 231 1 transportation, recreational facilities, organized 

### 2 programs for recreational activities, cultural 

### 3 enrichment, including libraries and art and historic 

### 4museums, clean air and waterways, safe drinking water 

### 5 and sanitary, environmentally sound city." 

### 6 More than my comment, I have a question. I 

### 7 always tell people I have to apologize for being the 

### 8 prodigal son or grandson and godsons of ministers, so I 

### 9 have a spiritual outlook on everything that I do and 

### 10 the most important question that I have for everyone 

### 11 here, it states in the book of Mark, I believe Mark 

### 12 eight, thirty-six. "What, for what shall the profit of 

### 13 man, if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own 

### 14 soul." I'm wondering if the people that are in favor 

### 15 of increasing coal production, increasing things that's 

### 16 going to contaminate and pollute the air and pollute 

### 17 the ground and jeopardize our lives. I'm wondering 

### 18 where their children and their grandchildren, what 

### 19 earth are they living on? What air are they going to 

### 20 breathe? What water are they going to drink? 

### 21 Those are my comments. 

### 22 MR. CLARK: Thank you. 

### 23 MS. KURLANSKY: Excuse me. You named two 

### 24 organizations you were from and I didn't get the name 

### 25 of the first one.AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 232 1 MR. ABDALLAH: I'm sorry. The first 

### 2 organization is Energy Efficiency and Environmental 

### 3 Health Services/Task Force. 

### 4MS. KURLANSKY: Okay. 

### 5 MR. ABDALLAH: The second organization is 

### 6 actually our youth division, which is Walking on Water 

### 7 Environmental Stewardship and Recreational Services. 

### 8 We also are members of the NAACP Allies Group. 

### 9 MR. MOONEY: And that's located here in 

### 10 Chicago? 

### 11 MR. ABDALLAH: In Detroit, Michigan. 

### 12 MR. MOONEY: In Detroit. 

### 13 MS. KURLANSKY: Thank you. 

### 14MR. ABDALLAH: You're welcome. 

### 15 MR. CLARK: Thank you. Okay. Let me try 

### 16 Steve McVey again. Steve, going, going, gone. We'll 

### 17 say gone. Okay. Dennis Nelson and Paul Wojoski 

### 18 [phonetic] please. 

### 19 You are Dennis or Paul? 

### 20 MR. NELSON: Dennis. 

### 21 MR. CLARK: Okay. Is Paul not here? All 

### 22 right. Let's Jerry Cain, Mr. Jerry Cain. Are you 

### 23 here? 

### 24Okay. Mr. Nelson. 

### 25 MR. NELSON: This is my testimony supportingAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 233 1 the adoption of the strongest possible final U.S. EPA 

### 2 mercury and air toxic standard with the deliberate 

### 3 speed. 

### 4My name is Dennis Nelson, I reside in the 

### 5 River North neighborhood of Chicago here. I have a 

### 6 bachelor of science degree in biology and environmental 

### 7 studies from Dana College of Blair, Nebraska. 

### 8 Being actively involved in environmental 

### 9 movement since around the first earth day, April 22, 

### 10 1970. I have over forty-one years of proven experience 

### 11 as an effective energy environmental activist. I am 

### 12 the President and Board Member of the Nuclear Energy 

### 13 Information Service, NEIS here in Chicago. Our website 

### 14 is www.NEIS.org. Being Illinois nuclear power watchdog 

### 15 group, NEIS actively supports a carbon free, nuclear 

### 16 free energy pathway, greatly reducing the toxic air 

### 17 pollutants such as mercury, arsenic, and lead from 

### 18 Midwest Generation's Fisk Coal Plant in the Pilsen 

### 19 neighborhood and Midwest Generation's Crawford Coal 

### 20 Plant in the Little Village neighborhood on Chicago's 

### 21 south side, as well as the other coal plants around the 

### 22 country under the proposed U.S. EPA standard definitely 

### 23 fits within the carbon free part of this pathway. 

### 24Let's stand up to polluting and dirty king 

### 25 coal. U.S. EPA should enact stringent final mercuryAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 234 1 and air toxic safeguards as soon as possible. These 

### 2 newer proposed safeguards will cut mercury emissions by 

### 3 about ninety-one percent, acid gas pollution also by 

### 4 ninety-one percent, sulfur dioxide by around 

### 5 fifty-three percent and direct particulate matter by 

### 6 roughly thirty percent. 

### 7 You'll probably receive oral and written 

### 8 testimony from organizations like the Respiratory 

### 9 Health Association, Metropolitan, Chicago, the American 

### 10 Lung Association in Illinois, greater Chicago, and 

### 11 Illinois Chapter of the Sierra Club Chicago Group 

### 12 documenting the specific health problems caused by this 

### 13 coal-fired air pollution in greater detail. 

### 14I'm throwing out on the table some of the 

### 15 information connected with this to be considered. 

### 16 Every year, our country's coal-fired power plants 

### 17 release over seventy thousand pounds of toxic mercury 

### 18 and approximately three hundred and eighty-six thousand 

### 19 tons of other hazardous air pollutants. About 

### 20 seventy-two percent of our nation's mercury emissions 

### 21 come from our coal-fired power plants. Even only one 

### 22 gram of this mercury contamination in a twenty acre 

### 23 lake will make the fish caught there not fit for us to 

### 24 eat. 

### 25 Some Chicago activists wave signs at ralliesAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 235 1 and demonstrations which say, coal kills and coal 

### 2 pollutes, but you must actuate the positive as well as 

### 3 bash the negative. Putting a positive spin on all of 

### 4 this does not mean buying into the junk science that 

### 5 the big dirty polluting coal companies to deliberately 

### 6 fostering through industry funded front groups, think 

### 7 tanks and public relations firms. 

### 8 Putting this public spin means to point out 

### 9 that the toughest possible final standard means cleaner 

### 10 air and water for all of us resulting in healthier 

### 11 lifestyles and a better quality of life for everyone. 

### 12 For example, drastically reducing mercury emissions 

### 13 will mean safer fish to eat, fewer cases of learning 

### 14 disabilities in kids, and reduced heart disease in 

### 15 adults. 

### 16 Anti-coal equals inherently cleaner energy. 

### 17 If I -- I say cleaner, rather than clean because to me, 

### 18 it's a relative rather than absolute. All energy 

### 19 technologies have some kind of impact, however, the 

### 20 specific kinds of environmental pollution covered by 

### 21 the proposed U.S. EPA safeguards are not directly 

### 22 produced by energy efficient, renewable energy 

### 23 oriented, zero net energy homes, utility scale wind 

### 24 farms and solar photovoltaic take facilities, 

### 25 etcetera.AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 236 1 On Saturday, May 14, 2011, I attended this 

### 2 year's Chicago Green Festival at McCormack Place. At 

### 3 the Sierra Club Green Cinema, I viewed the Center for 

### 4 Investigative Reporting's excellent ninety minute film 

### 5 entitled Dirty Business, Clean Coal, and the Battle for 

### 6 Our Future featuring investigative journalist Jeff 

### 7 Goodell who wrote the book entitled, "Big 

### 8 Coal, the Dirty Secret Behind America's Energy Future." 

### 9 The moral of this story is there's no such thing as 

### 10 so-called clean coal. 

### 11 Thanks for considering my comments. 

### 12 MR. CLARK: Thank you. Mr. Cain. 

### 13 MR. CAIN: My name is Jerry Cain, C-A-I-N. 

### 14 I'm the President of Judson University in Elgin, about 

### 15 forty miles west of here. Philosophically, I'm a 

### 16 follower of Christ and thus I'm very interested in 

### 17 life, not only its definitions like beginnings and 

### 18 endings, but also the quality of life. 

### 19 Secondly, vocationally I'm an educator and 

### 20 I'm concerned about learning and all of the 

### 21 accouterments related thereto. Thank you very much for 

### 22 hearing a few of my statements. 

### 23 I began today with a baby shower. College 

### 24 Presidents don't do baby showers very frequently, and 

### 25 so I attended a baby shower for the new baby of ourAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 237 1 webmaster, Anna Sherman. In that snack room, we were 

### 2 gathered around and admiring this new child, but I 

### 3 realized one of those facts that I had read in 

### 4preparation for our thoughts for today. One out of six 

### 5 babies is harmed by mercury at every birth and if 

### 6 that's five of you over there and one of me over here 

### 7 and we only procreate one child, one of us is going to 

### 8 have a, a deficient child because of excessive mercury 

### 9 in our system. And although Illinois prides itself as 

### 10 being the Saudi Arabia of coal, our, our coal plants 

### 11 create a lot of that problem and I'd like to see us 

### 12 address that. 

### 13 There is a blood brain barrier that is not 

### 14 formed until a child is about nearly two years old that 

### 15 prevents mercury from getting to the brain, so that 

### 16 brain is very susceptible until about age two and 

### 17 those -- whenever mercury enters the system, it creates 

### 18 developmental disabilities, lowered intelligence and 

### 19 significant learning problems. Now that's scene number 

### 20 one. 

### 21 I, I then went to scene number two. Scene 

### 22 number two is meeting with my cabinet. So cabinet 

### 23 around the table. We're discussing environmental 

### 24 [indecipherable]. Everyone wants to be keeping up with 

### 25 the latest writings, publications, research, etcetera,AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 238 1 so one person laid on the table the United States has 

### 2 now dropped to number thirty-one in mathematics acumen. 

### 3 That's not, not a statistic we want to be proud of, but 

### 4 that came out yesterday. 

### 5 It also came out last week that our teacher 

### 6 education graduates have only a seventy percent chance 

### 7 of passing the basic skills test in Illinois if they 

### 8 have an ACT of twenty-five or above. Now those are the 

### 9 people that we're producing to be teachers and an ACT 

### 10 of twenty-five will only give you a seventy percent 

### 11 chance of passing that basic skills test. 

### 12 Now as educators, we're willing to deal with 

### 13 that. We wrestle with those problems and we will face 

### 14 them daily, but I ask you to step up and help us 

### 15 address those problems. I think the issue we're 

### 16 discussing today is an educational issue and thus, 

### 17 after twenty-one years, I think it would be time to 

### 18 enforce these requirements that we have suggested since 

### 19 about 1990. 

### 20 You've heard already that the enforcement of 

### 21 these goals would take ninety-one percent of the 

### 22 mercury out of the air. I would suggest that nearly 

### 23 every American would be happy to pay the four or so 

### 24 dollars additional every year necessary. That's going 

### 25 to be much better than a tax to try to increase ourAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 239 1 academic systems. 

### 2 This would result in better brains. It would 

### 3 result in better bodies. It would result in sharper 

### 4minds. It would be a major step forward to helping us 

### 5 rebuild our educational systems. Help us compete again 

### 6 with the rest of the world, so I request that the EPA 

### 7 implement the mercury standard without delay and 

### 8 suggest that the members of Congress not impede this 

### 9 implementation. It's necessary to move forward in 

### 10 quality education. 

### 11 Thank you for hearing me. 

### 12 MR. CLARK: Thank you. Guys, any questions? 

### 13 Thank you both very much. Appreciate your testimony. 

### 14Let me say in general, we very much 

### 15 appreciate the fact that I know many of you have come 

### 16 long distances and, and taken a day out of your busy 

### 17 schedules, so thank you very much for that. We, we 

### 18 very much appreciate that. 

### 19 I'm going to try Paul Wojoski one more time. 

### 20 Is Paul here? I'm afraid I'm going to write Paul off 

### 21 onto the later to be dealt with group. Rebecca Rossof 

### 22 and Michelle Martinez please. 

### 23 MS. ROSSOF: Good afternoon. My name is 

### 24 Rebecca Rossof, R-O-S-S-O-F as in Frank. Thank you for 

### 25 allowing me to testify before you this afternoon.AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 240 1 For forty years, I have taught biology and 

### 2 chemistry here in Chicago and have helped high school 

### 3 students understand the nature of their physical world. 

### 4 I have encouraged them to educate themselves and place 

### 5 their trust in a safe, productive future. 

### 6 I am here today to support the important step 

### 7 taken by the EPA on March 16 of this year in imposing, 

### 8 in proposing the first national standard developed 

### 9 under section one twelve of the Clean Air Act to reduce 

### 10 mercury and other toxic air pollution from coal and oil 

### 11 fired power plants. 

### 12 I urge you to enact the rules as written, not 

### 13 just because it will prevent the emission of mercury, 

### 14 acid gas emissions, and sulfur dioxide by very 

### 15 significant amounts, and thereby protecting our health 

### 16 and our families from the illnesses and premature 

### 17 deaths linked to these pollutants. Pollutants which 

### 18 damage children's developing brains and contribute to 

### 19 serious health problems in adults, including cancer, 

### 20 heart disease. 

### 21 I'm here not just because each year the 

### 22 standards will prevent serious illnesses and health 

### 23 problems for thousands of Americans. I'm here not just 

### 24 because these standards will keep people working. Each 

### 25 year eight hundred fifty thousand missed work days orAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 241 1 sick days will be avoided, enhancing productivity and 

### 2 lowering health care costs for American families. 

### 3 I'm here not just because the standard would 

### 4 create jobs, provide high quality employment in America 

### 5 for thirty-one thousand short-term construction jobs, 

### 6 and nine thousand long term utility jobs as our workers 

### 7 create, build and install the equipment at power plants 

### 8 and then operate and maintain the equipment after 

### 9 installation. 

### 10 I'm here not just because the proposal is 

### 11 realistic. It sets technology based emissions 

### 12 limitation standards for mercury and other toxic 

### 13 pollutants, which reflect levels already achieved by 

### 14 the best performing sources currently in operation and 

### 15 allows existing sources up to four years to comply with 

### 16 these standards. Even high school students recognize 

### 17 that electrical generation plants cannot be hamstrung 

### 18 with needless regulations, but they are able to 

### 19 recognize that the EPA is trying to create regulatory 

### 20 certainty and a level playing field for cleaner energy 

### 21 sources. 

### 22 Students know the cost of generating 

### 23 electricity from coal and oil must include the cost of 

### 24maintaining clean air. 

### 25 I am here today to support the proposedAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 242 1 standard because it makes a strong statement to the 

### 2 young people of our nation that their government can, 

### 3 will, and does take action to ensure a healthful 

### 4 environment for them. 

### 5 Already in their young lives, they know that 

### 6 our air has been fouled with unhealthful substances 

### 7 from unregulated commercial development. They ask why 

### 8 this endangerment is allowed to continue and they so 

### 9 easily become cynical when the lobbying of utilities 

### 10 manufacturers and other big businesses are able to 

### 11 derail efforts to curb the release of such toxic 

### 12 pollutants. 

### 13 How are they to have faith in their future? 

### 14 They need to see evidence of concern for their health, 

### 15 concern for their environment, concern for wise and 

### 16 productive economic development in their country. 

### 17 Without such action, how will they have the opportunity 

### 18 to enjoy a healthful, meaningful future. 

### 19 On behalf of the thousands of students with 

### 20 whom I've had the pleasure to work, I encourage you to 

### 21 move forward with these proposed standards. I hope 

### 22 that America will see these rulings finalized in 

### 23 November of this year. Thank you very much. 

### 24MR. CLARK: Ms. Martinez. 

### 25 MS. MARTINEZ: Hi, my name is MichelleAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 243 1 Martinez and I am an employee of the Sierra Club in the 

### 2 Detroit office and I come here today to talk a little 

### 3 bit about my experience during my master's thesis as a 

### 4 student at the University of Michigan School of Natural 

### 5 Resources and Environment from 2002 to 2008 in which I 

### 6 conducted, with my colleagues, Alexandria Teague 

### 7 [phonetic] and Vicki Calcurtz [phonetic] 

### 8 [indecipherable] survey on the Detroit River of anglers 

### 9 to determine their awareness of fish consumption 

### 10 advisories and fish toxicity in the Detroit River. 

### 11 And we found in our studies and in our 

### 12 conversations that African Americans on the U.S. side 

### 13 of the Detroit River are the primary demographic of 

### 14 fish consumers on the Detroit River area of concern. 

### 15 Canadian anglers in comparison did not eat as much fish 

### 16 from the Detroit River. 

### 17 Our second finding was that African Americans 

### 18 consume more fish in greater quantity and in greater 

### 19 frequency, choosing a wider breadth of species than 

### 20 their Caucasian counterparts. 

### 21 In that, our findings also were that 

### 22 pollution in the fisheries, like mercury, adds a stigma 

### 23 to the cultural preferences of African Americans which 

### 24 choose fish at lower trophic levels like catfish, 

### 25 adding that stigma equating to a logic that only dirtyAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 244 1 people eat dirty fish. And that was said to us on the 

### 2 river. 

### 3 Mercury pollution in our fisheries compounds 

### 4 environmental justice issues, not only for indigenous 

### 5 populations all over the country, but also for anglers 

### 6 of color in the Detroit River area of concern, 

### 7 specifically. Not only because of the consumption 

### 8 habits of people of color on the Detroit River, but 

### 9 also because of the lack of awareness of fish 

### 10 advisories. Fish advisories as a tool are not 

### 11 effective for people of color. 

### 12 Through our literature research, we found 

### 13 over a dozen surveys or studies starting from 1992 

### 14 finding that fish consumption advisories were not 

### 15 effective in communicating toxicity to anglers. 

### 16 In 2001, only fifty percent of all Great 

### 17 Lake's anglers were aware of the fish consumption 

### 18 advisory and only fifteen percent of African American 

### 19 black sports fish consumers were aware of the advisory. 

### 20 More studies coming out all over the Great 

### 21 Lakes region that determine that fish consumption 

### 22 advisories were insufficient in their ability to convey 

### 23 that message for a variety of different reasons, 

### 24 including having to break cultural norms to accept that 

### 25 knowledge. Also that, specifically in Detroit, hasAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 245 1 been determined food desert. If you're taking 

### 2 supplements to your food and putting food on your table 

### 3 through the Detroit River, you would have to give up a 

### 4 food source for your family and that would mean -- 

### 5 accepting that knowledge would mean limiting your food 

### 6 source choices. 

### 7 Also that trust of the governmental 

### 8 institutions themselves that why should I stop fishing 

### 9 when the government is not protecting me. Why should I 

### 10 listen to the government when they're not regulating 

### 11 the companies, they're regulating me. 

### 12 So that, those were some of the sentiments 

### 13 that we heard on the river and I hope that you will 

### 14 consider that fish consumption because of mercury is an 

### 15 environmental justice issue and that it should be taken 

### 16 seriously and it disrupts cultural norms and the 

### 17 culture of the United States and their people in it. 

### 18 Thank you. 

### 19 MS. KURLANSKY: Excuse me, Ms. Martinez. 

### 20 That study that you did in graduate school, did you 

### 21 publish that? 

### 22 MS. MARTINEZ: It's online, yes. 

### 23 MS. KURLANSKY: Is it? 

### 24MS. MARTINEZ: Fish Consumption Advisories 

### 25 and Environmental Justice in the Detroit River Area ofAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 246 1 Concern. 

### 2 MS. KURLANSKY: So I could probably find it 

### 3 on Google. 

### 4MS. MARTINEZ: Absolutely. 

### 5 MALE: [Indecipherable]. 

### 6 MS. MARTINEZ: Great. No problem. 

### 7 MALE: [Indecipherable]. 

### 8 MR. CLARK: I'm sorry. Next speakers please. 

### 9 Juliee De La Terre and Lance Green, please. 

### 10 Also, just want to remind people to, to sign 

### 11 in at the EPA desk even if you, if you're signed up to 

### 12 speak, but you didn't sign in when you came in, please 

### 13 do that, so that they know you're here and can get you 

### 14 on the list. Okay? Thank you. 

### 15 Okay. 

### 16 MS. WENDLAND: I'm Ingrid Wendland, Juliee De 

### 17 La Terre's daughter, fourth grade, Kickapoo School. 

### 18 MR. CLARK: And can you -- if you don't mind, 

### 19 if you could spell your name, that would be great. 

### 20 MS. WENDLAND: I-N-G-R-I-D, W-E-N-D-L-A-N-D. 

### 21 MR. CLARK: Thank you. 

### 22 MS. WENDLAND: My watershed is near a coal 

### 23 fired power plant at Genoa, Wisconsin. Mercury from 

### 24 this plant has contaminated the fish in the trout 

### 25 streams and the Kickapoo River.AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 247 1 Our area relies on trout fisher people for 

### 2 important income. 

### 3 MS. DE LA TERRE: My name is Juliee De La 

### 4 Terre, J-U-L-I-E-E, D-E L-A T-E-R-R-E. I'm a graduate 

### 5 student at the Gaylord Nelson Institute in Madison, 

### 6 Wisconsin; that rowdy town you've all been hearing 

### 7 about, and I'm wondering to myself whether Gaylord 

### 8 would be rolling over in his grave right now because 

### 9 his earth day movement is what brought EPA into 

### 10 existence and it's been forty years now and we're still 

### 11 not having the work getting done, so that is why I'm at 

### 12 this institute, pursuing a doctorate in environment and 

### 13 resources and since that other gentleman gave a couple 

### 14 of websites, so am I. So if you want to go to 

### 15 University of Wisconsin, it's wisc.edu. We also have a 

### 16 website called WICCI, which is Wisconsin Initiative on 

### 17 Climate Change Impacts which isn't coming up today, but 

### 18 burning coal is also very integral in that whole global 

### 19 issue. 

### 20 So you've been provided with copious facts 

### 21 and figures here today regarding toxins and health 

### 22 effects resulting from our addition to coal. I live in 

### 23 the beautiful Kickapoo Valley in southwest Wisconsin. 

### 24 The Genoa coal-fired electrical power plant is not far 

### 25 away, on the banks of the Mississippi. The toxins fromAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 248 1 this plant have contaminated one of the world's best 

### 2 trout fisheries and the Kickapoo River in our valley. 

### 3 My valley relies on tourism as a key economic 

### 4 driver. The air quality in our valley of Amish organic 

### 5 farmers and health conscious citizens is often 

### 6 compromised on warm summer days. I understand how 

### 7 scrubbers work in plants, to take out the mercury and 

### 8 the arsenic and the [Indecipherable] and all that good 

### 9 stuff, but I wonder where this scrubbing material will 

### 10 be disposed of now that it's being kept out of the 

### 11 atmosphere. 

### 12 We recently defeated a proposal in our valley 

### 13 to locate a coal ash dump next to an organic farming 

### 14 community. So though we are asking you to increase 

### 15 regulations, we also must remember that scrubber ash 

### 16 and coal ash, how do we safeguard communities and the 

### 17 environment from these substances? 

### 18 I believe this ash is used in cement and 

### 19 wallboard products. Is this safe or will children be 

### 20 poisoned if they ingest wall board? That's another 

### 21 question I have. 

### 22 Every answer to a problem usually has three 

### 23 or four other things that come along with it. I'm just 

### 24 saying, we need to have a long term look at what we're 

### 25 doing.AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 249 1 Passing the air toxics rule and enforcing all 

### 2 Clean Air Act regulations is just a tiny part of what 

### 3 needs to be done nationally and to preserve human 

### 4 health and ecosystem health. Worldwide, we are an 

### 5 [indecipherable] of unprecedented degradation and 

### 6 extraction of the earth's resources for profit. 

### 7 As a citizen of the U.S., I demand the EPA 

### 8 take its responsibilities of protecting our water, air, 

### 9 bio-diversity and vital ecosystems seriously. That is 

### 10 our job. Enforce the regulations. Don't cave in to 

### 11 the industry's demand for ever increasing profits. 

### 12 Profits that will destroy the future of our children, 

### 13 our ecosystems and all other living beings. 

### 14Simply put, it is time to address greed and 

### 15 profit and return to an approach to our energy needs by 

### 16 implementing renewable energy systems and an office of 

### 17 efficiency in every state and in Washington. A clean, 

### 18 renewable energy future equals a viable economic 

### 19 future. Let's get real. 

### 20 MR. CLARK: Mr. Green. Mr. Green. 

### 21 MR. GREEN: My name is Lance Green, 

### 22 L-A-N-C-E, and Green spelled like the politics of most 

### 23 of the people in here. 

### 24First thing I want to do is before I say -- 

### 25 I'm just going to say a few short things, but I firstAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 250 1 want to thank the EPA. I know you've been lambasted a 

### 2 lot today, but in reality, we have done an awful lot 

### 3 since that first earth day that I and most of us 

### 4participated in forty years ago and I really appreciate 

### 5 the work that the EPA has done, so thank you very much. 

### 6 For the, for the last twenty years, I've 

### 7 worked at the Department of Natural Resources in 

### 8 Wisconsin and the Air Management Bureau. My work 

### 9 really had to do with controlling emissions of ozone 

### 10 depleting substances and greenhouse gasses and so I'm 

### 11 not an air toxic expert. But today, I'm here to 

### 12 support the proposed air toxic rule as it has been 

### 13 written and hopefully to get it passed without any kind 

### 14 of refinements or weakening of the rule. So I 

### 15 appreciate that very much. 

### 16 As someone who has worked through that 

### 17 process of rule making and administering the 

### 18 regulations and working with the industry, I think 

### 19 you're certainly at a place now where this rule has 

### 20 been worked on and these issues have been worked on for 

### 21 such a long time that everybody, everybody recognizes 

### 22 including those in the industry that this is what we 

### 23 need to do. 

### 24So it really just comes down to a pretty, a 

### 25 pretty simple, simple, simple solution and that isAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 251 1 let's just do it. We know that it's going to cost a 

### 2 little bit, but as one other person, four dollars a 

### 3 person a year and we're talking about everybody getting 

### 4 all these fish advisories. I'm from Wisconsin. We 

### 5 have fish fries every Friday. You know? We eat a lot 

### 6 of fish there, you know, and, and, and so we really 

### 7 know and understand that fishing's important, as other 

### 8 people have said, fishing is a giant industry in 

### 9 Wisconsin. 

### 10 This is the kind of pollutant that's 

### 11 worldwide. This is the kind of pollutant that doesn't 

### 12 just come from your local plant. This is the kind of 

### 13 pollutant that goes all over the whole planet and so we 

### 14 here in the United States need to set a tone and we 

### 15 need to show the rest of the world that we're being 

### 16 responsible. I think that's an important part of it. 

### 17 Our young people here need to understand that 

### 18 they live in a place that is a caring place, that is 

### 19 worried about these kind of issues. A lot of people 

### 20 seem to be losing hope in this present day world and we 

### 21 need to give hope by showing that we understand and 

### 22 know the right thing to do. I think that's really 

### 23 important, just for the attitude of young people. 

### 24In Wisconsin, we have worked on this issue 

### 25 and we have a proposal -- we have a rule now that says,AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 252 1 by -- as someone else said, by 2015, the Wisconsin 

### 2 plants can reduce mercury by ninety percent. I think 

### 3 as Illinois has showed, it's not impossible to do that. 

### 4 It's not impossible financially to do that. It's easy 

### 5 to do it really. There's a giant benefit to cost ratio 

### 6 here. I mean what, one place I read for every dollar 

### 7 you put into pollution control, you get seven or eight 

### 8 dollars of health returns on that, so that's, that's a 

### 9 no-brainer. 

### 10 So, I guess in conclusion, again I'm very 

### 11 much in supporting of the rule as it is. This 

### 12 regulation addresses important, important aspect of how 

### 13 we're treating each other, especially cross 

### 14 generational and especially cross color. We should 

### 15 know that we are all the same people here and we need 

### 16 to treat each other that way and this obviously, as 

### 17 others have said, effects different people in, in our 

### 18 culture in different ways. 

### 19 So the health of you, me, our children, is 

### 20 all, all under this decision. You know that this is up 

### 21 to you. I hope that you can all stand strong in the 

### 22 face of the kind of pressure that you're getting from 

### 23 some, from some sectors of our society and from some 

### 24 people who are going to make a lot of money if they 

### 25 don't do this, but I think you know a lot better thanAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 253 1 that. 

### 2 As a citizen of the U.S. and a citizen of the 

### 3 planet, I ask you to please choose wisely to protect us 

### 4 and I thank you again for doing the wonderful work that 

### 5 you do. Thank you EPA. 

### 6 MR. CLARK: I have for Ingrid. What -- I 

### 7 have a question for you. 

### 8 MS. WENDLAND: Oh. 

### 9 MR. CLARK: What, what grade are you in? 

### 10 MS. WENDLAND: Fourth. 

### 11 MR. CLARK: You're ending fourth grade? 

### 12 MS. WENDLAND: Yes. 

### 13 MR. CLARK: Okay. You're the youngest -- 

### 14 actually, you're not the youngest. We had someone who 

### 15 was about three months old this morning, I think. But 

### 16 you're the most articulate young person that we've had, 

### 17 so thank you very much for coming to testify. 

### 18 Okay. Let's see. Kelly Pierce and Patricia 

### 19 Rosenthal please, Rosenthal. Are you Ms. Pierce? 

### 20 MS. ROSENTHAL: No, I'm, I'm -- 

### 21 MR. CLARK: Oh there we go. Okay. 

### 22 MS. ROSENTHAL: I'm Patricia Rosenthal. 

### 23 MR. CLARK: Patricia Rosenthal. Okay. Got 

### 24 you, got you. Okay. 

### 25 MS. ROSENTHAL: Shall I start?AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 254 1 MR. CLARK: No, let's just, let's wait one 

### 2 second. 

### 3 MS. ROSENTHAL: Oh. 

### 4MR. CLARK: Right. 

### 5 MS. ROSENTHAL: Sorry about that. Hi, I've 

### 6 seen you before. Yeah, you were at the meeting. 

### 7 MALE: Well, it was a pleasure meeting you. 

### 8 MS. ROSENTHAL: Yeah. 

### 9 MR. CLARK: Okay. Ms. Rosenthal. 

### 10 MS. ROSENTHAL: My name is Patty Rosenthal. 

### 11 Thank you for giving me this opportunity to speak. I 

### 12 live in the south loop close to the Fisk and Crawford 

### 13 coal plants. 

### 14About a year ago, I learned that these plants 

### 15 emit air pollution in the form of mercury, arsenic and 

### 16 lead. These pollutants cause asthma, development 

### 17 problems in children, even death and you've heard all 

### 18 the other things that it does that I didn't even know. 

### 19 Okay. Since then, I haven't been able to get 

### 20 this, these facts out of my mind. I don't want to 

### 21 breathe these pollutants and I don't want other people 

### 22 breathing them either. I'm appalled that the managers 

### 23 of Fisk and Crawford care so little about the people 

### 24 they serve or are supposed to serve. 

### 25 I'm therefore delighted that the EPA isAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 255 1 proposing a national rule which will drastically reduce 

### 2 air pollution and save lives. Thank you. 

### 3 MR. CLARK: Thank you. Mr. Pierce. 

### 4MR. PIERCE: Thank you so much. My name is 

### 5 Kelly Pierce, K-E-L-L-Y, P-I-E-R-C-E. I'm a resident 

### 6 of Chicago on the north side. I am blind and 

### 7 intentionally choose to live in Chicago because it 

### 8 offers me a level of independence because of its public 

### 9 transit system and walkable communities that would be 

### 10 hard to find elsewhere in places that are outside the 

### 11 Chicago area, but have a lot, lot cleaner air. 

### 12 I, I, I've had declining health. I've lived 

### 13 here continuously for the past twenty years and have 

### 14 had declining health over these past two decades. I 

### 15 never could understand why until I finally -- even 

### 16 despite speaking to and, and working with many doctors 

### 17 until finding a doctor who is rather sophisticated and 

### 18 aware. It turns out that my thyroid levels are one 

### 19 fifth of that of a normal person and, and it turns out 

### 20 that mercury blocks the actions of thyroid hormone 

### 21 causing the body to under regulate and so what happens 

### 22 is the metabolism slows down, there's low energy 

### 23 levels, the body temperature is cold most of the time 

### 24 and I'm -- it's a -- I'm ending up being tired and 

### 25 fatigued a lot until, of course, I started my treatmentAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 256 1 to restore my good health and my thyroid levels. 

### 2 One of the biggest sources of mercury that 

### 3 interferes and blocks thyroid metabolism in the body is 

### 4 coal-fired power plants. 

### 5 When the Clean Air Act was passed, the 

### 6 existing plants such as the Fisk and Crawford plants 

### 7 here in Chicago and the State Line plant on the 

### 8 Indiana, Illinois border were exempt from, from 

### 9 regulations. 

### 10 I fully support these rules because these 

### 11 rules will actually make plants, these coal plants that 

### 12 were exempt when the Clean Air Act was initially 

### 13 implemented to actually provide, to clean up their act 

### 14 and provide emissions to modern standards or frankly, 

### 15 go out of business. That's, that is something that I 

### 16 have paid the price for. It's not something that 

### 17 Midwest Generation, Edison International, which owns 

### 18 Fisk and Crawford, or Dominion which, which owns State 

### 19 Line or Commonwealth Edison which own the plants before 

### 20 Edison International bought them, is paying for. I'm 

### 21 paying for it. The insurance company's paying for it. 

### 22 My employer's paying for it. 

### 23 Essentially, all of us are paying for it, but 

### 24 yet these companies are reaping billions of dollars 

### 25 from producing dirty coal, dirty emissions, decliningAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 257 1 health. And the other prices are, are unaccountable. 

### 2 Who pays for the missed birthdays? Who pays for the 

### 3 missed days at work? Who pays for the missed times of 

### 4 spending time with my family and my parents? Those -- 

### 5 prices can't be paid for that. When I'm, when I'm too 

### 6 exhausted to do much else. 

### 7 That's, that's something that is incalculable 

### 8 and that's why these regulations need to exist and need 

### 9 to be implemented as they, as they are in the final 

### 10 rule. And that's why I'm here today and speaking up 

### 11 for these, these coal, these coal regulations. It's 

### 12 incredible, these, these two plants alone, for example 

### 13 and I'll finish with this, equal eighteen times the 

### 14 ground operations at O'Hare National Airport. That's 

### 15 how much they pollute according to an analysis by Green 

### 16 Peace. 

### 17 They, they have the carbon dioxide output, 

### 18 just these two plants at Fisk and Crawford, of two 

### 19 thirds of all the vehicle emissions -- carbon dioxide 

### 20 vehicle emissions of all the vehicles in the City of 

### 21 Chicago on any given day. That's why these plants that 

### 22 have never really been regulated by the EPA before, to 

### 23 any substantive degree need these regulations and not 

### 24 only these plants, but all plants that were exempt need 

### 25 to have these regulations for the sake of my goodAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 258 1 health and that for millions of others of Americans. 2 Thank you so much for this opportunity. 3 MR. CLARK: Thank you. Thank you both. 4 Okay. Next two speakers please, Patricia Crowley and 5 James McPike. Ms. Crowley. 6 DR. CROWLEY: I wanted to thank you for your 7 time today. I know that listening is the most 8 difficult of human activity -- 9 MR. CLARK: You sound like my wife. I'm 10 sorry. 11 DR. CROWLEY: -- hour after hour is very 12 difficult. 13 Before I start, I have been asked to let my 14 fourteen year old daughter, Lyrica [phonetic] and our 15 friend Jim Adair [phonetic] present a poster from the 16 children of southeast Michigan. This was an unplanned 17 event that I'm trying to incorporate into my 18 presentation. 19 And you as part of the executive branch of 20 our President, I hope you can relay our message here. 21 My name is Dr. Pat Crowley and I'm the 22DrainCommissioner of Kalamazoo County, 23 Michigan. A drain commissioner is an elected person 24 charged with managing the storm water of a county. 25 I've also been a hydrologist for about thirty-fiveAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 259 1 years and about ten of those associated with 

### 2 cleaning up soil and water contamination. 

### 3 I have a dream that, unlike most dreams, once 

### 4 was a reality and that dream is that each and every one 

### 5 of us might be able to invite a friend or a family 

### 6 member to walk with us to the nearest stream, river, or 

### 7 lake, soak a line, tell a joke, listen to the birds 

### 8 sing and catch a few fish. Then, of course, walk home, 

### 9 wash the fish, cook the fish, eat the fish without 

### 10 having to consult a fish advisory bulletin. 

### 11 This is a simple activity and has a profound 

### 12 social, cultural, physical and spiritual consequence 

### 13 and I, I think you all know that. 

### 14Even though my community has many beautiful 

### 15 lakes, streams and rivers, this is now not possible for 

### 16 us. My office holds the EPA MS4 [phonetic] and PDS 

### 17 permit for about half the surface waters in our county 

### 18 and I work hard to educate the people and the public, 

### 19 general public on how to keep their water clean. 

### 20 In our everyday work, we always consider the 

### 21 aquatic habitat of every activity that we're involved 

### 22 in, be it selecting and installing a culvert, removing 

### 23 brush and sediment from a stream or a drain, or 

### 24 stabilizing stream banks. We participate fully in 

### 25 monitoring our water and promoting low impactAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 260 1 development techniques and we're, we're also preparing 

### 2 ourselves for, for greater EPA regulation. 

### 3 Regardless of our effort, toxics are raining 

### 4 down on us, negating our hard work. While we work hard 

### 5 to control sediment, nutrients, bacteria and 

### 6 hydrocarbons, mercury, dioxin, PCB's and other 

### 7 persistent organic pesticides continue to increase in 

### 8 our water body, in the water bodies surrounding us. 

### 9 These come from across our state borders and across our 

### 10 national borders. 

### 11 I want you and we need you to be a full 

### 12 partner in helping to restore our water quality and 

### 13 bring confidence in the attainment of a fuller 

### 14 participation in the natural world. I need you to do 

### 15 for our air what I cannot do locally. Assure that our 

### 16 national standards are adopted and enforced and work 

### 17 for global treaties to protect all our earth's natural 

### 18 resources. 

### 19 Thank you. 

### 20 MR. CLARK: Thank you. 

### 21 MR. McPIKE: Hello. I want to thank you for 

### 22 giving me the opportunity to speak today. My name is 

### 23 Jim McPike and I'm a student of Central Michigan 

### 24 University and I work in a pharmacy in Lansing. I am 

### 25 testifying in support of increasing pollutantAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 261 1 regulations for coal and oil power plants. 

### 2 As a pharmacy technician, I encounter 

### 3 patients with respiratory illnesses on a daily basis. 

### 4An increasing amount of those patients are children and 

### 5 infants. Multiple studies have proven a correlation 

### 6 between exposure to airborne pollutants and respiratory 

### 7 illness, illnesses. 

### 8 A study performed by J.D. Thurston of the 

### 9 California Air Resources Board focused on particulate 

### 10 matter and its effects on children. The study showed 

### 11 that long term particulate matter exposure to children 

### 12 has been associated with reduced lung function, 

### 13 increased respiratory symptoms and increased infant 

### 14mortality. 

### 15 Another study [indecipherable] and Air 

### 16 Pollution and its effects on health -- sorry -- showed 

### 17 that exposure to nitrogen dioxide can increase 

### 18 respiratory illness in children. The health issues of 

### 19 these pollutants can be addressed by limiting exposure 

### 20 to these pollutants by increasing emission regulations 

### 21 for these coal and oil power plants. 

### 22 That has been proven the cause of 

### 23 irreversible neurological damage in children. A study 

### 24 done by Gilbert and Wise [phonetic] and the rationale 

### 25 for lowering the blood action level showed impairedAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 262 1 neuro-development in children with blood levels as low 

### 2 as two microgram per deciliter. To clarify how small 

### 3 that value truly is, a microgram is one millionth of a 

### 4 gram, a deciliter is one tenth of a liter. 

### 5 Another study performed by a collaboration of 

### 6 scientists looked at the rates of lower respiratory 

### 7 illness in relation to particulate matter and 

### 8 hydrocarbons. It was found that bronchitis rates 

### 9 increased with rising concentrations of the pollutants. 

### 10 It conclude that preschool children may be particularly 

### 11 susceptible to airborne pollutants. 

### 12 I could site study after study showing the 

### 13 effects of airborne pollutants all day. The problem 

### 14 is, we all know this. We see the effects of this in 

### 15 our everyday lives. We see children with asthma, 

### 16 bronchitis and other respiratory illnesses. We see 

### 17 children that require pills, tubes, inhalers, just so 

### 18 they can live. 

### 19 We can't continue to let these companies emit 

### 20 these pollutants at the current rate. We cannot 

### 21 allow -- we cannot afford to let our children's health 

### 22 suffer, suffer for the -- sorry for that. We can't 

### 23 afford to let our children's health suffer for the sake 

### 24 of cost cutting and profit. The regulations should be 

### 25 increased. Emission standards should be raised.AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 263 1 Raising the standards is not only the pragmatic 

### 2 thing to do for our collective health, it's the ethical 

### 3 thing to do as well. I thank you for the time. 

### 4MR. CLARK: Thank you very much. Thank you. 

### 5 Thank you very much. 

### 6 Our next speakers Laura Chamberlain and 

### 7 Allison Risler [phonetic] please. 

### 8 FEMALE: Laura's out to lunch. 

### 9 MR. CLARK: Laura's out to lunch. Okay. 

### 10 Okay and she may have to get back in line a little bit 

### 11 later then. So Allison Risler Sarah Lovinger. And 

### 12 okay. Let's try Vivian Hood and Joan Arnold please. 

### 13 MS. ARNOLD: Right here. 

### 14MR. CLARK: Okay. I don't know to say to 

### 15 these guys. Oh okay. Yeah, I was just getting to 

### 16 these. All right. Ms. Hood please. 

### 17 MS. HOOD: Thank you. Vivian Hood. Of 

### 18 course Hood is H-O-O-D. I'm very much in favor, of 

### 19 course, of increasing clean air standards and holding 

### 20 those responsible for the demise of our air and water 

### 21 responsible. 

### 22 It's very sad to me when people tell me they 

### 23 visit Chicago and how bad the air is. When I fly over 

### 24 Chicago and I can't even see the buildings. When I 

### 25 come into Chicago and I feel worse. I'll turnAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 264 1 sixty-five this year and, of course, that makes me a 

### 2 senior citizen, and but I'm a lifelong Chicagoan and I 

### 3 can't remember ever being so appalled and it seems 

### 4 we've been going down a wrong path for so very long and 

### 5 it's about time that we take a step in a different 

### 6 direction. 

### 7 Thank you for hearing me. 

### 8 MR. CLARK: Thank you. Ms. Arnold. 

### 9 MS. ARNOLD: Before I begin, I want, I want 

### 10 you to know that I look at the EPA as my American 

### 11 soldier. My protector. My first line of defense from 

### 12 environmental dangers created by those who are doing us 

### 13 harm. 

### 14I know you want to be on my, on my, the 

### 15 people's side. I'm Joan Arnold. Born and raised on a 

### 16 dairy farm on the central part of Wisconsin. I am 

### 17 also retired military officer who spent over 

### 18 twenty-eight years in the active army. I currently 

### 19 operate a small vegetable and fruit operation on the 

### 20 family farm and I sell my produce at two farmer's 

### 21 markets in Wisconsin Rapids and Stevens Point. 

### 22 One of the major employers of this area where 

### 23 I grew up, was and some still are, the paper mills in 

### 24 the Wisconsin River valley area. Three of those mills 

### 25 still use coal as their source of power generation.AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 265 1 Paper mills and coal power plants have their own sets 

### 2 of contamination issues and when combined, the water, 

### 3 air and ground are worsened all the more. 

### 4On days when the wind blows right, or for my 

### 5 part, wrong, I can smell the paper mill's emissions. I 

### 6 live about seven miles from the nearest mill. I often 

### 7 wonder what else I am breathing and what is falling on 

### 8 my crops. Thank goodness, Wisconsin is one of the few 

### 9 states which has, in the past, been trying to clean up 

### 10 the emissions from paper mills and power plants with 

### 11 stricter standards. I want this to continue. 

### 12 I want to be assured that the air I breathe 

### 13 is clean, the water I drink is safe and the ground I 

### 14 use to grow food is as clean as or as safe as it can 

### 15 be. There needs to be more federal and state standards 

### 16 that are enforceable throughout the country. 

### 17 Unfortunately, I see there are politicians 

### 18 with certain corporate agendas that will bring us back 

### 19 to the days when we are recklessly polluting our water, 

### 20 air and ground all in the name of some cover as job 

### 21 creation and taking advantage of a supposed crisis that 

### 22 was created by continued Wall Street greed. 

### 23 Not to mention two almost eight to ten year 

### 24 old wars. We cannot afford to go back to the days of 

### 25 this environmental recklessness and not doing what isAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 266 1 right because it will cost the companies or the 

### 2 stockholders bottom line. Where CEO's now earning 

### 3 record salaries and bonuses, we as a nation cannot 

### 4 afford to keep stamping on the environment and common 

### 5 people who compose most of this country. 

### 6 All we get to share in is the continuing 

### 7 slumming and dumbing down of America from these 

### 8 corporate barons. You all know what pollution does to 

### 9 the environment and we are learning more and more that 

### 10 chemicals are ruining the human body also. How much of 

### 11 it is in our food supply as well? 

### 12 When are we, as a nation, going to get 

### 13 serious and really embrace our truly renewable sources 

### 14 for the use of power generation and energy in general? 

### 15 When is solar energy and wind generation going to be 

### 16 embraced? When is this truly renewable energy going to 

### 17 be affordable for us as consumers to embrace it in all 

### 18 our daily lives? When are energy efficiency standards 

### 19 going to be raised across the board? Why haven't we 

### 20 really improved since the first energy crisis in the 

### 21 late 1970's? When are we as a nation, going to tell 

### 22 corporate CEO's we don't want them to make so much 

### 23 money off of their compromising our health and welfare? 

### 24 When are we, as a people, really going to make the 

### 25 government and the corporations that buy ourAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 267 1 politicians and that get in bed with our regulators, 

### 2 when are we going to make them do what is right by the 

### 3 American people finally? 

### 4I encourage you to embrace -- I'm sorry. I 

### 5 encourage you to enforce and -- correct. I encourage 

### 6 you to enhance and enforce safe standards for our air, 

### 7 water and ground. If we don't have a clean and 

### 8 sustainable environment, what is life worth living for 

### 9 anyway? 

### 10 And thank you for your time. 

### 11 MR. CLARK: Thank you. Okay. Sarah Lovinger 

### 12 please. Sarah are you here? Okay. And also, I'm 

### 13 trying to figure this out, Susan Harley and Kelinda 

### 14 Scott are a combination. 

### 15 FEMALE: Yeah, we [Indecipherable] last for 

### 16 five minutes. I'm sharing my time with her. 

### 17 MR. CLARK: Oh okay. Well let's, we need an 

### 18 extra chair up there then. 

### 19 FEMALE: That's okay. I'll just stand. 

### 20 MR. CLARK: There's one right there. Okay. 

### 21 Great. In the meantime, Sarah, if you'll feel free to 

### 22 start and if you could spell your name also for the 

### 23 court reporter. 

### 24DR. LOVINGER: Sure. I spell my name 

### 25 S-A-R-A-H, L-O-V like Victor, I-N-G-E-R.AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 268 1 MR. CLARK: Great. Thank you. 

### 2 DR. LOVINGER: Good afternoon. My name is 

### 3 Dr. Sarah Lovinger and I'm the Executive Director of 

### 4 the Chicago Chapter of Physicians for Social 

### 5 Responsibility, which is the local branch of a national 

### 6 organization. We've been around for twenty years and 

### 7 we advocate for a healthier Chicago. I'm also a 

### 8 practicing Internal Medicine Physician and I'd just 

### 9 like to say that I'm grateful for the release of such a 

### 10 productive health standard that will greatly diminish 

### 11 the air emissions of hazardous pollutants from coal and 

### 12 oil fired power plants, particularly those in our area. 

### 13 I'd like to talk a little bit about the 

### 14 health risks of particulate matter. As a community 

### 15 health center doctor, working for more than a dozen 

### 16 years in Chicago's low income communities, I have 

### 17 firsthand -- seen firsthand how our under insured and 

### 18 uninsured minority populations bares a higher disease 

### 19 and death burden due to heart disease, asthma, stroke, 

### 20 and emphysema than our middle class citizens. And 

### 21 pollution in the form of particulate matter only adds 

### 22 to this disease burden. 

### 23 In my clinics, I have cared for countless 

### 24 patients suffering from these ailments; asthma, 

### 25 emphysema, hypertension, heart disease, and stroke. IAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 269 1 can diagnose and treat their ailments. I can give them 

### 2 medication to try to improve their lives, but I can't 

### 3 reduce the risk of exposure to environmental toxins. 

### 4 Only environmental regulation can do this. 

### 5 Unfortunately, as one of my colleagues says, 

### 6 you can't medicate particulate matter exposure. Why is 

### 7 air pollution and particulate matter so harmful? 

### 8 Particulate matter increases asthma rates and 

### 9 outbreaks, leads to the development of emphysema, 

### 10 increases the risk of heart disease, and death and puts 

### 11 people at risk of stroke and children face increase 

### 12 risk of asthma development and poor lung development. 

### 13 We're not doing so well here in Cook County. 

### 14 The American Lung Association gives us an F, a failing 

### 15 grade for our air quality and our high ozone days and 

### 16 our particulate matter pollution. 

### 17 This puts people at risk, both kids and 

### 18 adults with asthma, chronic bronchitis, adults with 

### 19 emphysema and heart disease of becoming more 

### 20 debilitated just because they are breathing air. 

### 21 As the EPA considers this rule, it is 

### 22 essential to keep in mind the health complications of 

### 23 breathing dirty air, especially for low income 

### 24 populations who already have higher disease risks and 

### 25 higher death rates. Tougher rules that can improve airAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 270 1 quality will improve public health for all of us. 

### 2 Thanks for allowing me to testify today. 

### 3 MS. HARLEY: Hello. My name is Susan Harley, 

### 4 that's S-U-S-A-N, H-A-R-L-E-Y. I'm the Michigan Policy 

### 5 Director for Clean Water Action. I would like to thank 

### 6 you today for holding this hearing and for allowing us 

### 7 all the opportunity to testify today. 

### 8 I am representing Clean Water Action's over 

### 9 two hundred fifty thousand Michigan members. I'm also 

### 10 representing my fellow Clean Air and Clean Water 

### 11 Advocates from Michigan including those who are 

### 12 following us from afar via twitter. 

### 13 I am so honored to be able to speak today on 

### 14 behalf of Michigan's residents, to speak for our 

### 15 children, our mothers, for our rivers, lakes and 

### 16 streams and for future generations. 

### 17 I'm here to say thank you from all of us, for 

### 18 protecting us from toxic air pollution. By moving 

### 19 forward with strong national standards for mercury and 

### 20 other toxic air pollution. Standards that are too long 

### 21 awaited. Standards that must be enacted without delay. 

### 22 I've also brought over a hundred and forty 

### 23 thank you notes from children from across Michigan that 

### 24 will be submitted to you later today. Their thank 

### 25 you's will also have to represent those children unableAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 271 1 to sign a note to you because they lack the skills to 

### 2 do so because of developmental issues brought on by 

### 3 exposure to toxic pollution. 

### 4Thank you also from Michigan workers who will 

### 5 get jobs cleaning up coal plants and building clean, 

### 6 renewable energy systems. 

### 7 Thank you also from the Michigan taxpayers 

### 8 who now pay the healthcare costs for this pollution 

### 9 instead of the power plants that cause it. 

### 10 And thank you again from Clean Water Action's 

### 11 members who greatly support you as you move forward 

### 12 with these essential and important rules as expediently 

### 13 as possible. And we would support a rule that's even 

### 14 stronger and achieves even greater reductions. 

### 15 When one teaspoonful of mercury can poison an 

### 16 entire body of water, and when Michigan has over four 

### 17 thousand pounds of mercury emitted yearly, it's clear 

### 18 that we must move forward now. 

### 19 Michigan already has fish advisories in all 

### 20 of our inland lakes and streams instead of the pure 

### 21 Michigan that we advertise. We do want clean water and 

### 22 clean energy, so as we move towards a clean energy 

### 23 future for our state, we thank you, EPA for quickly 

### 24 enacting strong air toxic standards that will 

### 25 protective of our health.AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 272 1 Thank you again for your efforts to clean up 

### 2 dirty coal and for all that you do. 

### 3 MS. SCOTT: Hello, my name is Kelinda Scott, 

### 4 K-E Linda Scott, S-C-O-T-T. I live in Michigan. I'm a 

### 5 mother, wife, artist, teacher and I do some domestic 

### 6 animal rehabbing and rescue. 

### 7 It's become apparent over the last few years 

### 8 to the veterinarians that I work with and myself that 

### 9 the immune systems of animals are suffering also. Just 

### 10 like our children have increased allergies and asthma 

### 11 and so forth, the animals also are, are showing signs 

### 12 of decreased immune systems with some higher cancer 

### 13 rates and tumors and, and allergies; tons and tons of 

### 14 allergies that are new to our pets. 

### 15 To me, the most compelling reason to, to 

### 16 enact the strictest laws you can on these toxins would 

### 17 be the animals and the children, but if, if you were to 

### 18 believe the TV, some of your constituents might not 

### 19 care about the children and the animals and maybe they 

### 20 just care about money or big business or the economy, 

### 21 which is okay because when it comes to money, they, 

### 22 they better take into consideration the fact that this 

### 23 is going to get worse and there's going to have to be a 

### 24 clean up. Somebody's going to have to pay for it. 

### 25 Big business -- let's see. I'm trying toAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 273 1 beat the clock. Recent studies of the 1990's Clean Air 

### 2 Act showed that those public safeguards two trillion 

### 3 dollars to the economy and that's a thirty to one 

### 4 return on their investment, so basically any, any big 

### 5 business will really like a thirty to one return on 

### 6 their investments, so if you -- whatever your reasons 

### 7 are, be it the right reasons; our children and our 

### 8 animals or the smart reasons, I, I beg you to enact and 

### 9 very intelligently the strictest controls possible. 

### 10 Thank you for your time. 

### 11 MR. CLARK: Thank you. Okay. Okay. Thank 

### 12 you. Okay. Lee Sprague and Danielle Korpalski please. 

### 13 Korpalski, I hope that's close. 

### 14MR. SPRAGUE: [Indecipherable -- foreign 

### 15 language]. My name is Lee Sprague, I'm from the 

### 16 Little River Band of Ottawa Indians 

### 17 Tribal Council clan. I'm from the territories you 

### 18 call Michigan, but we're under the big trees there 

### 19 also. 

### 20 I'm about to read the official statement from 

### 21 my tribal government. I'm an elected representative. 

### 22 I will submit this to you after I'm done speaking as a 

### 23 hard copy. 

### 24The Environmental Protection Agency must 

### 25 protect both Michigan and national tribal communitiesAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 274 1 from the harms caused by mercury and particulate 

### 2 matter, PM2.5, from toxic air pollutants emanating from 

### 3 coal and oil fired power plants or electric steam 

### 4 generating units, EGU's. 

### 5 We believe that the rules proposed by the EPA 

### 6 to reduce emissions of toxic air pollutants from power 

### 7 plants have a material impact on tribal communities who 

### 8 will bear a disproportionate share of the pollution 

### 9 burden from these toxic air emissions. 

### 10 Mercury's a neurotoxin that causes 

### 11 neurological delays and damage, but it's a special 

### 12 concern of the tribal communities and children. 

### 13 Particulate matter 2.5 and smaller or soot 

### 14 produced by EGU's are damaging to life systems that we 

### 15 and our clan brothers and sisters breathe every day. 

### 16 Nitrous dioxide and sulfur dioxide in air 

### 17 emissions cause permanent damage to living organisms 

### 18 and acidify rain resulting in notable degradation to 

### 19 the ecosystems all forms of life depend on. 

### 20 The environmental and public policy health 

### 21 burden that result from emissions are not equally born 

### 22 by members of society. They fall heavily on tribal 

### 23 communities. This places my people and our future 

### 24 generations at an alarming disproportionate risk. 

### 25 The EPA must regulate air emissions so thatAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 275 1 the rules not only protect the health, safety and 

### 2 welfare of tribal members, but end this 

### 3 disproportionate impact throughout the United States. 

### 4Historically the EPA's Indian policy and 

### 5 trust and delegates to the agency the responsibility of 

### 6 supporting tribal governments who protect the 

### 7 environment and public health in Indian country. 

### 8 The EPA policy states the key note of this 

### 9 effort will be to give special consideration to tribal 

### 10 interests in making agency policy and to insure close 

### 11 involvements with tribal governments in making 

### 12 decisions and managing environmental programs affecting 

### 13 reservations lands. 

### 14In 1984, the EPA became the first federal 

### 15 agency to adopt the formal Indian policy working with 

### 16 federally recognized tribes on government to government 

### 17 basis. 

### 18 This new EPA -- the new EPA policy and 

### 19 consultation and coordination with Indian tribes 

### 20 published May the 4th, 2011, builds and strengthens 

### 21 this consultation process. 

### 22 The basis for my being here today is to -- 

### 23 that the EPA must respect the trust responsibilities of 

### 24 the historic lack of consultation with the tribes as 

### 25 the EPA has delegated to the State of Michigan theAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 276 1 responsibility for regulating PM2.5. This lack of 

### 2 regulation, of regulation to protect vulnerable tribal 

### 3 populations have been done with little concern 

### 4 regarding the health of our peoples. 

### 5 Clearly, given the specific delegation, 

### 6 Michigan Department of Environmental Qualities 

### 7 permitting action or a state law and regulation should 

### 8 have considered different and disproportionate impacts 

### 9 on tribes, but it did not. 

### 10 The MDNRE hearings for the Wolverine 

### 11 coal-fired power plant must take into account these 

### 12 disproportionate impacts on our people. Again, it 

### 13 does not. 

### 14MDEQ erred in at least three different 

### 15 ways in assessing the health assessments in regards 

### 16 to mercury from Wolverine. First, Michigan Department 

### 17 of Environmental Quality considered fish consumption 

### 18 levels that do not reflect the reality of fish 

### 19 consumption by tribal communities who subsist as 

### 20 fish. 

### 21 Second, the MDEQ model assumed the 

### 22 disproportionate high amount of mercury is transported 

### 23 long range and not deposited locally or regionlly. 

### 24Finally, MDEQ failed to include Lake Huron in 

### 25 its modeling for the permit to install application forAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 277 1 Wolverine coal. 

### 2 Additionally, the impacts of PM2.5 on tribal 

### 3 peoples was not addressed and CO2, a major green house 

### 4 gas was not even considered as relevant even though CO2 

### 5 has ominous implications for indigenous peoples 

### 6 worldwide as recognized by the intergovernmental panel 

### 7 on climate change. We are not immune to these impacts. 

### 8 There was documented evidence demonstrating 

### 9 that the Indians absolutely depend upon fishing for 

### 10 subsistence in their livelihood. It's in the Michigan 

### 11 1836 Treaty Fishery Guide on page fourteen. 

### 12 Ignoring all the data on subsistence fishing 

### 13 by tribes in Michigan, the MDEQ's health assessment for 

### 14 Wolverine assumed a fish consumption level of only one 

### 15 meal every two weeks and claimed that subsistence 

### 16 fishing is not a reality. "Subsistence could mean 

### 17 perhaps a meal of everyday of fish from one body of 

### 18 water and our regulations don't cover that possibility. 

### 19 In this case, I don't think it's a reality." Answer 

### 20 from Robert Sills [phonetic] the Wolverine permit to 

### 21 install applicant technician for the Michigan 

### 22 Department for Environmental Quality. 

### 23 Clearly the State of Michigan does not 

### 24 consider the impacts of toxic air emissions on the 

### 25 health of tribal peoples. We need stringent EPAAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 278 1 regulations on toxic air emissions that must eliminate 

### 2 the disproportionate impact on the Ottawa Indians, 

### 3 Indians, American Indians, Alaska natives and 

### 4 indigenous peoples. The EPA must fulfill its mandate to 

### 5 respect the rights of tribes as sovereign governments, 

### 6 to exercise the rights to self determination within the 

### 7 appropriate consultation process on regulations that 

### 8 affect the health, safety and welfare of indigenous 

### 9 peoples. 

### 10 The federal government and the EPA must 

### 11 acknowledge this trust responsibility to tribes and end 

### 12 the disproportionate impact of air toxins from EGU's. 

### 13 [Indecipherable -- foreign language]. 

### 14MR. CLARK: Thank you. 

### 15 MS. KORPALSKI: Thank you. My name is 

### 16 Danielle Korpalski, D-A-N-I-E-L-L-E, K-O-R-P-A-L-S-K-I 

### 17 and I want to start off by first thanking the EPA and 

### 18 the panel for hosting us today and hearing our 

### 19 comments. We really appreciate it. But I want to put 

### 20 in a special thank you. I've been watching and really 

### 21 been on the front lines of seeing the interrogation and 

### 22 the criticism that the EPA has received over the last, 

### 23 well, probably for a while, but definitely in the last 

### 24 year and I just want to thank you because I know it's 

### 25 probably really tough. You hear you guys are the jobAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 279 1 killers, the over-reachers, what have you and I think 

### 2 it's false and I think that you know, you're going to 

### 3 walk out of here today and hear those criticisms, but I 

### 4 just want you to really take in all of the support 

### 5 today, not just from the people out here, but all the 

### 6 people out there. 

### 7 Yes, I have been known to be a cheerleader 

### 8 and I think it, I think it serves us well here today. 

### 9 So, as a lifelong Michigan resident, I grew 

### 10 up in the City of Detroit, and but I grew up enjoying 

### 11 the splendor and beauty of the Great Lakes and my 

### 12 family spent many summers basking in the serenity of 

### 13 the world's greatest fresh water source and I believe 

### 14 it's a rare gem worth protecting and the standards that 

### 15 the EPA has proposed will begin addressing and 

### 16 mitigating the harmful effects of air toxics. Of 

### 17 course, I wish that you guys would go even higher and 

### 18 set even stricter standards, but this definitely gets 

### 19 our foot in the door to start addressing mercury and 

### 20 air toxics. 

### 21 And now that I'm an adult and I have a lot of 

### 22 friends of child bearing age, I see a direct connection 

### 23 between mercury pollution and public health and several 

### 24 of my friends have started to have children and sadly 

### 25 every doctor has advised them against eating any ofAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 280 1 Michigan's fish and it's just really sad to see. 

### 2 Additionally, I was just in northern Michigan 

### 3 this last weekend doing a beautiful bike ride along the 

### 4 lake shore and at the end, we had a great celebration 

### 5 on Mackinaw Island and they had white fish and I, 

### 6 again, advised all of my friends not to eat it and 

### 7 explained the process and I'm really saddened by that, 

### 8 but of course, took the necessary precautions and 

### 9 decided against eating it. 

### 10 And so, you know, today I'm encouraged by the 

### 11 EPA's efforts and just continue to ask you to stay 

### 12 strong on the front lines, you know, when you go out 

### 13 the door today and just continue with your efforts. 

### 14Furthermore and I've submitted for the 

### 15 record, for folks that I know that couldn't be here 

### 16 today, so Gary Bosick [phonetic] from the great state 

### 17 of Minnesota, he also submitted testimony from a 

### 18 sportsman and a lifelong Minnesota resident who hunts 

### 19 and fishes. Another woman, Dawn Erlanson [phonetic] 

### 20 from the state of Minnesota. She is a mother and her 

### 21 child suffers from extreme asthma and then finally from 

### 22 Lynn Gentellis [phonetic] from Minnesota. She is a 

### 23 person who suffers severely from asthma as well, so 

### 24much so that she can't even drive in the City of 

### 25 Minneapolis without wearing a face mask, so I submittedAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 281 1 testimony on behalf of her, so that is -- those are my 

### 2 comments. 

### 3 Thank you and again stay strong. 

### 4MR. CLARK: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you 

### 5 very much. Mr. Frank Szollosi and Suhail Barot, that's 

### 6 hopefully close. You, you can fix it. 

### 7 MR. SZOLLOSI: Frank Szollosi, F-R-A-N-K, 

### 8 S-Z-O-L-L-O-S-I. Policy Analyst at National Wildlife 

### 9 Federation's Great Lake's Office in Ann Arbor. 

### 10 On behalf of National Wildlife Federation and 

### 11 our forty-seven state affiliate organizations and four 

### 12 million members and supporters across the country, 

### 13 thank you for the opportunity today to provide 

### 14 comments. NWF will be submitting a detailed written 

### 15 comments prior to the deadline from our Washington 

### 16 headquarters. 

### 17 I live in Toledo, Ohio. Ohio citizens and 

### 18 wildlife are among the most exposed to the greatest 

### 19 concentrations of mercury and other air toxics in the 

### 20 United States. It's unacceptable. 

### 21 Decades of delay and inaction have resulted 

### 22 in thousands of premature deaths, heart attacks, birth 

### 23 defects, learning disabilities and incidences of 

### 24 disease, like childhood asthma. 

### 25 Clearly, patchwork of state regulations haveAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 282 1 proven to be inadequate to protect citizens and 

### 2 wildlife and I'm proud to relay the National Wildlife 

### 3 Federation's strong support for action by the U.S. EPA 

### 4 to limit the emissions of mercury and air toxics from 

### 5 power plants and other facilities. 

### 6 EPA must move forward with the strongest 

### 7 possible air toxics protections to defend public 

### 8 health, protect children and senior citizens and 

### 9 safeguard wildlife and habitat. 

### 10 The power plants, particularly the coal-fired 

### 11 power plants and like so many in Ohio, where I live, 

### 12 can belch these toxics without limits and these 

### 13 emissions include some of the most hazardous pollutants 

### 14 known. 

### 15 It's time for owners and operators of these 

### 16 facilities to be responsible and accountable for their 

### 17 actions. Our children, wildlife and future generations 

### 18 should not be sacrificed to satisfy polluters' special 

### 19 interests. 

### 20 Growing up, I used to fish near First Energy 

### 21 Bay Shore Power Plant just east of Toledo. My friends 

### 22 and I would walk out on the jetty at night near the 

### 23 power plants water intake. The water intake there 

### 24 chews up millions of fish every year and it attracts 

### 25 larger fish. In fact, according to the Ohio DepartmentAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 283 1 of Natural Resources, fourth -- four hundred and fifty 

### 2 thousand people fish in Ohio's portion of Lake Erie 

### 3 every year contributing six hundred and eighty million 

### 4 dollars to the state's economy. 

### 5 How many more anglers would fish in Ohio if 

### 6 we had this rule twenty years ago when Clean Air Act 

### 7 got passed? How many more millions of dollars would 

### 8 have been pumped into our tourism sector to support our 

### 9 communities, but in fact, there's harm being done to 

### 10 our fish, to our anglers, to our communities and 

### 11 consumers. 

### 12 According to the EPA's toxic release 

### 13 inventory, First Energy's Bay Shore plant there, 

### 14 disposed of over a million pounds of these toxics in 

### 15 2009. Is it any wonder that residents who live near 

### 16 this facility, who fish in Maumee Bay and consume this 

### 17 fish have cancer rates and mortality rates that exceeds 

### 18 state and national averages. 

### 19 The state fish consumption advisories in 

### 20 these waters are tacit admissions that we're not doing 

### 21 enough to protect ourselves and our fisheries. 

### 22 My colleagues at NWF in the Ann Arbor Office 

### 23 are -- and dozens of hunting and fishing groups across 

### 24 the Great Lakes basin are working with the federal 

### 25 government in state and coastal communities on theAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 284 1 Great Lakes restoration project. This is hundreds of 

### 2 millions of dollars championed by President Obama and 

### 3 appropriated by Congress to restore the Great Lakes and 

### 4 this rule will help contribute to the achievement of 

### 5 these goals. 

### 6 Just downwind of the Bay Shore plant lies 

### 7 critical habitat encompassed by Krane Creek [phonetic], 

### 8 Magee [phonetic] Marsh, Metsker [phonetic] Marsh and 

### 9 several national wildlife refuges. It would be 

### 10 difficult to overstate the importance of this habitat 

### 11 to endangered species, and vast populations of 

### 12 migratory birds and the ecosystem of the Great Lakes. 

### 13 We must institute the strongest possible 

### 14 protections for this, for these areas because they're 

### 15 at risk. Let's move forward to protect our children's 

### 16 future from toxics and poisons released into the air 

### 17 that fill their lungs. 

### 18 The National Wildlife Federation strongly 

### 19 supports the EPA's proposed rule to limit emissions of 

### 20 mercury and other air toxics from power plants and 

### 21 other facilities. Thank you. 

### 22 MR. BAROT: Thank you for holding these 

### 23 hearings today. My name is Suhail Barot, spelled 

### 24 S-U-H-A-I-L, B-A-R-O-T. I'm a graduate student in 

### 25 urban planning at the University of Illinois of UrbanaAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 285 1 Champaign. I've traveled up here with four other 

### 2 students to testify today. Unfortunately, it's summer 

### 3 break, otherwise we might have been able to bring up 

### 4 some more folks. 

### 5 Coal-Fired power plants is responsible for 

### 6 tens of thousands of deaths annually and this rule is a 

### 7 critical step in addressing this. But it's only one of 

### 8 many actions that EPA needs to take in doing so. And 

### 9 we've seen some of your regulatory activities over the 

### 10 past two years and thank you for them and several still 

### 11 to go. 

### 12 Ultimately, our goal must be to shut down all 

### 13 coal powered plants in the U.S. 

### 14Regulation of these hazardous air pollutants 

### 15 is long overdue. They should have been part of the 

### 16 original Clean Air Act in 1970 before I was born. They 

### 17 should have been put into place immediately after the 

### 18 Clean Air Act Amendments were passed in 1990 when I was 

### 19 five years old, but they haven't and now I'm probably 

### 20 too old to still be in graduate school, but they're 

### 21 still not done. 

### 22 We need strong federal leadership by EPA on 

### 23 this issue and on all of these regulations on big coal. 

### 24 We've seen industry pressure derail on coal ash and on 

### 25 boiler MACT and that cannot happen over hear on theseAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 286 1 mercury regulations. They're too important. 

### 2 Illinois over here is a coal state. Our 

### 3 politicians and state agencies are captive to these 

### 4 interests. If you go to the Department of Commerce and 

### 5 Economic Opportunity website in this state, they're 

### 6 giving out money to expand coal production. They have 

### 7 coloring pages for children to learn about the coal 

### 8 industry and its wonders. 

### 9 If coal plants were not allowed to 

### 10 externalize their -- these costs on the pubic, this 

### 11 wouldn't be happening. We wouldn't be dealing with 

### 12 these issues around coal. 

### 13 On our campus, students fought decades ago to 

### 14 get scrubbers placed on our coal plant, so we're not as 

### 15 major of a contributor to coal emissions. A year ago, 

### 16 we forced our university to put a sunset date of 2017 

### 17 on our coal plant and this plant, we put this year, 

### 18 this April, we put enough pressure on them to shut down 

### 19 their coal boilers, which will hopefully stay off until 

### 20 October and as we continue our energy conservation 

### 21 efforts, maybe in three or four years, we won't be 

### 22 burning coal at all anymore at the University of 

### 23 Illinois, but when we did this, and we started on this 

### 24 process, we had calls from state legislatures saying we 

### 25 were setting a bad example by not using as much coal atAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 287 1 the University of Illinois. 

### 2 Most coal power plants do not belong to 

### 3 universities and they are not accountable to strong 

### 4 student coalitions that can force them to clean up 

### 5 their act. And so we really need EPA to set standards 

### 6 that would protect us when our local and state 

### 7 governments might not. 

### 8 The other thing I want to bring up is that 

### 9 these -- this regulation will significantly reduce 

### 10 childhood cases of asthma, which is something 

### 11 especially important to me. I have asthma. It wasn't 

### 12 diagnosed until I went to college, but it significantly 

### 13 affected me. You can imagine being a child who can't 

### 14 complete a two hundred foot race. Who can't swim the 

### 15 length of a pool. I can hike ten miles, but I can't 

### 16 run two hundred feet because my lungs can't give me 

### 17 enough oxygen. And when you're a kid who can't do what 

### 18 other kids can do, kids are cruel. It's not, it's not 

### 19 fun going through this kind of process and most kids, a 

### 20 lot of kids have asthma that's much, much worse than 

### 21 mine, so whatever we can do to prevent any cases of 

### 22 childhood asthma are worth doing. 

### 23 Whatever you can do with this regulation, 

### 24 however strong you can make it, stronger than it's been 

### 25 proposed; it's worth doing and I live right now in anAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 288 1 area that's somewhat cleaner than the areas that I grew 

### 2 up with. Has slightly better air and thank you for 

### 3 that, but -- and I can feel the affect of that. 

### 4So anyway, this regulation is really 

### 5 important and we need you to make it as strong as it 

### 6 can possibly be and show us strong leadership at the 

### 7 federal level. Thank you for your time. 

### 8 MR. CLARK: Okay. Thanks. Thank you both 

### 9 very much. Amy Allen and Barbara Timmermans please. 

### 10 Oh okay. Ms. Allen. 

### 11 MS. ALLEN: Hi. Thank you for the 

### 12 opportunity to speak this afternoon. My name is Amy 

### 13 Allen and I am a Junior in Civil Engineering at the 

### 14 University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign, and I 

### 15 traveled here today with four other students to stand 

### 16 up for a future that is not marred by toxic air 

### 17 pollution. 

### 18 It is estimated that this air toxics rule 

### 19 would avoid up to seventeen thousand premature deaths 

### 20 every year as well as eight hundred fifty thousand 

### 21 missed days of work and over twelve thousand hospital 

### 22 visits. 

### 23 Air pollution from coal-fired power plants 

### 24 has a drastic impact on people's livelihoods as well as 

### 25 the economy and coal-fired plants are responsible forAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 289 1 ninety-nine percent of mercury emissions and the 

### 2 majority of air pollutants in the power industry. 

### 3 It is estimated that in Illinois alone, coal 

### 4 power plant emissions are responsible for over four 

### 5 hundred hospital admissions and over one thousand heart 

### 6 attacks every year. And between one twelfth and one 

### 7 sixth of women of child bearing age have mercury blood 

### 8 levels high enough to put an unborn child at risk for 

### 9 mercury poisoning. 

### 10 Mercury is responsible for mental 

### 11 retardation, reproductive problems, respiratory 

### 12 illnesses and cancer, and young children and pregnant 

### 13 women are the most vulnerable. 

### 14 Mercury will continue to poison future 

### 15 generations if the EPA does not take action now to 

### 16 control air toxic emissions. 

### 17 The human and financial costs of air pollution 

### 18 are borne by society and almost twenty thousand 

### 19 premature deaths, ten thousand heart attacks, and over 

### 20 a hundred thousand asthma attacks every year and 

### 21 thousands of missed days of school and work and 

### 22 billions of dollars in healthcare costs. These costs 

### 23 should be borne by the polluting industries in 

### 24 installing already available control technology to 

### 25 limit mercury, particulate matter and other air toxicAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 290 1 emissions. 

### 2 These costs should not be borne by society 

### 3 and human lives any longer. In order to create a 

### 4 level playing field for cleaner sources of energy to be 

### 5 competitive and cost effective, the cost of coal must 

### 6 be made evident and that includes the cost of 

### 7 maintaining clean air. 

### 8 The Clean Air Act is estimated to have lead 

### 9 to avoidance of over a hundred billion in health costs 

### 10 over its life as well as saving countless lives. 

### 11 Polluting facilities such as coal-fired power plants 

### 12 are disproportionate located in low income communities 

### 13 such as the Fisk and Crawford plants in Chicago, 

### 14 further depressing economic development through missed 

### 15 days of school and work and poisoning generations of 

### 16 children. 

### 17 The EPA must take action now and enact a 

### 18 strong air toxics rule to stop this cycle of suffering. 

### 19 Thank you. 

### 20 MR. CLARK: Yes, Ms. Timmermans. 

### 21 DR. TIMMERMANS: Yes. Good afternoon. My 

### 22 name is Dr. Barbara Timmermans. I teach nursing at 

### 23 Trinity Christian College, which is in Palest Heights, 

### 24 Illinois, a Chicago suburb. 

### 25 My specialties in nursing are communityAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 291 1 health and maternity nursing. 

### 2 Given these two areas, I'm concerned about 

### 3 mercury pollution from both a public health perspective 

### 4 and from the perspective of a nurse interested in 

### 5 healthy newborns. 

### 6 As a Christian, I also believe I'm called to 

### 7 protect unborn children and to protect the environment, 

### 8 so I'm here to support the mercury rule. 

### 9 Currently, one in six babies are born with 

### 10 harmful levels of mercury in their blood. We know that 

### 11 in utero exposure to mercury is especially devastating 

### 12 to developing babies because the blood brain barrier is 

### 13 not well developed until, during the first year of 

### 14 life. 

### 15 In the unborn child, mercury, which is a 

### 16 powerful neuro toxicant crosses this barrier and may 

### 17 cause developmental disabilities, learning 

### 18 disabilities, and lowered IQ. This loss of 

### 19 intelligence leads to lowered economic productivity in 

### 20 children and adults. 

### 21 It's estimated that mercury pollution from 

### 22 power plants results in a yearly loss of around a 

### 23 hundred -- one point three billion dollars due to brain 

### 24 damage suffered in the womb. For these children 

### 25 though, their disabilities will be lifelong becauseAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 292 1 the effects of mercury exposure in utero are not 

### 2 reversible. 

### 3 Since consumption of mercury contaminated 

### 4 fish is the main route of human exposure, people 

### 5 sometimes suggest that pregnant women should just avoid 

### 6 eating fish. The problem with this argument is that 

### 7 women often do not know right away that they're 

### 8 pregnant and so may consume fish for the first month or 

### 9 two of pregnancy. The most critical neurological 

### 10 development takes place very early in pregnancy and 

### 11 mercury is especially toxic to the rapidly developing 

### 12 brain during this critical early period. Damage may 

### 13 have already occurred before the woman even knows she's 

### 14 pregnant. 

### 15 Also mercury passes into breast milk, so 

### 16 breast feeding women who consume contaminated fish will 

### 17 pass this to their infants and further brain damage may 

### 18 occur. 

### 19 Power plants have known for over a decade 

### 20 that their mercury emissions would be regulated. Some 

### 21 plants have already installed the pollution reduction 

### 22 technologies. It's possible for the industry to comply 

### 23 with the laws, especially since there's a three to four 

### 24 year time frame allowed for compliance. 

### 25 In posing the proposed mercury standard forAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 293 1 power plants would reduce mercury pollution by 

### 2 ninety-one percent which would dramatically reduce 

### 3 mercury contamination in our fish. 

### 4The price of regulation is well worth the 

### 5 investment. The EPA's modeling projects that for every 

### 6 one dollar spent on environmental mercury reduction, 

### 7 we would get five to thirteen dollars in health 

### 8 benefits. 

### 9 One of the marks of a moral society is the 

### 10 protection of its most vulnerable citizens. I believe 

### 11 it's time to protect the vulnerable and stop the 

### 12 mercury poisoning of unborn children. We need to do 

### 13 what we can to protect our next generations. As a 

### 14 country, it's our moral imperative. For me as a person 

### 15 of faith, it is in keeping with God's command to love 

### 16 my neighbor and to protect the environment. 

### 17 Also as the mom of a twenty-five year old son 

### 18 who is developmentally disabled, I wonder how we can 

### 19 continue to cause damage to our children when it's 

### 20 within our power to prevent this damage. Thank you for 

### 21 your time. 

### 22 MR. CLARK: Thank you both very much. 

### 23 Frederick Ellsworth and Daniel Weber please. 

### 24MR. ELLSWORTH: Thank you. Thanks. Okay. 

### 25 MR. CLARK: Mr. Weber, do you want to startAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 294 1 or actually -- no Mr. Ellsworth go ahead. 

### 2 MR. ELLSWORTH: I've got the mic. Good 

### 3 afternoon. Thank you for hearing my testimony today. 

### 4 My name is Frederick Ellsworth. I am a resident of 

### 5 White Fish Bay, Wisconsin. My residence is located 

### 6 five miles north of the Milwaukee Valley coal-fired 

### 7 power plant. 

### 8 I'm also an avid angler and consumer of fresh 

### 9 water fish, salt water fish, and many different ways of 

### 10 preparation; pan fried, deep fried, broiled, baked, 

### 11 seered, and raw. 

### 12 I guess I really support the strictest form 

### 13 of regulation of emissions from coal-fired power plants 

### 14 so that I can enjoy my affliction. 

### 15 I'd also like to include a little excerpt 

### 16 from article written by -- or published by Clean 

### 17 Wisconsin back in 2004. The headline is twenty-five 

### 18 percent drop in Wisconsin fishing due to mercury would 

### 19 cost five hundred and sixteen million annually. 

### 20 A long term decline in angling Wisconsin of 

### 21 just twenty-five percent due to the lake and stream 

### 22 following the effects of mercury would cost the state's 

### 23 economy five hundred and sixteen million per year and 

### 24 jeopardize many of the twenty-one thousand, four 

### 25 hundred and fifty-nine jobs in Wisconsin that depend onAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 295 1 fishing. 

### 2 According to a new state environmental 

### 3 leadership program report released today by King, 

### 4 Wisconsin. Okay. This was back in 2004, so you can 

### 5 extrapolate that value in today's dollars. I think the 

### 6 dollar is up today, I'm not sure, but in any event, it 

### 7 would be considerably more. 

### 8 And of course as most of you realize or most 

### 9 of you have heard, Wisconsin is having fiscal problems. 

### 10 Wisconsin is broke. We can't afford to have a decline 

### 11 in any of our revenues for any industry, especially the 

### 12 fishing industry; sport fishing, which accounts for a 

### 13 third, which a third leading revenue producer in the 

### 14 state. 

### 15 Let me go back to the article again. The 

### 16 Wisconsin Wildlife Federation Executive Director, 

### 17 George Myer [phonetic] said, "Fishing is not just a way 

### 18 of life for the one point four million anglers in the 

### 19 state. Of the fifteen thousand, eighty-one lakes, it 

### 20 is a critical part of Wisconsin's economy contributing 

### 21 to over two billion dollars of economic output. The 

### 22 mercury health containment advisory is on all of 

### 23 Wisconsin's lakes poses serious threat to the physical 

### 24 and economic health of Wisconsin citizens. This state 

### 25 has stepped forward by adopting tough new regulationsAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 296 1 that the federal government needs to adopt. Excuse me. 

### 2 However, Wisconsin anglers understand that the federal 

### 3 government needs to adopt tough new regulations to cut 

### 4 down on mercury pollution. It is time that the EPA 

### 5 recognizes that we need to reduce mercury getting into 

### 6 our lakes, our fish, and our families." 

### 7 Also in this article, the [indecipherable] 

### 8 report shows that Wisconsin has one of the top ten 

### 9 economic impacts from fishing in the United States. 

### 10 Our state ranks sixth behind Florida, California and 

### 11 Texas and ahead of such states as Michigan, which is 

### 12 seventh, New York eighth and Ohio ninth. 

### 13 The Environmental Protection Agency has 

### 14 proposed regulation requiring a seventy percent 

### 15 reduction in mercury from coal burning power plants by 

### 16 2018, with a trading scheme that would allow utilities 

### 17 to buy their way out of making some or all of those 

### 18 reductions. 

### 19 Environmental groups have pointed out that 

### 20 the existing Clean Air Act requires a maximum 

### 21 achievable reductions of mercury, a ninety percent 

### 22 reduction of mercury emissions from coal plants by 2008 

### 23 and does not allow for the trading scheme. 

### 24Well obviously, I would support a ninety 

### 25 percent reduction of mercury and would welcome that inAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 297 1 a heartbeat. Well, this article points out that some 

### 2 very dire predictions of the economic impact of just a 

### 3 twenty-five percent reduction in Wisconsin angling due 

### 4 to mercury pollution. 

### 5 Over five hundred million dollars per year in 

### 6 2004 dollars. And it would affect the twenty-one 

### 7 thousand, four hundred fifty-nine jobs back in 2004. 

### 8 It's probably a lot less now. And that was derived 

### 9 from, like I said, from a 2004 study prior to the 2008 

### 10 Wall Street meltdown and as I said earlier, we can't 

### 11 afford any reduction in revenues in 2011. 

### 12 So in closing, I'd just like to say that it 

### 13 was clear message in 2004 as it is today, that coal 

### 14 burning utilities continue to threaten our health and 

### 15 economic vitality by their irresponsible acts and I 

### 16 would hope and pray that the EPA will enforce the 

### 17 strictest emission limits possible. Thank you. 

### 18 MR. CLARK: Thank you. Mr. Weber. 

### 19 DR. WEBER: My name is Daniel Weber. I'm a 

### 20 Senior Scientist at the Children's Environmental Health 

### 21 Sciences Center at the University of Wisconsin, 

### 22 Milwaukee. 

### 23 And thank you to the EPA for providing this 

### 24 public forum in which those who will be most profoundly 

### 25 affected by your decisions can be heard.AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 298 1 Today we are hearing extensive testimony 

### 2 regarding the dangers of mercury specifically and other 

### 3 pollutants generally that are emitted from coal-fired 

### 4 electrical generating plants. 

### 5 These effects have been identified in human 

### 6 populations as well as those of many species of fish 

### 7 and wildlife. The EPA is well aware of this data. 

### 8 The bare note questions for this hearing are 

### 9 whether there is some level of mercury exposure that 

### 10 could be considered safe and if so, do we have the 

### 11 technology to achieve it and if not, do we have the 

### 12 courage to deal with that potential possibility. 

### 13 These are issues with particular relevance in 

### 14 the southeastern portions of Wisconsin where I reside 

### 15 and its heavy reliance on coal to generate electricity 

### 16 for an ever expanding population. 

### 17 It is an issue for various ethnic cultures in 

### 18 Wisconsin who historically rely on fish as part of 

### 19 their diet and there are issues to which some of the 

### 20 current research being conducted in our laboratory may 

### 21 shed some light. 

### 22 I spent over twenty-five years as a 

### 23 researcher of the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, 

### 24 investigating the effects of toxic metals, such as 

### 25 mercury and lead, on various species of fish using themAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 299 1 as a model for what we also see in human populations. 

### 2 What is critical here is that at even very 

### 3 low levels of metal contaminant exposure, for short but 

### 4 critical time periods, the fish we study still display 

### 5 alterations in gene expression, physiology and 

### 6 behavior. 

### 7 As a result of these observations, we have 

### 8 over the past ten years focused our efforts on three 

### 9 areas of concern, each with relevance to this hearing. 

### 10 First, we've examined the affect of mercury 

### 11 and lead exposure, both emitted by the burning of coal, 

### 12 to the developing embryo and by inference, the human 

### 13 fetus in terms of lifelong alterations in critical 

### 14 behaviors. 

### 15 Our published data and manuscripts currently 

### 16 in review clearly demonstrate that such developmental 

### 17 exposures are sufficient to cause alterations in nerve 

### 18 function to the point that even adult learning and the 

### 19 ability to respond to environmental stimuli are 

### 20 permanently affected. Indeed, such developmental 

### 21 exposures have also been implicated in the development 

### 22 of such neuro degenerative diseases as Alzheimer's and 

### 23 Parkinson. 

### 24Research using mammalian models as well 

### 25 as epidemiological studies on humans have yieldedAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 300 1 similar results. 

### 2 In a study on the seafood eating populations 

### 3 of Faroes Islands in the North Atlantic, the 

### 4 teenagers of today who were exposed to mercury while 

### 5 still in their mother's womb are still experiencing the 

### 6 neurological and behavior problems. 

### 7 In other words, whatever wheel we look, 

### 8 whatever species we examine, we see the permanent 

### 9 effects of pre-hatched or prenatal exposures to the 

### 10 very metal contaminants that are emitted in coal 

### 11 burning power plants. 

### 12 Second, our experience -- experiments have 

### 13 extended this finding by using ultra low levels of both 

### 14mercury and lead. We are now testing concentrations, 

### 15 concentration exposures in the parts per billion range. 

### 16 That translates to nanograms of metal for each 

### 17 developing fish embryo. 

### 18 Amazingly we still are able to identify 

### 19 behavior aberrations in larval and adult fish that have 

### 20 not experienced any metal exposure since they hatched. 

### 21 To put this level of exposure in context, this is 

### 22 several orders of magnitude lower than the 

### 23 concentrations currently found in many lake sediments 

### 24 or being released by many electrical generating plants. 

### 25 Due to the ability of methylated mercury toAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 301 1 bio magnify through the food chain, it is possible 

### 2 therefore that there may not be any safe level of 

### 3 mercury exposure to human populations as we are at the 

### 4 top of the feeding pyramid. 

### 5 Parallel to these studies, clinical 

### 6 scientists are now discovering that ultra low levels of 

### 7 lead exposure in children, five times less than the 

### 8 current standard set by the Centers for Disease Control 

### 9 and Prevention for what constitutes lead poisoning in 

### 10 humans, are still sufficient to produce physiological 

### 11 and behavioral deficits in children. 

### 12 Similar research identifies other metals such 

### 13 as cadmium released by the burning of coal as 

### 14 developmental neurotoxicants. 

### 15 Third and possibly the most disturbing is an 

### 16 increasing understanding among scientists and 

### 17 identified in our laboratory as well that the offspring 

### 18 of exposed individuals, even at very low concentrations 

### 19 who themselves have not been exposed to mercury, 

### 20 display the same degree behavioral and physiological 

### 21 aberrations as the parent generation that was exposed. 

### 22 In other words, the toxic effects of mercury 

### 23 exposure are passed down to our children and 

### 24 grandchildren. That the developmental and behavioral 

### 25 issues our children, grandchildren and those not yetAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 302 1 born will experience may be the result of our inability 

### 2 to significantly reduce the toxic emissions from coal 

### 3 fired power plants to levels even below current 

### 4 standards. 

### 5 Collectively our data are telling us that 

### 6 one, exposures to the developing organism by metal 

### 7 contaminants such as mercury and lead found in the 

### 8 emissions from coal-fired power plants induce long term 

### 9 and even permanent behavioral deficits. 

### 10 Two, these alterations in behavior are 

### 11 occurring at very low levels of mercury or lead 

### 12 exposure, far below what was previously considered 

### 13 safe. 

### 14And three, future generations may be affected 

### 15 by the inability of this generation to clean up its 

### 16 toxic emissions. 

### 17 In a paper published in the official journal 

### 18 of the National Institutes of Environmental Sciences, 

### 19 the estimated cost to society due to mercury exposure 

### 20 alone in terms of healthcare and lost productivity is 

### 21 over eight billion dollars. Add to this cost to 

### 22 society of lead, cadmium and other pollutants 

### 23 distributed into the atmosphere by the burning of coal, 

### 24 it should be clear to all that for the sake of this and 

### 25 future generations, it is in the nation's best interestAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 303 1 to tighten our emissions standards. 

### 2 The added cost to achieve the goal of lower 

### 3 mercury emissions clearly will be money well spent. 

### 4MR. CLARK: Can I actually ask you a quick 

### 5 question, Dr. Weber? The study you were talking about, 

### 6 the very in there. The impact of mercury exposure 

### 7 alone, what was the site for that? 

### 8 DR. WEBER: That is the Environmental Health 

### 9 Prospectus, I think 2009. The author is Trasande, 

### 10 T-R-A-S-A-N-D-E. 

### 11 MR. CLARK: Thank you very much. Okay. 

### 12 While we fix this, Amanda -- thank you -- Amanda Kaley 

### 13 and Susan Williams please. Ms. Kaley feel free to 

### 14 start it off. 

### 15 MS. KALEY: Okay. I am Amanda Kaley. I'm 

### 16 from Grand Rapids, Michigan. 

### 17 I studied Environmental Sciences and 

### 18 Psychology at Grand Valley State University in Grand 

### 19 Rapids. 

### 20 And so I came here not to regurgitate any 

### 21 statistics that you guys have heard all day, I'm sure, 

### 22 but studying the environment and the earth in my 

### 23 classes over at Grand Valley, I am well aware of the 

### 24 status of our environment as I know you all are too. 

### 25 So I came here today to be a voice to stronglyAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 304 1 encourage you guys to make the right decision towards 

### 2 having a positive impact on the environment and 

### 3 humanity and all the creatures that are involved within 

### 4 it. 

### 5 I lost my grandpa to cancer and I grew up 

### 6 with a brother who had asthma and my grandma on my 

### 7 other side currently has Alzheimer's, so I have -- and 

### 8 I have a lot of other health problems within my family, 

### 9 so in my personal life, I'm very active and healthy and 

### 10 I'm very committed to having a healthy diet and I teach 

### 11 dance and fitness classes. But so I do everything I 

### 12 can to, to be healthy, but I can't control the air that 

### 13 I breathe and I can't control the water and the 

### 14 precious resource that is, that I treasure a lot, 

### 15 living on the lake shore. 

### 16 So I, I strongly encourage you guys to be 

### 17 able to make regulations since there are none on power 

### 18 plants right now. 

### 19 I also -- one of my best friends, actually 

### 20 her, her family is -- all lives in the south; Kentucky, 

### 21 West Virginia area and they do work in the coal 

### 22 industry and she has lost an uncle on site working and 

### 23 has another uncle who has had his leg crushed and is 

### 24 now on disability and another one who has black lung 

### 25 disease, so not only are the consequences of what theAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 305 1 coal industry is doing very harmful to other people and 

### 2 obviously, you know babies, fish, everything everyone's 

### 3 already been talking about, but also it's very risky 

### 4 and harmful environment to the people who are working 

### 5 in the coal industry. 

### 6 So rather than supporting that, to support 

### 7 something with a new system, a new technology, 

### 8 something -- because obviously what we're doing now, 

### 9 the lifestyle that we are currently living is not 

### 10 sustainable and so we need to focus our attention on a 

### 11 new way of doing things and putting our energy and 

### 12 money into something that's more sustainable and will 

### 13 create new jobs creating new systems, so thank you for 

### 14 your time. 

### 15 MR. CLARK: Thank you very much. Please. 

### 16 MS. WILLIAMS: Hello. I'm Susan Williams. 

### 17 I'm from Madison, Wisconsin, and I, I care deeply about 

### 18 energy issues. I have for a long time. I, I watched 

### 19 an energy bill, the clean energy jobs act fail in 

### 20 Wisconsin about a year ago without ever coming to a 

### 21 vote and I spent a lot of time thinking about why 

### 22 exactly that happened. 

### 23 We've heard today many, many people speak 

### 24 about the harm that is caused by mercury to, harm to 

### 25 people's health, to the environment, to vulnerableAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 306 1 populations and children and hearing that, I began to 

### 2 ask myself why, why wouldn't we regulate mercury 

### 3 emissions? I mean, is there any possible reason why we 

### 4 haven't already? Who would, who would support 

### 5 maintaining the levels of mercury pollution that we 

### 6 have now? 

### 7 During the time I've been here, I haven't 

### 8 heard from anybody who does oppose these standards and 

### 9 I would like to think it's because nobody does and they 

### 10 think it's -- what they're doing now is indefensible 

### 11 and they've cried uncle, but I, I doubt that. I 

### 12 suspect that there have been all sorts of written 

### 13 comments submitted by the coal industry and related 

### 14 industries submitted by lawyers and they decided it 

### 15 just wasn't efficient to turn up here today. 

### 16 And although I haven't seen those comments, I 

### 17 can imagine the sorts of things that they might have 

### 18 said. It will cost too much. It will kill jobs. 

### 19 People who, people who process coal, people who mind 

### 20 coal, people who work in coal powered electric plants, 

### 21 they'll lose their jobs. It will cost the taxpayers, 

### 22 that sort of thing and I can imagine that the EPA is 

### 23 and will be under incredible pressure to water down the 

### 24 standards that are proposed. 

### 25 And when I imagine what these comments say, IAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 307 1 think what they're really saying is we want to maintain 

### 2 the status quo. This is how we produce energy now and 

### 3 this is how we always should produce energy and I mean 

### 4 that's understandable. The status quo is, is a 

### 5 comfortable place to be even if it's bad. I suppose 

### 6 that's why people stay in a bad marriage, you know, 

### 7 it's not that great, but at least you know the rules 

### 8 and you've got two incomes and -- but. 

### 9 And, and you don't have to, you know, wonder 

### 10 about the unknown and how things will be if you change 

### 11 the ways that you've been doing things. 

### 12 But this, you know, this country they say was 

### 13 founded on, on entrepreneurship and innovation and 

### 14 taking chances and that's what's vital about our 

### 15 economy. It moves forward and, and we adapt and 

### 16 change. Unfortunately, sometimes we need a framework 

### 17 of regulations for that to work properly. 

### 18 And also, it can be traumatic, I mean, new -- 

### 19 you may create new jobs, but, but old jobs are lost. 

### 20 You may gain financially in some ways, and pay in other 

### 21 ways, and the people who stand to pay the financial 

### 22 cost of change are the ones who have the money and the 

### 23 power now. They're the ones maintaining -- making the 

### 24 campaign contributions and placing pressure on, on 

### 25 agencies. It's not the people who will benefit fromAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 308 1 the clean energy jobs that are created later or the new 

### 2 technology firms or you know, the plants that 

### 3 manufacture the compliance equipment that would reduce 

### 4 our mercury emissions. 

### 5 So I guess what I'm, I guess what I'm trying 

### 6 to say here is that it won't cost jobs and ultimately 

### 7 it's not going to cost rate payers, but different jobs, 

### 8 different jobs will be gained than exist now and we'll 

### 9 have to wait and see what costs, what the ultimate 

### 10 costs are. We're really banking on the future. 

### 11 And I see we're out of time, but I would just 

### 12 like the EPA to, to take a leap and take a chance on 

### 13 the future, the future jobs that will be created and, 

### 14 and the, and the costs that we will not incur any more 

### 15 if we do regulate mercury emissions and thank you so 

### 16 much for this opportunity to speak. 

### 17 MR. CLARK: Thank you both very much. David 

### 18 Creech and Richard Stuckey [phonetic], please. Is 

### 19 David, is David Creech here? Yeah, here we go. 

### 20 Richard Stuckey? Hello Richard? No. Okay. Peter 

### 21 Orris [phonetic]. Is Peter Orris here? Okay. No 

### 22 Richard Stuckey, no Peter Orris. How about Dr. Edward 

### 23 Naureckas? Thank you. 

### 24MR. CREECH: You guys are warriors. I 

### 25 commend you. Thank you for the opportunity to testifyAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 309 1 on this important rule. My name is David Creech and I 

### 2 am the Director of Hunger Education for the Evangelical 

### 3 Lutheran Church and America's World Hunger Program. 

### 4I come as a representative of the World 

### 5 Hunger Program and as a member of the National Council 

### 6 of Churches Eco-Justice Working Group. 

### 7 The ELCA, a national denomination with over 

### 8 four million baptized members has a long standing 

### 9 commitment to working with and on behalf of those who 

### 10 are poorest and most vulnerable. 

### 11 The National Council of Churches represents 

### 12 thirty-seven denominations and more than forty-five 

### 13 million people around the U.S. The member churches 

### 14 don't agree on everything, but we do agree on the vital 

### 15 importance of this rule. 

### 16 The rule is important to both the NCC and the 

### 17 ELCA because mercury contamination disproportionately 

### 18 effects those who are most vulnerable and you've heard 

### 19 lots of the testimony to that affect today. 

### 20 For the Ecumenical Christian community, the 

### 21 regulation of mercury and air toxics is first and 

### 22 foremost a moral issue. As people of faith, we are 

### 23 called to work for justice, especially with and for 

### 24 those who are most vulnerable. 

### 25 In addition, we understand our role is toAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 310 1 serve as stewards of God's great creation. The air 

### 2 toxics addressed in this rule, including mercury, 

### 3 arsenic, chromium, nickel, and acid gasses have been 

### 4 shown to result in serious impacts on people, 

### 5 particularly women and children, communities and this 

### 6 little blue marble, we call home. 

### 7 We believe it is unacceptable and I would 

### 8 even perhaps go so far as to say immoral to sacrifice 

### 9 our children's health and their future for the sake of 

### 10 current consumption patterns and lifestyle choices. 

### 11 Moreover the integrity of creation is a 

### 12 precious gift from God entrusted to our care and a 

### 13 collective responsibility. 

### 14You're aware of the statistics and they are 

### 15 staggering and I won't bore them with you. You have 

### 16 them there. I will point out that mercury 

### 17 contamination is particularly harmful to children and 

### 18 the unborn. Studies estimate that nearly fifteen 

### 19 percent of women of child bearing age have blood 

### 20 mercury concentrations higher than the level that's 

### 21 considered safe for fetal development, putting as many 

### 22 as six hundred and thirty thousand newborns each year 

### 23 at risk for serious developmental impairment. 

### 24And the statistic hits particularly close to 

### 25 home as my wife is now in her third trimester. WeAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 311 1 believe that every child is a precious gift from God 

### 2 entrusted to our care and again, our collectively 

### 3 responsibility. 

### 4We are supportive of the proposed rule that 

### 5 would reduce mercury, acid gasses and other toxic 

### 6 pollution from power plants and believe that once 

### 7 implemented, it will go a long way in our efforts to 

### 8 protect children, communities, and creation. 

### 9 Families and communities have waited for a 

### 10 long time, too long -- twenty years or so -- for these 

### 11 standards to be put in place and so here's the ask. 

### 12 We ask that you not weaken the standards in any way nor 

### 13 delay the release of the final rule. 

### 14Thank you for making the time to hear our 

### 15 concerns and comments. 

### 16 MR. CLARK: Thank you, doctor. 

### 17 DR. NAURECKAS: Thank you for having me to 

### 18 have the opportunity to speak to you today on the 

### 19 proposed regulations. 

### 20 I'm Edward Naureckas. I'm an Associate 

### 21 Professor of Medicine in the section of Pulmonary and 

### 22 Critical Care at the University of Chicago. I'm also a 

### 23 former investigator in the EPA sponsored Center for 

### 24 Integrating Statistical and Environmental Sciences. 

### 25 And we, along with a number of other researchersAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 312 1 studied the effects of particulates on asthma and 

### 2 again, as many researchers have demonstrated the 

### 3 adverse affect of these particulate, particulate 

### 4pollution on asthma. 

### 5 I actually, in addition to studying asthma 

### 6 from an epidemiologic standpoint, also care for 

### 7 patients directly; both the intensive care unit and in 

### 8 the clinic and also have been involved in the Chicago 

### 9 Asthma Consortium where we have been very concerned 

### 10 with the increase in the incidents of asthma within 

### 11 Chicago and in Illinois. 

### 12 The recent CDC report has demonstrated 

### 13 continued increases in asthma especially within the 

### 14 inner city, once the statistic that could be cited is a 

### 15 fifty percent increase in asthma among African American 

### 16 children. 

### 17 So I am obviously in favor of the proposed 

### 18 regulations and would encourage the prompt adoption 

### 19 without any weakening or any delay in their, their 

### 20 implementation. 

### 21 Thank you so much. 

### 22 MR. CLARK: Thank you. Any questions? 

### 23 MR. HUTSON: Yeah. This question is for 

### 24 Mr. Creech. You mentioned the National Council of 

### 25 Churches and, and united in support of the rule. IsAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 313 1 that, is that an official? 2 MR. CREECH: This is from the National 3 Council of Churches Eco-Justice Committee, a working 4 group. 5 MR. HUTSON: Okay. 6 MR. CREECH: And so it is a arm of the 7 National Council of Churches and so far as I know 8 everybody on that committee was in agreement, this, 9 this was a united effort. We will be testifying in 10 Philadelphia and Atlanta as well. 11 MR. HUTSON: Okay. And submitting responses, 12 I mean comments? 13 MR. CLARK: Great. Thank you both. I'll try 14 one last time for Richard Stuckey or Peter Orris. 15 Either, either of you here? Okay. Sue Blain please, 16 Ms. Sue Blain and Dana March. Ms. Blaine. 17 MS. BLAINE: Hi. I'm Sue Blaine, B-L-A-I-N-E 18 and I have two sets of comments today. The first one 19 from the Labadie Environmental Organization 20 and the second, my own personal comments. 21 The Labadie Environmental 22 Organization strongly supports EPA's decision to 23 regulate mercury and other toxics under the Clean Air 24 Act. As those who live close to several of this 25 nation's dirtiest coal-fired plants and the nation'sAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 314 1 fourteenth largest, we think this regulation is long 

### 2 overdue. 

### 3 Per 2009 TRI records, the four coal-fired 

### 4plants in the metro St. Louis region produce 

### 5 approximately sixty-five percent of the state's total 

### 6 mercury releases from utilities and thirty-five percent 

### 7 of the state's total seven thousand one hundred 

### 8 thirty-four pounds of mercury, released from all 

### 9 reporting sources. 

### 10 The Labadie Electric Plant was 

### 11 recently included in the 2010 EIP publication, Dirty 

### 12 Kilowatts, America's Top Fifty Power Plant Mercury 

### 13 Polluters. Labadie Plant reported emitting 

### 14 one thousand, two hundred, ninety-seven pounds in 2009. 

### 15 The Labadie Plant was the fourth highest 

### 16 emitter of total mercury and twenty-fourth in emissions 

### 17 per gigawatt-hour energy produced. 

### 18 These statistics suggest both high emissions 

### 19 and need for pollution control upgrades. 

### 20 Ameren's Rush Island Plant operating in the St. 

### 21 Louis region was sued this past year for not installing 

### 22 pollution upgrades as required by law under new source 

### 23 review. 

### 24Ironically, the Labadie Plant emits 

### 25 twice the pollution of their Rush Island Plant. TheAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 315 1 Labadie Plant, Power Plant is almost forty 

### 2 years old and they have refused to install scrubbers 

### 3 and readily available pollution control technology. 

### 4Industries proven track record of 

### 5 externalizing costs and risks to community in Missouri 

### 6 should be seen as a reason to move forward on federal 

### 7 regulation. 

### 8 As we have waited for action, our communities 

### 9 are exposed to thousands of pounds of toxic mercury per 

### 10 year that end up in our water, air, and environments. 

### 11 It has been estimated that the metro St. Louis, 

### 12 Missouri, area absorbs an additional seven hundred and 

### 13 fifty million dollars of needless healthcare costs due 

### 14 to the pollution created by the four local plants. 

### 15 The Great Missouri and Mississippi have both 

### 16 been impacted by utility pollution. We need your 

### 17 resolve and commitment to make both mercury and coal 

### 18 ash rule strong and federally enforceable. 

### 19 Finalizing this rule and equally protective 

### 20 proposed coal ash rule under subtitle C regulation 

### 21 sends a clear message to polluters that communities 

### 22 matter most and pollution control is part of doing 

### 23 business in a new, prosperous and sustainable America. 

### 24The health, environmental and economic 

### 25 benefits of safe, clean environments are clear. WeAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 316 1 need federal regulation to ensure progress is made. 2 Now on a more personal note, my grandmother 3 sold the land she inherited from her father to Union 4 Electric, which is now right next to her farm, so 5 that the Labadie Power Plant could be constructed. 6 She sold reluctantly with the threat of eminent 7 domain seizure looming. Grandmother rationalized that 8 a power plant needed to be built somewhere and 9 trusted that the utility company would be a good, 10 considerate neighbor, taking necessary precautions to 11 protect the health of the surrounding population, 12 wildlife, air and water. 13 Unfortunately, her trust was not well 14 founded as the Labadie Power Plant is one of our top 15 polluters in the country, spewing mercury and other 16 toxins into the air. Particles settle into fertile 17 farm land and the adjacent Missouri River, placing 18 the water supply for St. Louis at risk. 19 She would be appalled that the health of 20 the local population is placed at risk so that others 21 could enjoy low electric power costs. 22 Industry does not appear to be regulating 23 and reducing their emissions voluntarily. 24 I encourage the EPA to enact federal 25 regulations to significantly reduce airborneAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 317 1 pollutants. Meanwhile, I'm at least somewhat relieved 

### 2 that my mother and sisters who still live on the 

### 3 family farm, literally right next to the Labadie 

### 4 Plant are at least upwind. Not everyone is quite 

### 5 that fortunate. 

### 6 Thank you. 

### 7 MR. CLARK: Thank you. Ms. March. 

### 8 MS. MARCH: Hello. My name is Dana March, 

### 9 D-A-N-A, and March like the month. I am a registered 

### 10 nurse and a pediatric nurse practitioner. For ten 

### 11 years, I worked at Children's Memorial Hospital, for 

### 12 five years in the pediatric intensive care unit and for 

### 13 five years on the critical care transport team. 

### 14During that time, I cannot count the number 

### 15 of children that I cared for who were diagnosed with 

### 16 either some type of neurologic problem or a respiratory 

### 17 disease. To see even one child struggle to take a 

### 18 breath is more than most people can bear to experience, 

### 19 but to see babies and children suffer as part of your 

### 20 daily work is challenging. 

### 21 What is more challenging is to know that the 

### 22 toxic emissions that cause many of the diseases that 

### 23 our children suffer from are preventable. 

### 24When I was in the back of an ambulance going 

### 25 to get a sick newborn, I would review the informationAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 318 1 about the baby's medical history and try to prepare and 

### 2 make medical plan for the type of care that I was going 

### 3 to provide and what I was going to see when I walked 

### 4 into the referring hospital. I was never prepared to 

### 5 walk in and see a seizing baby lying on an emergency 

### 6 room stretcher with his parents standing next to him 

### 7 with terrified and helpless expressions on their faces. 

### 8 All the parent wants is for you to fix their 

### 9 tiny, precious new baby and while the parents are 

### 10 asking themselves, why is this happening to my baby? 

### 11 What caused this? My transport team and I are trying 

### 12 to determine if the infant is breathing adequately or 

### 13 if we need to assist his breathing by placing an 

### 14 endo-tracheal tube and assist with his ventilation. 

### 15 All the while, we are assessing the type of 

### 16 seizure he is having and checking his heart rate and 

### 17 then we must place IV's in the baby's tiny veins in 

### 18 order to give anticonvulsants to stop the seizures. 

### 19 This is only the beginning of a scenario of 

### 20 hard choices that his healthcare team must make in the 

### 21 long days that his family will have to endure. 

### 22 Mercury a potent neurotoxin, pollutes our air 

### 23 and our water and because of this, more than three 

### 24 hundred thousand babies born each year are at risk of 

### 25 having mercury poisoning.AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 319 1 The neurologic and developmental outcomes 

### 2 that accompany the brain damage that occurs from the 

### 3 toxic effects of mercury can be devastating. 

### 4Caring for children with neurologic 

### 5 impairment is no easy task. Often, they require 

### 6 constant monitoring of their breathing and procedures, 

### 7 a strict medication schedule, OT, PT and frequent 

### 8 doctor visits. That's without mentioning the financial 

### 9 stress placed on families. 

### 10 It is so sad when we hear the news that a 

### 11 child was killed because they weren't properly 

### 12 restrained in a car. Child restraint laws were put in 

### 13 place to protect our children from harm. 

### 14Today, we have the ability to protect our 

### 15 children in a similar way, by reducing toxic emissions. 

### 16 This will not just protect individual children, but we 

### 17 will also be protecting entire communities from 

### 18 suffering and premature death. We deserve the same 

### 19 types of prevention for our safety and our health. 

### 20 This is why I support the EPA's rule to 

### 21 reduce toxic air emissions from power plants. And I 

### 22 look forward to the upcoming EPA rule to reduce green 

### 23 house gas emissions. Thank you. 

### 24MR. CLARK: Thank you both very much. Okay. 

### 25 Okay. Jocelyn Travis please and Jason Duba, Duba.AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 320 1 Jason Duba. She's -- okay. Sure, we can do Jennifer 

### 2 Jansen. Is Jennifer here? Excellent. Jason. 

### 3 MR. DUBA: My name is Jason Duba and I 

### 4 appreciate this opportunity to offer my testimony. 

### 5 Thank you for listening. 

### 6 I'm in full support of the newly proposed 

### 7 national regulations of mercury, acid gasses and other 

### 8 toxic air pollutants from power plants. 

### 9 For far too long, our air and waterways have 

### 10 been poisoned by tons of mercury, particulates and acid 

### 11 gasses due to fossil fuel energy. 

### 12 I'm in favor of these regulations for a 

### 13 number of reasons, but I will focus on the reduction of 

### 14 negative health effects of pollution from power plants, 

### 15 most significantly among vulnerable unborn children. 

### 16 The health effects of mercury ingestion range 

### 17 from headaches and skin rashes to severe neurological 

### 18 damage. Our country's most vulnerable populations, 

### 19 pregnant and nursing women, infants and the elderly 

### 20 face the highest risks. Currently, one out of six 

### 21 babies are born with harmful levels of mercury in their 

### 22 blood and coal burning power plants are the largest 

### 23 source of domestic mercury pollution. 

### 24Consumption of fish contaminated by mercury 

### 25 is the main route of human exposure. The mercury dropAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 321 1 from the air, into the water system where fish will 

### 2 eventually take it up. 

### 3 Mercury is extremely toxic to the brain and 

### 4 nervous system, especially to the rapidly developing 

### 5 brain of the unborn child during early pregnancy. When 

### 6 a pregnant woman eats mercury contaminated fish, the 

### 7 mercury in the fish enters the mother's blood stream. 

### 8 Once in the mother's blood stream, mercury can move 

### 9 directly across the placenta to enter the body of her 

### 10 unborn child. One of the body's protective shields 

### 11 against damage to the brain, called the blood brain 

### 12 barrier, is not fully developed until the first year of 

### 13 life, thus in an unborn child, mercury can cross this 

### 14 incomplete barrier and accumulate in the brain causing 

### 15 developmental disabilities and brain damage resulting 

### 16 in lowered intelligence and learning problems. 

### 17 This has lifetime implications. One study 

### 18 found that the resulting loss of intelligence causes 

### 19 diminished economic prosperity, and productivity that 

### 20 persists over the entire lifetime of these children. 

### 21 The unborn are also being harmed by air 

### 22 pollution in the form of sulfur dioxide that will be 

### 23 reduced as a co-benefit of the mercury standard. This 

### 24 pollution has been linked to birth defects, low birth 

### 25 rate, premature births, still births and infant deaths.AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 322 1 My wife and I are considering having a child 

### 2 in the future and the potential effects of mercury 

### 3 poisoning are a concern to us. We would be safer 

### 4 having a children if these regulations were enacted. 

### 5 As a Christian, I believe in protecting the 

### 6 precious life God gives, especially for those most 

### 7 vulnerable; unborn children. 

### 8 Thank you for considering the first ever 

### 9 mercury regulation and saving thousands of lives from 

### 10 toxic air pollution. 

### 11 MR. CLARK: Ms. Jansen. 

### 12 MS. JANSEN: Hi. I'm Jennifer Jansen from 

### 13 Ann Arbor, Michigan. I just want to thank you for the 

### 14 proposed limits on mercury and air toxics and urge you 

### 15 to make them as strong as possible to protect my health 

### 16 and my loved ones' health. 

### 17 In the last year, I've lost multiple close 

### 18 friends to cancer. All of whom lived in my home town 

### 19 in Richmond, Kentucky, where coal-fired power is so 

### 20 cheap, they say, but is also destroying the mountains, 

### 21 head waters, communities, and our health. 

### 22 And I was thinking about this as I was 

### 23 writing this testimony yesterday and it occurred to me 

### 24 that, you know, you of the EPA are in as much of the 

### 25 business of finding a cure to cancer as anyone of theAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 323 1 American Cancer Society or anyone at the Relays for 

### 2 Life that I've gone to. The cure to cancer isn't going 

### 3 to be found without reducing the incredible load of 

### 4 toxics that are found in our bodies due to in great 

### 5 part to the mercury and air toxics from the coal-fired 

### 6 plants and incinerators that you have been working with 

### 7 these last twenty years, to start to limit. 

### 8 Coal-fired power is both prevalent and 

### 9 invisible to most Americans and I've seen the mountains 

### 10 where it comes from in Vince, West Virginia, and the 

### 11 nearest boiler plant was just a few hundred yards away 

### 12 from where I went to school for twelve years and about 

### 13 two hundred yards away from my, where my mother worked 

### 14 for thirty-five years, so I do hope that the boiler 

### 15 standards will move along quickly as well. 

### 16 But the state was also riddled with, with 

### 17 larger plants like the ones that are being addressed, 

### 18 are being addressed by the current standards. 

### 19 And I've seen how, how that coal has poisoned 

### 20 the communities and, and read about how the effects end 

### 21 up so far away in rivers in New England. 

### 22 So I know it's up to you to stop in and 

### 23 finally take it to the next step and I really hope that 

### 24 you're able to do that. 

### 25 You know, in addition, our lungs areAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 324 1 burdened, you know, not just cancer and the toxics that 

### 2 build up in our bodies, but every moment when we 

### 3 breathe, I have a hereditary progressive lung disease 

### 4 and I just realized that last month, oh yeah I'm the 

### 5 people they talk about. You know, people with 

### 6 respiratory problems. I'm healthy now, but I'm not 

### 7 going to be when I'm older and I'm exactly who they're 

### 8 talking about and that really hit me that I'm doing 

### 9 everything I can to protect my lungs and stay away from 

### 10 toxic substances. I don't paint, I don't help do 

### 11 construction on the house, I don't do, you know, 

### 12 anything like that that might hurt my lungs, but I 

### 13 really need your help. 

### 14So, I hope that we can really reduce the 

### 15 toxics that are going to break down my lungs further, 

### 16 so I can keep breathing even when I'm sixty, seventy, 

### 17 and eighty years old. 

### 18 Let's see, I just want to finish by saying, I 

### 19 really hope you can keep up the push for strong 

### 20 standards and, and hope you cross the finish line. 

### 21 Thank you. 

### 22 MR. CLARK: Thank you. Thank you both. 

### 23 Okay. Jocelyn Travis and Rose Joshua, please. Is Rose 

### 24 here? Rose Joshua? 

### 25 MS. JOSHUA: Yes.AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 325 1 MR. CLARK: Okay. Oh I'm sorry. Wait a 

### 2 second. You, you are Rose? 

### 3 MS. TRAVIS: I'm Jocelyn. 

### 4MR. CLARK: You're Jocelyn, okay. 

### 5 MS. TRAVIS: Yes. 

### 6 MR. CLARK: So I was looking for Rose Joshua, 

### 7 who -- 

### 8 MS. TRAVIS: Yes. 

### 9 MR. CLARK: -- is not here, I guess. 

### 10 MS. TRAVIS: She, she was just here. I'm 

### 11 sure she's right outside the door. 

### 12 MR. CLARK: Okay. Well, we can go ahead and 

### 13 bring David Deprez, Deprez and then have Rose next. 

### 14 Okay. Great. Thank you. Okay. Please Jocelyn. 

### 15 MS. TRAVIS: Thank you. Thank you. Good 

### 16 afternoon. My name is Jocelyn Travis and I'm a 

### 17 resident of Cleveland, Ohio. I come before you today 

### 18 as a representative of the Ohio Conference NAACP to 

### 19 voice my concern about the devastating effects of coal 

### 20 fired power plants in our communities. 

### 21 The Ohio NAACP is under the leadership of 

### 22 President Sybil [phonetic] Edwards McNab [phonetic] who 

### 23 is a funeral home director. She joins me and all NAACP 

### 24members in the State of Ohio calling for the end of 

### 25 toxic fumes being allowed to poison, especially thoseAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 326 1 who are the most vulnerable in our communities; youth, 

### 2 those living in poverty and residents of those inner 

### 3 city communities that are most directly affected by the 

### 4 dangers of power plants. 

### 5 The McNab Funeral Home is starting to see 

### 6 such a steady increase of African American young people 

### 7 and others dying from many unknown illnesses that the 

### 8 term genocide is certainly at the forefront of our 

### 9 thinking. 

### 10 I especially want to thank you as EPA 

### 11 representatives for allowing us to share our concerns 

### 12 about this crisis that is occurring throughout our 

### 13 country. 

### 14Our NAACP family is optimistic that you will 

### 15 do all that is possible to ensure that our youth have a 

### 16 future by regulating or by shutting down these coal 

### 17 fired power plants and allowing our citizens to breathe 

### 18 clean, fresh air. 

### 19 Surely we can collectively come up with 

### 20 alternate solutions to burning coal. 

### 21 In the State of Ohio, we are challenged with 

### 22 four failing coal plants with my hometown of Cleveland, 

### 23 Ohio, having the sixth worst plant in the country which 

### 24 is the Lakeshore Plant owned by First Energy. 

### 25 The crisis in our community is that peopleAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 327 1 are not aware of this plant and the toxic fumes it 

### 2 continuously spews and the negative affect it will have 

### 3 for many generations to come. 

### 4I am especially concerned that the Lakeshore 

### 5 Plant is such a fixture in our community that no one 

### 6 seems to notice it. 

### 7 As a youngster growing up in the Glenville 

### 8 community where the plant is situated, we had no idea 

### 9 that toxic fumes were being emitted into our 

### 10 environment. As a matter-of-fact, the very area of the 

### 11 Lakeshore Plant was a park with the aquarium, baseball 

### 12 diamonds, swings and a setting which allowed for the 

### 13 socialization of many families in our area. 

### 14Unfortunately, now many years later, our 

### 15 communities still does not realize the dangerous 

### 16 effects of this plant. There are one hundred three 

### 17 thousand, three hundred thirty-three residents 

### 18 currently living within a three mile radius of this 

### 19 plant with ninety point six percent being people of 

### 20 color and eighty-five percent African American. These 

### 21 residents have an average income of less than eleven 

### 22 thousand dollars. There are six schools within a mile 

### 23 of this plant. 

### 24The St. Clair Superior area and the 

### 25 immediately vicinity of the Lakeshore Plant has theAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 328 1 highest childhood lead poisoning rates in Ohio and 

### 2 perhaps America at around thirty-five percent of 

### 3 children tested with elevated blood levels of lead in 

### 4 excess of five micrograms per deciliter. 

### 5 The September 2010 Clean Air Task Force 

### 6 Study, the Toll from Coal, shows citizens of northeast 

### 7 Ohio have the worst level of mortality from coal-fired 

### 8 power plants in America. 

### 9 It is a shame that these residents have to 

### 10 deal with this issue in addition to wondering where 

### 11 their next meal is coming from, where to lay their head 

### 12 or how to get medicine for their babies. Especially 

### 13 when many of our children are dealing with severe 

### 14 asthma, more than likely, as an affect of the toxins 

### 15 from the plant. 

### 16 Again, these plants are making millions of 

### 17 dollars at the expense of those who are most vulnerable 

### 18 and it is shame. 

### 19 I am so grateful for the wonderful work of 

### 20 our national NAACP Director of Environmental and 

### 21 Climate Justice, Jackie Patterson, for the research and 

### 22 hard work that went into developing the coal blooded, 

### 23 putting profits before people report. It has truly 

### 24 opened my eyes to the need to fight harder for the 

### 25 rights of our community.AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 329 1 I will be on a crusade to provide the 

### 2 necessary education throughout my state to inform 

### 3 people of the dangers of these plants. Urge the 

### 4 enforcement of the Clean Air Act and encourage 

### 5 legislation on the local and state levels to monitor 

### 6 these plants and enforce regulations and standards as 

### 7 needed. 

### 8 My NAACP involvement has spent over forty 

### 9 years and I am thankful for being involved with an 

### 10 organization that is committed to making a difference 

### 11 in our community. 

### 12 I currently serve as a trainer for the State 

### 13 of Ohio and I will make sure that all of our trainings 

### 14 including a curriculum on this issue. 

### 15 I also serve as youth advisor for all the 

### 16 Cleveland NAACP youth and Ohio NAACP youth in college. 

### 17 It is imperative that we involve our young people in 

### 18 understanding the ramifications of the issues of power 

### 19 plants. 

### 20 I envision training these young people so 

### 21 they can share this information to their peers. I 

### 22 think it's also vital to have our brilliant young 

### 23 people start looking at solutions and alternatives to 

### 24 coal, to burning coal. 

### 25 Another key concern in our state of Ohio isAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 330 1 the support given to the corporations and big 

### 2 businesses by the newly elected leadership in Ohio on 

### 3 the state level. Unfortunately, we have a one party 

### 4majority in control of the Ohio House of 

### 5 Representatives, Ohio Senate and Governor's office 

### 6 which terrifies me in the matter of monitoring and 

### 7 enforcement of regulations of these plants. 

### 8 I find it appalling that our elected 

### 9 leadership on the local and state level don't realize 

### 10 the dangers of these plants. 

### 11 Cleveland, Ohio, has the dubious distinction 

### 12 of being number one in poverty in the country and 

### 13 number two most segregated city in the country. The 

### 14 infrastructure of our community is extremely weak and 

### 15 cannot bear many more burdens. We need help. Please 

### 16 tell me help is on the way. Thank you. 

### 17 MR. CLARK: Thank you very much. Mr. Deprez. 

### 18 MR. DEPREZ: Good afternoon. My name is 

### 19 David Deprez, that's D-E-P-R-E-Z. I'm a high school 

### 20 science teacher and my ears picked up when my fellow 

### 21 citizen here, she mentioned curriculum. 

### 22 For years, I have used the mercury toxicity 

### 23 to teach unit factoring and unit conversion skills to 

### 24 students. I am very happily burdened with the mandate 

### 25 to raise the -- not just the environmentalAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 331 1 consciousness of students but to teach them skills 

### 2 which will lead to what we call scientific literacy and 

### 3 it's really, really kind of interest that we can use 

### 4 facts and figures to change the meaning of those facts 

### 5 and figures to more meaningful patterns of 

### 6 understanding. 

### 7 So for instance, my testimony is the 

### 8 calculation that shows how 1998 mercury emissions can 

### 9 lead to raising the toxicity of mercury in fresh water 

### 10 to lethal levels; comment plants in the state of 

### 11 Illinois each year produce mercury emissions that would 

### 12 pollute three trillion gallons of water to the lethal 

### 13 level of zero point zero, zero five milligrams of 

### 14mercury per liter. 

### 15 So I would have used an overhead transparency 

### 16 to show the calculations conversions, but I'll just 

### 17 give you a copy here since our old fashioned technology 

### 18 in most of our schools, overhead projector -- a light 

### 19 box -- overhead projector is outdated by these more 

### 20 modern computer projectors so unfortunately I have to 

### 21 read it to you. 

### 22 This is called the lethal aqueous 

### 23 concentration of mercury versus Commonwealth Edison. 

### 24 The figure of five ten thousandths of a milligram per 

### 25 liter comes from the EPA, an organization that I have aAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 332 1 tremendous amount of respect for. 

### 2 In 1996, via the Letterman Science Center at 

### 3 the Fermi National Accelerator Lab and there's a figure 

### 4 also from the EPA. It's dated 1998, but it says that 

### 5 the seven Illinois common coal-fired power plants 

### 6 produce one thousand seven hundred pounds of mercury 

### 7 per year, so using simple conversion, a pound is equal 

### 8 to two point two kilograms, so one thousand seven 

### 9 hundred pounds of mercury is three thousand seven 

### 10 hundred kilograms of mercury. So that, then I have to 

### 11 convert -- we show the students, we have to convert to 

### 12 three billion, seven hundred milligrams of mercury. And 

### 13 then we use a very simple cross multiplication 

### 14 technique which I think every child in grade school 

### 15 learns how to do; solving for X by, by scaling. So 

### 16 five ten thousandths of a milligram of mercury per 

### 17 liter of solution is equal to three billion seven 

### 18 hundred million milligrams of mercury per X, so solve 

### 19 for X and -- 

### 20 I won't bore you with the calculations, but 

### 21 it basically boils down to X is equal to one times ten 

### 22 to the thirteenth liters. Now that doesn't make any 

### 23 sense to students until we convert back to the old 

### 24 fashioned English measurement units, which you know, we 

### 25 are burdened as science teachers to deal with the issueAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 333 1 that we work with metric in science and there's no way 

### 2 Americans can understand the results, so using, using a 

### 3 very simple unit factoring matrix here, one times ten 

### 4 to the thirteenth liter is times two point five times 

### 5 ten to the minus one gallons per liter produces -- 

### 6 gives a result of ten -- three times ten to the 

### 7 fifteenth gallons, so that's three trillion gallons of 

### 8 water. 

### 9 Now how much water is three trillion gallons? 

### 10 Well, we'll divide three times ten to the twelfth 

### 11 gallons by one point three times ten to the fifteenth 

### 12 because that's how much water there is Lake Michigan, 

### 13 so if we do a simple bit of math here, it comes out to 

### 14 two tenths of one percent of the total volume of Lake 

### 15 Michigan. That doesn't seem like a whole lot, but if 

### 16 we multiply that percentage two tenths of one percent 

### 17 per year times one hundred per Lake Michigan, we get to 

### 18 five hundred years per Lake Michigan, so if we just 

### 19 keep going as we go now. 

### 20 And if this were to, this pollutant were to become 

### 21 completely aqueous and dumped into Lake Michigan, Lake 

### 22 Michigan would be reduced or I should say raised to the 

### 23 level of lethal toxicity within five hundred years. 

### 24Thank you. 

### 25 MR. CLARK: Thank you very much. AnyAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 334 1 questions? Okay. That's -- that's right. Okay. 

### 2 Rose -- these are our last two speakers now before 

### 3 dinner break. Sure. Rose Joshua and Auriel Banister 

### 4please. 

### 5 MR. BANISTER: Thank you. 

### 6 MR. CLARK: And, and let me just say if -- 

### 7 after these speakers, we will take a break and be back 

### 8 at six thirty. If there's anyone who signed up for a 

### 9 specific time slot but has not been called, please go 

### 10 to the registration table and, and check that out and 

### 11 again, I just want to take this moment to say before 

### 12 these speakers begin how much we appreciate everyone 

### 13 for how far many of you have come and, and how all of 

### 14 you have taken time out of your busy days and schedules 

### 15 to come and testify at our hearing and we very much 

### 16 appreciate that. 

### 17 So with that, Ms. Joshua. 

### 18 MS. JOSHUA: I would like to say good 

### 19 afternoon to the panel. My name is Rose Joshua. I am 

### 20 the President of Chicago's south side NAACP and we, we 

### 21 are chartered as a branch of the National NAACP to 

### 22 represent members in the loop area on the south side of 

### 23 Chicago in southwest where Fisk and Crawford generating 

### 24 plant is. 

### 25 The NAACP supports the EPA's proposed mercuryAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 335 1 and air toxic standards. The NAACP also supports the 

### 2 Chicago's Clean Power Ordinance that requires plants to 

### 3 safer energy production methods or shut down. 

### 4The NAACP report found that the coal power 

### 5 plants, Fisk and Crawford are located in our 

### 6 communities; African American and people of color. 

### 7 Living close to coal emissions can lead to a 

### 8 variety of respiratory diseases including asthma, and 

### 9 bronchitis and can lead to premature death. 

### 10 Over six hundred thousand Chicago residents 

### 11 live within three miles of Fisk or Crawford and sixteen 

### 12 K-12 schools are located within one mile of the plants. 

### 13 You've heard the average income of, of persons that 

### 14 live within Crawford is about eleven thousand dollars 

### 15 and that is eighty-three percent of that population is 

### 16 composed of people of color. 

### 17 In the three miles surrounding Fisk, the 

### 18 average income is fifteen thousand dollars and people 

### 19 of color make up eighty-three point one percent of the 

### 20 population. 

### 21 Pollution from power plants is an issue of 

### 22 racial disparity as people of color are most likely to 

### 23 be exposed to toxins coming from plants and the impact 

### 24 is obvious from the health outcomes. Air toxics are 

### 25 the most hazardous air pollutants.AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 336 1 I believe that air toxins are harmful to our 

### 2 communities and the coal power plants should be held 

### 3 accountable to the people. I am appalled when I hear 

### 4 the statistics coming from the Centers for Disease 

### 5 Control about asthma and the number of people diagnosed 

### 6 with asthma grew by four point three million from 2001 

### 7 to 2009. 

### 8 From 2001 to 2009, asthma rates rose the most 

### 9 upon -- among black children, almost fifty percent. 

### 10 In my law practice, I have represented many 

### 11 African Americans and other people of color, children 

### 12 and adults. Surprisingly enough, most of them suffer 

### 13 from asthma related diseases and most of them were 

### 14 found to be disabled by an Administrative Law Judge. 

### 15 Think about it. The amount of lost wages that affect 

### 16 our communities. It becomes a domino effect. 

### 17 If the emissions are affecting the adults in 

### 18 our communities, then what about the children? 

### 19 We must work to reduce and/or shut down the 

### 20 plants that are killing our communities. Your life and 

### 21 my life depends on it. Thank you. 

### 22 MR. CLARK: Ms. Banister. 

### 23 MS. BANISTER: Good evening. My name is 

### 24Auriel Banister and I'm a student at DePaul University 

### 25 and an intern for the LVESO group which isAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 337 1 the Little Village Environmental Justice organization. 

### 2 I'm here today as a concerned citizen. I was 

### 3 born here in Chicago and I've lived here all my life. 

### 4 I know many people with asthma, but I never tied it to 

### 5 the smoke, smoke stacks that I see right outside the 

### 6 highway whenever I'm getting on and off the highway. 

### 7 Just recently I was informed about how vital 

### 8 this plant has been towards making the community sick 

### 9 of which I'm working in and I found it very alarming to 

### 10 me and, and I thought that if someone knew that this 

### 11 was going on, then why wouldn't it have gotten out at 

### 12 this point? I just, I just don't see how the 

### 13 communication was left at that point, I mean you know, 

### 14 like tourist, community members from a higher up 

### 15 perspective and I am very happy that you all are active 

### 16 in solving this problem and are here listening to the 

### 17 voices of the community because it is very important. 

### 18 After visiting Little Village and being a 

### 19 part of the community, I find it very -- I see it very 

### 20 vividly that the community is very tight knit and that 

### 21 when one person is sick, it effects everyone. It 

### 22 doesn't just affect just the household or just that 

### 23 family, it really effects everyone because everyone is 

### 24 concerned about why they got sick and what that's doing 

### 25 to their household. As you know, it is a very lowAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 338 1 income community and so when times are rough, it's very 

### 2 rough for them. And so paying for healthcare and all 

### 3 types of other expenses that everyday households have, 

### 4 it's very hard to, to surpass this big issue without 

### 5 any help from a higher up force. 

### 6 So, I think that that's pretty much all I 

### 7 have to say. I was just a concerned citizen and wanted 

### 8 to make my way here to speak and just let my voice be 

### 9 heard as a youth and as someone that possibly could be 

### 10 in, in this type of environment one day and have 

### 11 children and not know where to go, not know what 

### 12 environment is safe for my, for me or my family, so 

### 13 thank you once again. 

### 14MR. CLARK: Thank you very much. Thank you. 

### 15 Oh I'm sorry. We're going to do one more before 

### 16 dinner. Apparently Thelma Faulkner. 

### 17 MS. FAULKNER: My name is Thelma Faulkner. 

### 18 I'm a retired counselor for the Chicago Public School 

### 19 System and have worked in the Chicago Public School 

### 20 System for approximately forty years before I retired. 

### 21 I've worked on the south side of Chicago and 

### 22 I've, I also live on the south side of Chicago. My 

### 23 community where I worked is near the State Line Plant 

### 24 in Hammond. It is a predominantly African American 

### 25 community. It's a mixed income community and it's aAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 339 1 family oriented area. On average, people who live 

### 2 there have been there for at least twenty years. 

### 3 My brother-in-law died at an early age from 

### 4 lung cancer and we think that that was related to his 

### 5 work in one of these plants. My husband developed lung 

### 6 cancer after moving to Chicago in 1987, but thank God 

### 7 he is better and, and the cancer is in remission. 

### 8 Many of my neighbors are concerned about the 

### 9 toxic smells and how it is affecting their children. I 

### 10 know at least four people with asthma and other 

### 11 breathing problems. There are several people who are 

### 12 suffering from lung disease, cancer and other 

### 13 respiratory problems in our community. 

### 14We have community meetings monthly to discuss 

### 15 the situation and our public officials are invited. 

### 16 Some of them attend, however there has not been much 

### 17 action taken. 

### 18 It is my hope that measures can be taken to 

### 19 alleviate some of these problems. Professional people 

### 20 who deal with the effects and dangers of air pollutants 

### 21 are invited to our community and tell us that the death 

### 22 rates are very high in communities of color. 

### 23 We have, we've had educational sessions with 

### 24 our children. We have come together with adults to do 

### 25 posters and pictures explaining dangers and what theyAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 340 1 think they can do to help solve the problem. 

### 2 Children have become so worried because they 

### 3 have listened to adults talking about the pollution 

### 4 that they have asked to meet with adults to find more 

### 5 about the issue. 

### 6 Studies have proven that parents who give 

### 7 birth to children in high pollutant areas have lower 

### 8 IQ's than others. 

### 9 Oftentimes during the summer months, we 

### 10 receive notification that we should stay indoors due to 

### 11 poor air quality. We have many children in our areas 

### 12 with learning difficulties which may have something to 

### 13 do with the air they are breathing. I have worked with 

### 14 children with learning disabilities over the years 

### 15 as -- in my job as a counselor. Many of the children 

### 16 have been evaluated with hearing, hearing disorders, 

### 17 sight effects and other behavior disorders. 

### 18 In my experience with children who suffered 

### 19 from asthma and other chronic diseases, I find that 

### 20 they are less alert, have poor attendance, sometimes 

### 21 have discipline problems, have very short attention 

### 22 spans and are very poor readers in many cases and some 

### 23 have an inability to communicate properly with others. 

### 24Also there are poor eating habits in many 

### 25 cases, poor socialization skills in some cases and someAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 341 1 of the students can be temperamental due to the 

### 2 instability. 

### 3 In later years, some of the children have had 

### 4 to depend on their parents for support due to their 

### 5 disability. I have had experiences with adult children 

### 6 who have graduated from college with degrees who are 

### 7 dependent on their parents because they are not able to 

### 8 function as independent adults due to their 

### 9 disabilities. 

### 10 Some of the children have been stated -- have 

### 11 been tested and have high IQ's but because, as I said, 

### 12 of their disabilities cannot function in our society. 

### 13 Illnesses lead to challenges in holding jobs 

### 14 in adults because of instabilities. 

### 15 Then, this then ties with the issue of 

### 16 children who haven't been able to gain significantly 

### 17 quality education and employment, later becoming 

### 18 criminals in and out of jail. The ripple effects are 

### 19 many. For adults, the ability to be caretakers and 

### 20 relate to their children is impacted by their chronic 

### 21 disease status. 

### 22 Adult ability to become involved and 

### 23 contribute to the community issues is challenged. 

### 24 Usually adults with health challenges in the low 

### 25 economic level or are on public assistance, socialAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 342 1 security insurance, etcetera because they are unable to 

### 2 be wage earners. 

### 3 It effects cooperation with neighbors because 

### 4 they don't have the ability to help others because of 

### 5 their disability. 

### 6 EPA needs to work closely with the community 

### 7 to educate people. EPA must gain regular feedback from 

### 8 the community through multiple means such as regular 

### 9 meetings in the communities. Communities need to work 

### 10 with legislatures and educate them so that they can 

### 11 make better policies. 

### 12 There needs to be conversations that bridge 

### 13 labor and environmental efforts together. First and 

### 14 foremost, we need to disseminate information so that 

### 15 people will be educated on these issues. 

### 16 Communities and authorities need to work with 

### 17 plants, to pressure them to provide a safe environment. 

### 18 In conclusion, in order to reduce the 

### 19 pollution that are coming to our communities, the EPA, 

### 20 city officials, national officials and plant owners 

### 21 must work together to provide action oriented solutions 

### 22 to reduce pollution and make the living environment in 

### 23 communities safer. Thank you. 

### 24MR. CLARK: Thank you very much. We will 

### 25 suspend the hearing until six thirty. Thank you all soAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 343 1 much. 

### 2 (Dinner break from 5:42 p.m. until 6:38 p.m.) 

### 3 MR. CLARK: I'm going to go ahead and start, 

### 4 just for time purposes. I apologize that we were a 

### 5 couple of minutes late here in, in getting ready for 

### 6 the evening session. We're in the middle of a hearing, 

### 7 a public hearing to look at, to take public comment on 

### 8 our proposed rule making from March the 16th to, to 

### 9 reduce toxic air pollution from power plants and also a 

### 10 new source proposed, new source performance standard to 

### 11 reduce other pollutants; sulfur dioxide, nitrogen 

### 12 oxides from power plants as well and we, we got 

### 13 hearings -- this one today in, in Chicago. Another one 

### 14 today as well in Philadelphia and another hearing in a 

### 15 couple of days in Atlanta. 

### 16 We're taking public comment through July the 

### 17 5th and we've got a deadline, a consent decree filed 

### 18 with the court to have a final rule issued by November 

### 19 the 16th, 2011, so we're on a fairly tight time frame. 

### 20 We very much appreciate all of you coming out 

### 21 to speak, those of you that are signed up to speak. We 

### 22 know you've got busy lives and appreciate that -- and 

### 23 some of you have come quite a distance, so thank you so 

### 24much for, for taking the time to do that. 

### 25 My name is Jeff Clark. I'm AssociateAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 344 1 Director with EPA's Office of Air Quality Planning and 

### 2 Standards which is located in Research Triangle Park, 

### 3 North Carolina. With me tonight, Ellen Kurlansky who 

### 4 is with EPA's Office of Policy Analysis and Review in 

### 5 Washington, D.C. and Nick Hutson, next to her. Nick is 

### 6 from my office in Research Triangle Park as well and is 

### 7 one of the architects of this rule making. Next to 

### 8 Nick is John Mooney. John is and Doug Aburano, both 

### 9 are from EPA's Regional Office in Chicago, Illinois, so 

### 10 they're just from down the street here. They're local 

### 11 folks and their region is responsible for Michigan, 

### 12 Minnesota, Illinois, Wisconsin, Ohio and Indiana. 

### 13 Right? 

### 14MR. HUTSON: You got it. 

### 15 MR. CLARK: So I'm not -- my, my full 

### 16 statement I think is outside. I'm not going to go 

### 17 through it right now, mainly for time purposes. 

### 18 The main thing I would like to say is that 

### 19 besides that we're very pleased that you're here is 

### 20 we're going to call you up sort of two by two and, and 

### 21 ask that you both stay up, that you come up to the 

### 22 table and, and give your statement and that you both 

### 23 stay there until both have finished and we may have 

### 24 questions for you and if not, we'll move on to the, to 

### 25 the next, next set of two witnesses.AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 345 1 We're trying, because of the number of people 

### 2 that we have signed up to limit folks to five minutes, 

### 3 so we have a timing system that you'll see when you sit 

### 4 there. There's this little clock down here that 

### 5 basically is, is green. It's a green light for four 

### 6 minutes and then after the fourth minute, it turns to a 

### 7 yellow light and then turns red at five minutes, so if 

### 8 you could use that as a guide, we appreciate it very 

### 9 much. Mainly just to be able to let everybody have 

### 10 time. 

### 11 We're going to stay until eight o'clock, but 

### 12 if we have speakers beyond eight o'clock, we'll, we'll 

### 13 stay as long as it takes, so if you, if you haven't 

### 14 spoken at that point, no worries. We'll, we'll keep 

### 15 going. 

### 16 So with that, I'd like to go ahead and call 

### 17 up the first two speakers for the evening session; 

### 18 Olivia Woollam and Caroline Wooten. And guys, when you 

### 19 come up, if you could also -- when you introduce 

### 20 yourself, spell your at least your last name. That 

### 21 would be useful for the court reporter, who is Chris; 

### 22 the guy over here against the wall and as I've said all 

### 23 day long, he's the most important guy in the room, so 

### 24 if he's happy, we're happy, so. 

### 25 MS. WOOLLAM: Fantastic. Well, thank you soAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 346 1 much for having us. My name is Olivia Woollam, my last 

### 2 name is spelled W-O-O-L-L-A-M. I'm a student at the 

### 3 University of Chicago and I'm originally from New 

### 4 Orleans, which as located on the gulf, one of our main 

### 5 industry is seafood fishing and second only to tourism 

### 6 the shipping of various grains down from the much of 

### 7 the continental United States. 

### 8 One of the main problems that the gulf 

### 9 fishery associations in New Orleans has been facing is 

### 10 increasing consumer concern with high mercury levels in 

### 11 seafood. Personally, I have high mercury levels. It's 

### 12 not to the point of, of excessive levels, but my mother 

### 13 and many of my friends have high mercury levels to the 

### 14 point of having yellow palms and hands and feet and I 

### 15 know several people who've had to be hospitalized for 

### 16 high mercury levels and that's considered fairly 

### 17 routine. 

### 18 Because of the level of seafood consumed on 

### 19 the gulf coast and the insane amount of mercury that it 

### 20 dumped into the gulf, between various pollutants that 

### 21 come from both from polluters that go into the air and 

### 22 then the rainfall that, that contains the mercury and 

### 23 also from mercury that's in the ground water, in the, 

### 24 in the soil itself. The food supply is incredibly 

### 25 contaminated and that costs us a lot of money inAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 347 1 healthcare costs. It costs us a lot of money in 

### 2 economic costs because of consumer concerns and it, 

### 3 it's something that I think is an issue in Chicago as 

### 4 well, even though the seafood industry here is 

### 5 obviously not nearly as central. 

### 6 The, the mercury concerns are, are 

### 7 significant here as well. The food supply being 

### 8 contaminated is something that effects all of us and 

### 9 the, the figures are -- I'm going to roll out I've 

### 10 heard kind of on second hand basis. Seventeen thousand 

### 11 people a year dying from mercury related poisoning 

### 12 seems unnecessary when such simple steps could be taken 

### 13 to limit mercury levels in the way that individual 

### 14 states have taken steps. 

### 15 Those steps on a federal level could make a 

### 16 huge difference to the quality of life of individuals 

### 17 and also to the safety of our consumers across the 

### 18 United States. Thank you. 

### 19 MR. CLARK: Thank you. Ms. Wooten. 

### 20 MS. WOOTEN: Hi. Thank you so much for 

### 21 having us. My name is Caroline Wooten, W-O-O-T-E-N. 

### 22 I'm a third year student at University of 

### 23 Chicago. I'm majoring in religious studies and this 

### 24 year, I was one of a number of students who helped 

### 25 start a climate activism group at our school. You canAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 348 1 [Indecipherable] Chicago Climate Action Network. I've 

### 2 also been part of forming a citywide youth coalition 

### 3 with students from other universities. We're called 

### 4 Chicago Youth Climate Coalition and we're dedicated to 

### 5 ending the consumption of fossil fuels and 

### 6 transitioning to a just and sustainable society. 

### 7 I became involved in addressing the 

### 8 consumption of fossil fuels because I'm intensely 

### 9 concerned about global warming. I think it's the 

### 10 largest challenge that humanity has ever faced and it's 

### 11 fallen to my generation to address this challenge. 

### 12 Right now, we know that burning fossil fuels 

### 13 is destabilizing our climate and as a result hurting 

### 14 the most vulnerable people. From hurricanes in the 

### 15 gulf coast to fires in Russia, to floods in Pakistan, 

### 16 and even to the recent tornadoes in Missouri as was 

### 17 highlighted today in the Washington Post 

### 18 [indecipherable]. 

### 19 As global temperatures rise, we know that 

### 20 instances of such unpredictable extreme and harmful 

### 21 weather will become more and more common. I fear that 

### 22 if the climate crisis goes unaddressed, the values that 

### 23 I care about as an American, equity and inalienable 

### 24 rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness 

### 25 will either disappear or become meaningless.AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 349 1 Here in Chicago, the student groups that I'm 

### 2 a part of became heavily involved in promoting the 

### 3 Chicago Clean Power Ordinance, a piece of legislation 

### 4 that would clean up or shut down the Fisk and Crawford 

### 5 coal plants in Pilsen and Little Village. 

### 6 And as I became increasingly involved in this 

### 7 effort, I began to learn more about the immediate 

### 8 harmful effects that fossil fuel extraction and 

### 9 consumption can have in communities where the industry 

### 10 is located. 

### 11 For example, studies have found that the coal 

### 12 plants here in Chicago are the source of over forty 

### 13 premature deaths a year and two thousand eight hundred 

### 14 asthma attacks per year. 

### 15 While the EPA, while the EPA regulations 

### 16 being discussed today only address a segment of the 

### 17 harmful emissions from coal plants, I strongly support 

### 18 the EPA in proposing these new requirements. 

### 19 Mercury and air toxics can cause cancer, 

### 20 respiratory illness, reproductive problems, 

### 21 neurological damage, immune system damage, and eye 

### 22 irritation. These are real health problems that impact 

### 23 real people and like [indecipherable] have long term 

### 24 effects of the stability of our society. 

### 25 For example, my brother teaches fifth gradeAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 350 1 in New Orleans and New Orleans is located in what's 

### 2 known as cancer alley, a region on the Mississippi 

### 3 where pollution from the industry located there causes 

### 4 disproportionate rates of cancer. 

### 5 In my brother's classroom an uncomfortable 

### 6 portion of his students have family members, and all 

### 7 too frequently parents, who are battling cancer and I'm 

### 8 sure it's not surprising to learn that this impacts 

### 9 these students' performance in school, specifically 

### 10 their focus and motivation. Having a dying parent is 

### 11 distracting. 

### 12 We're willing to invest money, the 

### 13 [indecipherable] and effort into trying to give every 

### 14 child in this country a quality public education. We 

### 15 do this because it's right, but also because having 

### 16 educated citizenry is important for the stability and 

### 17 success of our nation. 

### 18 It seems only logical then that our 

### 19 government should also put effort into insurance that, 

### 20 that children live in an environment where they can 

### 21 fully utilize their education, where they can learn 

### 22 their times tables without having to worry about a 

### 23 dying parent. 

### 24It's also important to recognize that we test 

### 25 our young people. We hold them and their schoolsAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 351 1 accountable for whether or not they're learning what 

### 2 they should be learning through standardized tests. 

### 3 It seems only right that we do this with the 

### 4 fossil fuel industry. If we're willing to hold our 

### 5 fifth graders to certain standards, we should also be 

### 6 willing to do this with the large corporations that 

### 7 affect their lives every day. 

### 8 Thank you. 

### 9 MR. CLARK: Actually Ms. Wooten, if I could 

### 10 just ask you a quick question. 

### 11 MS. WOOTEN: Yes. 

### 12 MR. CLARK: Just, I lived in the south long 

### 13 enough. I think it might -- 

### 14MS. WOOTEN: Uh-huh [affirmative]. 

### 15 MR. CLARK: -- I'm not used to fast Chicago 

### 16 accents so -- 

### 17 MS. WOOTEN: I'm sorry. 

### 18 MR. CLARK: You can. Can you just tell me -- 

### 19 MS. WOOTEN: Yeah. We're you Chicago Climate 

### 20 Action Network. 

### 21 MR. CLARK: Thank you. 

### 22 MS. WOOTEN: Thank you. 

### 23 MR. CLARK: Thanks. Thank you sir. Okay. 

### 24 Okay. Pamela Ortner and Donna Hriljac. Hope that's 

### 25 roughly right.AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 352 1 MS. HRILJAC: It is right. 

### 2 MR. CLARK: Excellent. 

### 3 MS. ORTNER: Good evening. I'm Pamela Ortner 

### 4 from Madison Heights, Michigan, and I'm thankful for 

### 5 the chance and the opportunity to speak today. Thank 

### 6 you Nick for attempting to promulgate these rules. 

### 7 I am an Occupational Health Nurse Specialist 

### 8 and Nurse Educator. I'm working currently with 

### 9 Healthcare Without Harm in my state as a nurse 

### 10 advocate. 

### 11 Healthcare Without Harm is an international 

### 12 coalition of more than four hundred and thirty 

### 13 organizations in fifty-two countries working to 

### 14 transform healthcare. The healthcare sector worldwide 

### 15 without compromising patient safety or care, so that 

### 16 it is ecologically sustainable and no longer a source 

### 17 of harm to public health and the environment following 

### 18 the Hippocratic Oath first do no harm. 

### 19 I appreciate this opportunity to comment on 

### 20 the proposed mercury and air toxic standards. 

### 21 Healthcare Without Harm supports the EPA's efforts to 

### 22 protect the public's health through implementation of 

### 23 this rule. 

### 24Mercury is a potent neurotoxin that's been 

### 25 used throughout healthcare in a variety of products,AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 353 1 including thermometers, sphygmomanometers -- can never 

### 2 get that one right -- sphygmomanometers, dental 

### 3 amalgam, laboratory chemicals and preservatives such 

### 4 as thimerosal, cleaning agents and various 

### 5 electronic devices such as fluorescent lamps and 

### 6 computer equipment. 

### 7 The cumulative usage, spills, breakages, and 

### 8 disposal of these made the healthcare sector a 

### 9 significant contributor of mercury pollution in the 

### 10 environment. 

### 11 However, as part of a global initiative to 

### 12 reduce the spread and use of mercury in all aspects of 

### 13 society, Healthcare Without Harm has led an effort to 

### 14 eliminate mercury from the healthcare sector. 

### 15 Over the past decade, the United States 

### 16 healthcare sector has virtually phased out most of 

### 17 mercury based medical devices. It's nearly impossible 

### 18 to purchase a mercury thermometer in the United States 

### 19 now. Thirty states have banned mercury thermometers 

### 20 and more of a third of the U.S. population is covered 

### 21 by state laws restricting or banning mercury blood 

### 22 pressure devices, those sphygmomanometers. 

### 23 The healthcare sector recognized its 

### 24 contribution to the problem and has worked successfully 

### 25 to clean up its act. It is past time for the coal andAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 354 1 oil fired power plants to do the same. 

### 2 When the original Clean Air Act was passed in 

### 3 1970, the electric utility industry persuaded Congress 

### 4 to not impose strict pollution controls on old power 

### 5 plants because they would soon be replaced by newer 

### 6 state of art facilities, yet despite, despite 

### 7 industries promises, many of the nation's oldest and 

### 8 dirtiest power plants continue to operate. 

### 9 Coal-Fired power plants are the single 

### 10 largest source of mercury air pollution, like I'm not 

### 11 telling -- I'm telling you this for the first time. 

### 12 You know this. According to the EPA, according to 

### 13 report by the Environmental Integrity Project, the 

### 14 fifty most polluting coal burning power plants in the 

### 15 United States emitted twenty tons of toxic mercury into 

### 16 the air in 2007. And of the top ten mercury emitting 

### 17 power plants, all but one reported an increase as 

### 18 compared to 2006. 

### 19 A similar report in 2010 showed that the top 

### 20 fifty power plant mercury emitters actually decreased 

### 21 mercury emissions by just a little more than a quarter 

### 22 of one percent, but twenty-seven of the top fifty 

### 23 mercury emitters increased their emissions over 2007 

### 24 levels. 

### 25 Pollution controls that would dramaticallyAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 355 1 reduce emissions are widely available and already being 

### 2 used at new plants across the nation. 

### 3 Once released in the atmosphere, mercury just 

### 4 doesn't disappear. It settles in lakes and rivers 

### 5 where it moves up to the food chains to humans who eat 

### 6 contaminated fish. 

### 7 The CDC has found that six percent of 

### 8 American women have mercury in their blood at levels 

### 9 that would put a fetus at risk of neurological damage. 

### 10 No U.S. stream is uncontaminated by mercury pollution. 

### 11 Imagine that. According to the U.S. geological survey 

### 12 in 2009. That means that wild fish caught in even the 

### 13 most pristine streams may be tainted with unsafe levels 

### 14 of potent neurotoxin that can attack the developing 

### 15 brains of children leading to permanent damage. 

### 16 Much like lead exposure, there's little 

### 17 scientific debate about the toxicity of methyl mercury 

### 18 exposure. The fetus is exquisitely sensitive to the 

### 19 effects of methyl mercury exposure in the first 

### 20 environment, in the womb. 

### 21 In 2005, research estimated that between 

### 22 three hundred and fifteen thousand and six hundred and 

### 23 almost forty thousand children each year have cord 

### 24 blood mercury levels greater than five point eight 

### 25 micrograms per liter, a level associated with loss ofAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 356 1 IQ. 

### 2 They estimated that loss productivity due to 

### 3 this amounts to eight point seven billion dollars 

### 4 annually, but I'm not here to talk about the money that 

### 5 we're losing through loss of productivity. I'm here to 

### 6 talk about the cost to human health. 

### 7 This proposed rule will save lives, protect 

### 8 the health of millions and bring about an action that 

### 9 is long overdue. Healthcare Without Harm has been 

### 10 tremendously successful in leading the global 

### 11 initiative to reduce the use and spread of mercury in 

### 12 healthcare. 

### 13 The energy sector can and must do the same. 

### 14 We can and must act to make sure the promise this rule 

### 15 proposes is kept. Thank you very much. 

### 16 MR. CLARK: Thank you. Ms. Hriljac. 

### 17 MS. HRILJAC: Yes. My name is Donna Hriljac 

### 18 and H-R-I-L-J-A-C is the spelling of the last name. 

### 19 I've lived in Chicago all of my life. I'm going to 

### 20 make this very short since I'm hearing a lot of things 

### 21 that I'm sure you've heard numerous times. 

### 22 But I'd like to thank the EPA for having this 

### 23 hearing and for allowing us to speak. I'm one of the 

### 24many people who have unsafe levels of mercury in my 

### 25 blood. But I do not have palms that show it.AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 357 1 Years ago I noticed my balance was getting 

### 2 unsteady and I started looking for the reasons. I 

### 3 finally found a doctor who was able to diagnose it and 

### 4 then treat me. I still probably need to go back and 

### 5 get retested since I do eat fish and I do eat some 

### 6 other things and I do breathe in Chicago. 

### 7 I've read so many times, there's so many 

### 8 things going on with levels and children and everything 

### 9 and it's really discouraging, but because you're on a 

### 10 time crunch and because I think you're probably going 

### 11 to hear the same thing over and over again, I will end 

### 12 mine and just say thank you and I appreciate this. 

### 13 MR. CLARK: Thank you very much. Reverend 

### 14 Theresa Dear and Jim Schneider please. Reverend Dear. 

### 15 REVEREND DEAR: Good afternoon. Thank you 

### 16 for the opportunity to speak to you today. I speak 

### 17 today for children, children bearing women and unborn 

### 18 children who have no voice, no knowledge, compromised 

### 19 immune systems and weakened defense systems. 

### 20 For forty years, we fought for lead level 

### 21 compliance at five percent, but five percent is 

### 22 unacceptable because it is -- it has an pervasive 

### 23 impact on undeveloped respiratory systems and it's 

### 24 irreversible and untreatable influence in brain damage, 

### 25 learning disabilities, birth defects, heart disease,AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 358 1 and cancer. 

### 2 The affect of a five percent lead level is 

### 3 that we are passively writing the obituary of our 

### 4 children before they are born. 

### 5 A policy that supports a five percent lead 

### 6 level prophetically eulogizes our children. EPA 

### 7 officials and each politician who hears these concerns 

### 8 and does nothing holds in their possession the shovel 

### 9 that digs the grave of these children. 

### 10 Five percent is unacceptable if one child is 

### 11 born with birth defects. Five percent is unacceptable 

### 12 if one child is born with a learning disability. Five 

### 13 percent is unacceptable if a child is gasping for air 

### 14 and missing thirty, fifty, or two days of school. Five 

### 15 percent is unacceptable if one child dies. 

### 16 The lead level compliance needs to be 

### 17 redefined and updated from five percent to zero. There 

### 18 should be a strategic policy with capacity building for 

### 19 compliance or shut downs. There must be a zero 

### 20 tolerance policy with regular audits and reporting 

### 21 details of transparency and accountability. 

### 22 I am asking that before homes are purchased 

### 23 or rented that there is a requirement of full 

### 24 disclosure on lead levels in the community. I am 

### 25 asking that before children are registered for schoolAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 359 1 that there is full disclosure about lead levels in 

### 2 their community. I am asking that even as prenatal 

### 3 vitamins are distributed, information is distributed 

### 4 about lead levels in their community. 

### 5 I am asking you to protect our children and 

### 6 protect our environment and protect their future. I am 

### 7 asking for my cousin, Brian, and my nieces and nephews 

### 8 who suffer with asthma and are rendered powerless and 

### 9 helpless. 

### 10 Jesus gives us a charge from the bible and He 

### 11 says, "That which you do unto the least of these, is 

### 12 that which you do unto Me." 

### 13 And so I am asking for our children. I'm 

### 14 asking for our child bearing women and I'm asking for 

### 15 all unborn children that you revisit this lead level of 

### 16 five percent and redefine it to zero percent or zero 

### 17 tolerance. I am asking because they can't change this 

### 18 policy. They can't change the standard because they 

### 19 are helpless and they are powerless and they are 

### 20 voiceless. But you are not. They can't make the 

### 21 change, but you can. 

### 22 Thank you very much. 

### 23 MR. CLARK: Thank you. 

### 24MR. SCHNEIDER: Hello. My name is Jim 

### 25 Schneider, that's S-C-H-N-E-I-D-E-R. Thanks forAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 360 1 letting me speak tonight. I am a resident on the north 

### 2 side of Chicago. I'm a journalist and a lead 

### 3 accredited professional, member of the Chicago 

### 4 Conservation Corp. and Sierra Club and a proud citizen 

### 5 of Chicago. 

### 6 Built into that pride is a sincere desire to 

### 7 encourage any action that will make Chicago as clean, 

### 8 safe, and healthy as possible for its people. 

### 9 So with that in mind, I'd like to say a few 

### 10 words about the importance or what I see is the 

### 11 importance of the EPA proposed regulatory safeguards 

### 12 against air toxics such as mercury. 

### 13 As a journalist, normally yeah, we certainly 

### 14 have gone over all the facts here. I've, I've looked 

### 15 at all the statistics that you guys have been hearing 

### 16 all day, but one thing that really struck me, just in 

### 17 talking to friends and family and colleagues about my 

### 18 coming to this -- and these are people whose political 

### 19 views are all across the spectrum. It's feelings about 

### 20 the EPA are all across the spectrum. Everyone I talked 

### 21 had a consistent shock that we're even having this 

### 22 conversation, that -- you mean mercury isn't already 

### 23 toughly regulated? Well, you know, no. This is 

### 24 something we really need to work toward. 

### 25 I think everyone has kind of an instinctualAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 361 1 knowledge that mercury, in particular, is a, is a bad 

### 2 substance. I've, you know, it's something we've known 

### 3 for a really long time, but I think what struck me is 

### 4 that more than half of what we're exposed to in the, in 

### 5 the world is coming from human sources. 

### 6 And knowing that, I think it, it goes to 

### 7 follow that, it's time to really step up and do what we 

### 8 can to prevent it. 

### 9 And just as we know that mercury pollution is 

### 10 a hazard to health and human life, we know there are 

### 11 ways to prevent it and industry is not powerless in 

### 12 this battle. 

### 13 My understanding of the EPA's proposed 

### 14 standard is that it's not based on some kind of fantasy 

### 15 figures, it's based on real top performing facilities 

### 16 across the U.S., so we have evidence that it can be 

### 17 done and is being done, so as a member of a community 

### 18 and a nation, I'm simply one of many voices who asked 

### 19 if it's possible to reduce and even eliminate the 

### 20 amount of toxics we're exposed to and as a result make 

### 21 our citizens healthier. 

### 22 Why isn't it being done? And so I applaud 

### 23 the efforts that the EPA is going through to, to make 

### 24 it happen. 

### 25 You know, I realize there are costs involvedAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 362 1 for industry and for power generation and making this 

### 2 happen, and, and but at the end of the day, what's a 

### 3 few dollars on one end saves -- I can only imagine what 

### 4 on the healthcare end of things and the twenty-first 

### 5 century, we can no longer run businesses on nineteenth 

### 6 century models. 

### 7 Business and industry is important and vital 

### 8 to our nation's economic health, but it can't come at 

### 9 the cost of our citizens physical health. The 

### 10 government has a responsibility to create a safe 

### 11 environment for its people and provide a framework and 

### 12 incentive for business and industry to act as 

### 13 responsible members of the community that they inhabit. 

### 14It's also important to note that improving 

### 15 these existing facilities to meet reasonable emission 

### 16 requirements offers new job opportunities and it's my 

### 17 sincere hope that the safeguards will be adopted and 

### 18 acted upon. Thanks. 

### 19 MR. CLARK: Thank you both very much for 

### 20 your, for your statements. 

### 21 Next speaker is Sam Dorevitch and is Susanne 

### 22 Brooks here? And Susanne Brooks. 

### 23 Jim, by the way, you -- by my count, you were 

### 24 number one hundred, so what a day. There's a door 

### 25 prize outside for you.AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 363 1 Mr. Dorevitch. 

### 2 DR. DOREVITCH: Thank you and good evening. I 

### 3 appreciate your stamina. 

### 4My name is Samuel Dorevitch. I'm a Physician 

### 5 and a Public Health Researcher at the University of 

### 6 Illinois, at Chicago. 

### 7 I trained in emergency medicine at what is 

### 8 now the John H. Stroger Hospital of Cook County. I 

### 9 trained in Occupational and Environmental Medicine at 

### 10 the University of Illinois at Chicago where I also 

### 11 obtained a master's degree in Public Health. 

### 12 For the last ten years, I've practiced 

### 13 occupational medicine and urgent care, but primarily I 

### 14 do research on the health effects of air pollution and 

### 15 water pollution. 

### 16 At the University of Illinois, at Chicago 

### 17 School of Public Health, I teach graduate students in a 

### 18 course called Occupational Diseases, rather than 

### 19 providing students with opinions about the connection 

### 20 between air pollutants and water pollutants and health, 

### 21 my goal is to impart in students the skills needed to 

### 22 read a series of scientific papers, evaluate the 

### 23 strengths and limitations and to arrive at a weight of 

### 24 the evidence conclusion about a connection between 

### 25 environmental exposures and health outcomes.AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 364 1 As you all know, following the epidemic of 

### 2 mental retardation and motor abnormalities among babies 

### 3 born Minamata Bay, Japan, in the 1950's, the 

### 4 devastating effects of high level mercury exposure in 

### 5 pregnant women became apparent. 

### 6 Since then, researchers have evaluated the 

### 7 effects of lower degree of mercury exposure in, in 

### 8 pregnant women. Large studies have been undertaken 

### 9 around the world in populations who eat a relatively 

### 10 large amount of fish that have been caught in water not 

### 11 nearly as polluted as Minamata Bay, Japan. 

### 12 These studies utilized the gold standard of 

### 13 observational epidemiology. They enroll pregnant women 

### 14 and collect data about health and mercury levels in the 

### 15 women, in their children and then follow the children 

### 16 over time to assess their neurologic development. 

### 17 One such cohort, that in the Faroes 

### 18 Islands in the North Sea found that children exposed to 

### 19 more mercury while they were in the womb, had impaired 

### 20 brain development. A similar cohort study of children 

### 21 in the Seychelles Islands in the Indian Ocean 

### 22 found that boys with higher levels of mercury as 

### 23 infants performed worse on standardized school tests 

### 24 years later, compared to boys with lower levels of 

### 25 mercury as infants.AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 365 1 A recent study conducted among children in 

### 2 Grenada, Spain, found that children who had high levels 

### 3 of mercury at age four, were found to have poorer 

### 4memory, poorer verbal abilities, poorer cognitive 

### 5 abilities. 

### 6 None of these individuals -- none of these 

### 7 studies taken individually would allow us to say 

### 8 exactly what the benefits would be of reducing mercury 

### 9 emissions from coal or oil fired generating units here 

### 10 in the United States. However, taken as a whole, these 

### 11 studies clearly suggest that even at levels that, 

### 12 fortunately are too low to cause the kinds of disaster 

### 13 seen at Minamata Bay, subtle changes in 

### 14 children's cognitive development remain a serious 

### 15 concern. 

### 16 Fish is a low fat, high quality source of 

### 17 dietary protein. Fish consumption has substantial 

### 18 health benefits in terms of reducing cardiovascular 

### 19 risk. The public should not be forced to choose 

### 20 between eating fish to obtain certain health benefits, 

### 21 but taking on additional risks, especially children and 

### 22 women of child bearing age. 

### 23 Because mercury emissions from coal-fired 

### 24 power plants wind up in the fish we eat, reducing 

### 25 mercury emissions from power plants is an importantAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 366 1 step toward maximizing the opportunities for our 

### 2 children to reach their intellectual potential. 

### 3 For that reason, I applaud EPA's proposed 

### 4 requirements for reducing emissions of mercury from 

### 5 coal-fired power plants, two of which are located here 

### 6 in Chicago neighborhoods. 

### 7 In addition to reducing mercury emissions, 

### 8 EPA's proposed requirements would also reduce emissions 

### 9 of at least three metals that are established human 

### 10 carcinogens, namely arsenic, chromium and nickel. 

### 11 Emissions of another established human carcinogen, 

### 12 dioxin would be reduced. 

### 13 Like the reductions in mercury, these changes 

### 14 would not have an immediately, dramatic effect, however 

### 15 on a population level, the incidence of certain types 

### 16 of cancer, particularly of the respiratory tract and 

### 17 blood, should decrease following reductions of the 

### 18 emissions of carcinogens into our air and water. 

### 19 One area where near term benefits of emission 

### 20 reductions should be seen, both from electrical 

### 21 generating units as well as from news source boilers 

### 22 would be on respiratory health. 

### 23 Sulfur dioxide contributes directly to acute 

### 24 worsenings of respiratory conditions, acid gasses, 

### 25 contribute primarily indirectly as they're one of theAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 367 1 ingredients in the toxic mix, known as fine particulate 

### 2 matter or PM2.5. 

### 3 As a result of reductions in these hazards, 

### 4 near term benefits can be expected and rates of asthma 

### 5 attacks, acute flares of chronic bronchitis and 

### 6 emphysema as well as heart attacks and life threatening 

### 7 cardiac arrhythmia. 

### 8 I encourage the agency to take with a grain 

### 9 of salt projections of widespread economic harm if the 

### 10 proposed requirements were to be implemented. Claims 

### 11 like this have been made following proposals that have 

### 12 long since been implemented such as removing lead from 

### 13 gasoline, reducing exposure to benzene in the work 

### 14 place, working levels of particulate matter and 

### 15 reducing emissions from mobile sources. These have all 

### 16 been implemented and despite the doomsday predictions, 

### 17 the relative, relevant industries have thrived and in 

### 18 many cases, new industries that promote efficiency and 

### 19 reduce emissions have developed and thrived as well. 

### 20 Preventing disease and promoting wellness in 

### 21 populations is the over arching goal of public health. 

### 22 I enthusiastically support EPA's efforts on this front. 

### 23 Thank you very much. 

### 24MR. CLARK: Thank you. Ms. Brooks. 

### 25 MS. BROOKS: Hi. My name is Susanne Brooks,AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 368 1 S-U-S-A-N-N-E, Brooks, B-R-O-O-K-S and I am an Economic 

### 2 Policy Analyst with Environmental Defense Fund, a 

### 3 non-partisan, environmental organization with more than 

### 4 seven hundred thousand members nationwide. 

### 5 EDF is dedicated to working towards 

### 6 innovative cost effective solutions to environmental 

### 7 problems, building on a foundation of sound science, 

### 8 economics and law. 

### 9 Thank you for the opportunity to testify 

### 10 today, for your efforts on this rule, and especially 

### 11 for your attention so late in the day. 

### 12 EPA's proposed mercury and air toxic rule for 

### 13 power plants will provide long overdue health 

### 14 protection for all Americans. EDF supports the 

### 15 proposed rule, yet given the availability of cost 

### 16 effective, made in America technology solutions, urges 

### 17 the agency to strengthen the standards for coal-fired 

### 18 power plants to secure even greater health and 

### 19 environmental benefits. 

### 20 Over two decades ago, the U.S. Congress took 

### 21 the vital step of identifying mercury and other toxic 

### 22 contaminants as harmful and hazardous air pollutants as 

### 23 part of the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments. In the year 

### 24 2000 after years of careful study, the EPA determined 

### 25 that it was appropriate and necessary to controlAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 369 1 mercury and other toxic air contaminants from power 

### 2 plants. 

### 3 Now over twenty years after the Clean Air Act 

### 4Amendments, EPA's proposed rule represents a long 

### 5 overdue and critical step in the right direction toward 

### 6 protecting American human health by reducing mercury 

### 7 and air toxics from the largest unregulated source; 

### 8 coal-fired power plants. 

### 9 As we've heard many time today, mercury is a 

### 10 toxic heavy metal that contaminates water bodies across 

### 11 the nation, threatens the development of newborn and 

### 12 children and contributes to the risk of heart disease. 

### 13 Human exposure through consumption of contaminated fish 

### 14 and shell fish can harm the brain, heart, kidneys, 

### 15 lungs and immune system of people of all ages. Unborn 

### 16 babies and young children are particularly vulnerable 

### 17 since mercury exposure can impair normal brain 

### 18 development, reducing IQ and damaging the ability to 

### 19 learn and think later in life. 

### 20 Hundreds of thousands of U.S. newborns are 

### 21 affected by mercury each year. According to the EPA's 

### 22 national listing of fish advisories of 2008, nearly 

### 23 half of all U.S. river miles and lake acres were under 

### 24 water contamination advisories; eighty percent of which 

### 25 were issued because of mercury contamination.AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 370 1 According to EPA, the proposed rule will 

### 2 prevent ninety-one percent of the mercury in coal 

### 3 burning power plants from being admitted into the air. 

### 4 The health benefits of these regulations will benefit 

### 5 Americans across the country. EPA estimates that when 

### 6 carried out, these pollution reductions will annually 

### 7 prevent up to seventeen thousand premature deaths, 

### 8 eleven thousand heart attacks, a hundred and twenty 

### 9 thousand asthma attacks, over twelve thousand hospital 

### 10 and emergency visits and provide various other health 

### 11 benefits. 

### 12 These benefits are particularly critical for 

### 13 minority and low income populations who are 

### 14 disproportionately impacted by asthma and other health 

### 15 conditions. 

### 16 These enormous health benefits are also, also 

### 17 translate to real economic benefits since healthier 

### 18 Americans means lower healthcare costs, fewer missed 

### 19 work days and sick days and enhanced worker 

### 20 productivity. 

### 21 EPA estimates the proposed rule will yield 

### 22 monetized net benefits of up to a hundred and thirty 

### 23 billion dollars every year once the rule is in place. 

### 24The benefits will outweigh the cost by 

### 25 between five and thirteen times, meaning that everyAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 371 1 dollar spent to reduce pollution, Americans get five to 

### 2 thirteen dollars in health benefits and of course, this 

### 3 is a conservative estimate since not all the benefits 

### 4 of the proposed rule could be quantified. 

### 5 Each time that EPA has considered new clean 

### 6 air standards, it has been challenged with claims that 

### 7 meeting the standards would not be feasible or 

### 8 practical or affordable. And yet time and after, the 

### 9 reverse has proven true. Benefits have overwhelmed the 

### 10 costs which have been consistently lower than 

### 11 predicted. 

### 12 For example, the actual cost of the Clean Air 

### 13 Act Amendments turned out to be around twenty percent 

### 14 of initially projected costs and the actual cost of the 

### 15 acid rain, SO2 reductions were around twenty to thirty 

### 16 percent of initial forecasts. 

### 17 Seventeen states, including Illinois, have 

### 18 already established mercury limits for coal plants. 

### 19 Since 1999, mercury air emissions from U.S. coal-fired 

### 20 power plants have decreased by almost twenty-seven 

### 21 percent, driven by federal policies including these 

### 22 state standards. 

### 23 Illinois state standards places it ahead of 

### 24 the game. Despite the state's progress, however, 

### 25 Chicago residents and others within the state remainAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 372 1 vulnerable to pollution from outside its borders. A 

### 2 recent EDF analysis identified the top twenty-five 

### 3 mercury emitting coal plants in the nation. Twenty are 

### 4 located within fifty to a hundred miles of some of the 

### 5 largest metropolitan areas of the country, including 

### 6 Chicago. 

### 7 Further, other coal plants on the list of the 

### 8 top twenty-five are located in nearby stated including 

### 9 Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio and Nebraska and one 

### 10 hundred percent of the Great Lakes and their connecting 

### 11 waters were listed under EPA's national listing of fish 

### 12 advisories in 2008. 

### 13 Federal EPA action is clearly critical for 

### 14 the health of residents of Illinois, the Great Lakes 

### 15 region and nationwide. 

### 16 EDF looks forward to submitting more detailed 

### 17 comments to EPA. Thank you again for the opportunity 

### 18 to testify and for all of your efforts on this critical 

### 19 rule. 

### 20 MR. CLARK: Thank you. Oh yeah. Okay. 

### 21 Thank you both very much. Allison Fisher and Sherry 

### 22 Leonard. No? Okay. Okay, no I'm sorry. So, it's 

### 23 supposed to go in that order, okay. Oh I apologize, 

### 24 okay. Allison Fisher and Brian Perbix please. That's 

### 25 all right. Allison Fisher is not here. Okay. Can weAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 373 1 go to Sherry Leonard then? Is Sherry Leonard here? 

### 2 MS. LEONARD: Yes. 

### 3 MR. CLARK: Okay. You're, you're on. 

### 4 Mr. Perbix, feel, feel free to start when you're ready. 

### 5 You first. Sure. 

### 6 MR. PERBIX: My name is Brian Perbix, that's 

### 7 Brian with an I, Perbix, P-E-R-B-I-X. Thank you for 

### 8 the opportunity to testify. I am a Community Organizer 

### 9 with the Prairie Rivers Network. Prairie Rivers is a 

### 10 statewide river conservation organization that seeks to 

### 11 protect the health and beauty of rivers and streams of 

### 12 Illinois for the people, fish and wildlife who depend 

### 13 on them to survive. 

### 14Today the EPA has heard testimony from 

### 15 hundreds of citizens who support proposed rules that 

### 16 would cut mercury pollution ninety-one percent by 2015 

### 17 from the nation's coal-fired power plants. The largest 

### 18 unregulated source of mercury to the atmosphere. 

### 19 As an advocate for clean water and healthy 

### 20 river communities, Prairie Rivers network applauds the 

### 21 EPA's decision to issue standards for mercury emissions 

### 22 from power plants achievable by maximum achievable -- 

### 23 no, achievable maximum achievable control technologies. 

### 24 This is a major step in the right direction. 

### 25 These air pollution rules representsAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 374 1 significant progress for clean water in Illinois 

### 2 because when it comes to toxic and persistent 

### 3 pollutants like mercury, air pollution quickly becomes 

### 4 water pollution. 

### 5 As a state, we have one hundred and twenty 

### 6 thousand miles of rivers and streams and three hundred 

### 7 and sixteen thousand acres of lakes and they have all 

### 8 been severely polluted by mercury. The airborne 

### 9 mercury compounds that are deposited on the surface of 

### 10 our rivers and lakes are quickly transformed into 

### 11 methyl mercury, a potent toxin, that bio accumulates in 

### 12 the food chain posing major health risks for wildlife 

### 13 and for the people who rely on locally caught fish for 

### 14 food. 

### 15 In Illinois, the problem is so serious that 

### 16 in 2002, the Illinois fish contaminant monitoring 

### 17 program issued a statewide advisory for predator fish 

### 18 in all Illinois waters due to elevated levels of methyl 

### 19 mercury in fish tissue. The advisory applies to 

### 20 predator species that include all species of black 

### 21 bass, stripe bass, white bass, hybrid stripe bass, 

### 22 walleye, sauger, saugeye, flathead catfish, musky, 

### 23 northern pike, as well as numerous others in highly 

### 24 polluted sites. 

### 25 Over the past decade, Prairie Rivers networkAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 375 1 has pushed for the adoption of strong mercury emission 

### 2 standards that would protect our rivers and streams. 

### 3 Unfortunately this has been a long struggle. The rules 

### 4 that are now under consideration will accomplish what 

### 5 the EPA should have done ten years ago under section 

### 6 one twelve of the Clean Air Act and power industry 

### 7 interests not been put ahead of the health of our 

### 8 citizens. 

### 9 Tragically, the delay has meant that Illinois 

### 10 power plants could continue to pump mercury and other 

### 11 hazardous pollutants into our air. 

### 12 Data collected by the EPA's toxic release 

### 13 inventory on emissions of power plants informs us that 

### 14 from 2000 to 2009, Illinois power plants released 

### 15 thirty-eight thousand, four hundred twenty-six pounds 

### 16 of mercury compounds into the air in addition to tens 

### 17 of thousands of pounds of other hazardous compounds 

### 18 including carcinogens such as nickel, chromium, 

### 19 arsenic, and polycyclic aromatic compounds. 

### 20 We can say with certainty that a significant 

### 21 portion of the mercury -- of that mercury has now found 

### 22 its way into the fish that inhabited our rivers and 

### 23 lakes. 

### 24In the Illinois EPA's 2010 integrated water 

### 25 quality report, none of the rivers and streams assessedAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 376 1 by IEPA fully supported fish consumption and in 

### 2 seventy-eight percent of streams assessed for fish 

### 3 consumption, methyl mercury levels in fish were 

### 4 identified as the cause of this impairment. Similarly 

### 5 only point one percent of the lakes assessed fully 

### 6 supported fish consumption and in eighty-four percent 

### 7 of the lake acres assessed, methyl mercury levels in 

### 8 fish were identified as the cause of this impairment. 

### 9 As the rules under consideration acknowledge, 

### 10 methyl mercury is a highly toxic chemical whose effects 

### 11 on the central nervous system are severe and well 

### 12 established. Mercury exposure in vulnerable 

### 13 populations is widespread as the Centers for Disease 

### 14 Control have estimated that at least one twelve women 

### 15 of child bearing age in the U.S. have unsafe levels of 

### 16 mercury in their blood. 

### 17 However, mercury is not just a threat to 

### 18 human health. It also has biological and physiological 

### 19 effects on many species of wildlife that rely on 

### 20 healthy rivers and streams. 

### 21 Studies indicate that in many species of 

### 22 fish, fish size, weight, and reproduction are 

### 23 negatively impacted by mercury exposure. 

### 24The toll on fish eating birds including 

### 25 mallards, red-tailed hawks, and the common loon areAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 377 1 also well documented and include eggshell thinning, 

### 2 reduced hatchability due to increased embryo mortality 

### 3 as well as other effects. 

### 4Mercury has also been shown to impact the 

### 5 survival, reproduction and growth of river otters which 

### 6 is a serious concern here in Illinois. Where once on 

### 7 the verge of extinction, otters have recently returned 

### 8 to our rivers. 

### 9 Keep in mind that wildlife -- here in 

### 10 Illinois, wildlife associated recreation, including 

### 11 fishing, hunting, and bird watching contributed two 

### 12 point three billion dollars to the state's economy in 

### 13 2006. That's according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

### 14 Service. 

### 15 The continued assault of mercury on the 

### 16 environment threatens not only human health and the 

### 17 health of wildlife, but also this major contributor to 

### 18 the state's economy at a time when we can all ill 

### 19 afford it. 

### 20 Fortunately, we already know that we're 

### 21 requiring plant specific emissions controls can provide 

### 22 significant benefits when addressing local mercury 

### 23 problems, such as these. The Florida everglades are a 

### 24 well known case study where the levels of mercury 

### 25 contamination in largemouth bass and other wildlifeAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 378 1 declined by sixty to seventy-five percent after an 

### 2 intensive effort in the 1990's was initiated to clean 

### 3 up municipal and medical waste incinerators. 

### 4Cleaning up mercury in our environment can be 

### 5 done. It should have been done already and now is 

### 6 absolutely the time. 

### 7 In closing, EPA's proposed rules to regulate 

### 8 mercury and other hazardous emissions from power plants 

### 9 will significantly improve water quality and public 

### 10 health in Illinois. 

### 11 I appreciate your consideration of our 

### 12 comments and I respectfully urge you to adopt these 

### 13 strong standards to limit mercury and other toxic air 

### 14 emissions from power plants. Thank you very much. 

### 15 MR. CLARK: Thank you. Ms. Leonard. 

### 16 MS. LEONARD: Yes. My name is Sherry 

### 17 Leonard. I am from Muscatine, Iowa. I come too as a 

### 18 concerned citizen of our community where we are having 

### 19 problems with our economy as well as our health 

### 20 problems are coming from different pollutants in our 

### 21 area. Grain processing happens to be the one that I'm 

### 22 addressing today. 

### 23 We have several people in our community that 

### 24 are very ill. As of, I believe it was last year. They 

### 25 were out of attainment thirty-five times within theAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 379 1 federal regulation limits. 

### 2 These -- excuse me a minute. These are 

### 3 readings came from a monitor at the Franklin Elementary 

### 4 School where they have now merged with -- they have 

### 5 another school that merged with them from the area down 

### 6 by the GBC. We have two hundred and seventy five 

### 7 students there and those children are being affected as 

### 8 they're getting off the bus and going out to play on 

### 9 the playgrounds. 

### 10 The threshold has been doubled the limit that 

### 11 it should be by the federal regulations. I'm asking 

### 12 that you please to keep the EPA on their toes and 

### 13 please to help keep our community healthy and safe 

### 14 because at this present time it is not and we need all 

### 15 the help we can get, so I pray that you will take into 

### 16 consideration to keep the regulations where they are. 

### 17 These children cannot afford to be ill. 

### 18 They're missing a lot of time. There are a lot of 

### 19 nebulizers used in our community and it's not fair. 

### 20 Our economy is not well because they do not give 

### 21 building permits to our community due to the fact that 

### 22 it's over the threshold of pollution and I'm -- I 

### 23 myself have been exposed to asbestos, the company I 

### 24 work for, and so I too have problems with my lungs, so 

### 25 when the levels are high, I am ill.AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 380 1 I lost a daughter to -- and this is, actually 

### 2 helped me to step forward and try to do more for our 

### 3 community due to the fact that we have a lot of 

### 4 ailments there and I will do whatever I have to do to 

### 5 continue the fight and I appreciate your time. 

### 6 I think that's all I have to say today. I 

### 7 thank you very much. 

### 8 MR. CLARK: Thank you. Questions? Thank you 

### 9 both. Okay, well I'm a little unclear here. What 

### 10 about, what about her? 

### 11 MALE: She didn't show up. 

### 12 MR. CLARK: Okay. First thing is, for folks 

### 13 who signed up to speak tonight, if you haven't heard 

### 14 your name, and you -- you just need to be sure that you 

### 15 check in at the, at the desk there to get in, in, in 

### 16 the queue. Okay. So if you're planning on speaking 

### 17 and you haven't checked in out front, just please do 

### 18 that. 

### 19 The next speakers would be Marianne Flanagan 

### 20 and Jessica Brackett. Nope, we haven't had -- yeah. 

### 21 MS. FLANAGAN: My name is Marianne Flanagan 

### 22 and I'm grateful for the opportunity to speak here 

### 23 tonight. I've lived in the Chicago area all my life. 

### 24 The past year or two, I guess I've become kind of an 

### 25 armchair activist and I learned quite a bit aboutAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 381 1 pollution and many of the environmental problems that 

### 2 we do have by going on the environmental sites, such as 

### 3 Defenders of Wildlife and many others and that's the 

### 4 reason I'm here tonight. 

### 5 I was just appalled at the statistics that 

### 6 I've been reading. For example, every year power 

### 7 plants release three hundred eighty-six tons of toxic 

### 8 pollutants. Seventy-thousand of those are mercury, 

### 9 arsenic, lead, dioxin and acid gasses. 

### 10 We know that they're neurotoxins and 

### 11 carcinogens leading to brain damage in infants, 

### 12 learning disabilities, asthma, and heart disease. 

### 13 Coal burning power plants dump more mercury 

### 14 into the air than all the other industries combined. 

### 15 They're responsible for seventy-two percent of the 

### 16 mercury emissions. 

### 17 We all know it's one of the most toxic 

### 18 substances there is. I was shocked when I found out 

### 19 that only one gram of mercury in a twenty acre lake can 

### 20 render the fish unfit for human consumption. 

### 21 We all see mercury warnings in every grocery 

### 22 store that we're at now for the fish that we eat. It 

### 23 alters the ecosystems of our waterways. It poisons the 

### 24 food we eat and it's affecting our commercial and sport 

### 25 fishing in this area.AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 382 1 Women of child bearing age have unsafe 

### 2 mercury levels in their blood stream. This can lead to 

### 3 brain damage and learning disability in children and as 

### 4 an Assistant Head Start Teacher, we see some of these 

### 5 children coming in that have these learning 

### 6 disabilities. 

### 7 The pollution in the air has led to an 

### 8 increase in asthma and heart disease. It's caused an 

### 9 elevation of [indecipherable] leading to ozone alerts 

### 10 in the summer. I have friends that cannot even come 

### 11 out when the ozone is high because of the way it 

### 12 effects their asthma. When my son was growing up, he 

### 13 was subject to bronchial spasms which were like acute 

### 14 asthma attacks due to pollutions and sulfates and 

### 15 things that are in the air. 

### 16 Although I live in Des Plaines, one of my 

### 17 concerns is the way this effects the emissions in the 

### 18 national parks. The Great Smokey Mountains park have 

### 19 cited many problems stemming from power plant emissions 

### 20 including plant damage, degrading of high elevations, 

### 21 streams and soil and the obscuring of scenic views. 

### 22 The heightened structure of the mountains and 

### 23 weather patterns trap these pollutions. They cite a 

### 24 forty decrease in the winter and eighty degree decrease 

### 25 in the summer.AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 383 1 Four Corners Power Plant in New Mexico burns 

### 2 enough coal to fill ten Empire State buildings per 

### 3 year. It is the largest source of air pollution in New 

### 4 Mexico. It's near national parks and Indian 

### 5 reservations. The emissions there produce an unnatural 

### 6 haze that effects the health and environment on a daily 

### 7 basis. 

### 8 We deserve to breathe clean, healthy air and 

### 9 we deserve to enjoy our national parks. 

### 10 Recently, the Tennessee Valley Authority has 

### 11 agreed to phase out eighteen plants and install modern 

### 12 pollution controls on thirty-six others. This will 

### 13 greatly reduce emissions for the national parks and the 

### 14 people living in that area. If they can do it, there's 

### 15 no reason why it can't be done across the country. 

### 16 On a personal note, I remember a time when 

### 17 things like installing pollution controls or research 

### 18 costs for new drugs were considered a part of cost of 

### 19 doing business. Our power company is owned by an 

### 20 energy giant that has millions of dollars of profits 

### 21 every year. They get subsidies from our government, 

### 22 but they don't have any money for pollution controls on 

### 23 their plants. It's time that this was, again, a part 

### 24 of the cost of doing business instead of something to 

### 25 be passed on to the consumer in the form of higher rateAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 384 1 or prices and significantly compromised health just so 

### 2 their stock holders can have bigger dividends. Thank 

### 3 you. 

### 4MR. CLARK: Thank you. 

### 5 MS. BRACKETT: Good evening. My name's 

### 6 Jessica Brackett and I come from Cedar Rapids, Iowa. 

### 7 I'm sure today, you've been inundated with the economic 

### 8 and health statistics related to mercury pollution and 

### 9 other air pollutants. 

### 10 And I wanted to share with you some personal 

### 11 stories that I've collected and I'll start with my own. 

### 12 Specifically, I want to share with you a 

### 13 moment in my life. It's one of those moments in life 

### 14 that one does not forget. I was driving into Cedar 

### 15 Rapids, also known as the city of five smells due to 

### 16 the pollution. It was on a Spring evening just after 

### 17 the sun had set. The sky looked like a painting as the 

### 18 City lights lit up the pollution in the sky. But 

### 19 instead of basking in the awesomeness of the bright 

### 20 colors in the sky, I cried. 

### 21 I cried because I was reading When Smoke Ran 

### 22 Like Water, by Dr. Devra Davis. This book presented a 

### 23 history of air pollution and its health and economic 

### 24 effects on communities and I realized that the city in 

### 25 front of me would have been a perfect case study.AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 385 1 I cried because my family and my friends live 

### 2 under that deadly smog. I cried because in that moment 

### 3 I realized that the true cost of doing business is not 

### 4 being paid by those who are making the profits. 

### 5 Instead, the true cost is being paid by the average 

### 6 citizen. The average citizen who is grateful for the 

### 7 existence of those businesses even if they pollute, 

### 8 because hey, it's a job. 

### 9 And today, as much as any time before now, 

### 10 jobs are what we need. 

### 11 But even with that gratitude, they will be 

### 12 paid back with increased rates in cancer, heart and 

### 13 lung ailments, and birth defects. 

### 14It was in these few moments that I knew that 

### 15 the polluting entities needed to be held accountable 

### 16 for the harm that they were doing as well as the good. 

### 17 It wasn't until recently that I realized that 

### 18 Cedar Rapids didn't necessarily have the worst air 

### 19 quality in the state as many people assume. In fact, 

### 20 for the past few years, Muscatine, Iowa, has violated 

### 21 the national ambient air quality standards more times 

### 22 than any other city in the state. 

### 23 And so I collected some stories in Muscatine 

### 24 and I'd like to share them with you. I learned the 

### 25 smog that settles over the city can change the color ofAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 386 1 the paint on the cars and the sidings of the houses. 

### 2 I learned about children who don't want to go 

### 3 outside because the air hurts their eyes and throats 

### 4 and children who are not able to play outside for fear 

### 5 of an asthma attack. 

### 6 I learned from a seasoned teacher that 

### 7 children, children with illnesses on the autism 

### 8 spectrum has visibly increased over the years. 

### 9 I've learned that on some streets in 

### 10 Muscatine, you can stand on the corner and if you're 

### 11 standing there with somebody who has lived there long 

### 12 enough, they can point at every house and there's a 

### 13 story of illness, of sickness, of chronic poor health. 

### 14I've heard elders of the community say that 

### 15 this is the way that's its always been and it's not 

### 16 going to change. 

### 17 My hope is that each of you take a moment to 

### 18 recognize what your defining moments are. The moments 

### 19 that have brought you here to be one of the decision 

### 20 makers. And as you are presented with this opportunity 

### 21 to move forward with the proposed rule, my hope is that 

### 22 the true cost of polluting the air and the rest of the 

### 23 environment is what guides you. 

### 24MR. CLARK: Thank you very much. Our next 

### 25 two speakers, Paul King and Joyce Blumenshine. Is PaulAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 387 1 King here? Oh I'm sorry. I didn't see you. Okay. 

### 2 Mr. King. 

### 3 MR. KIM: Hi. Actually it's Paul Kim, K-I-M. 

### 4MR. CLARK: Oh I'm sorry. It came to me as 

### 5 King, so I apologize for that. 

### 6 MR. KIM: Oh, okay. First of all I want to 

### 7 thank you all for taking the time to be here into the 

### 8 evening and for those of you who traveled out here, 

### 9 thank you for that as well. 

### 10 So as I believe that many of us in this room 

### 11 know, there are a lot from other parts of the Midwest. 

### 12 The company, the energy company Midwest Generation is 

### 13 currently operating two coal plants in Chicago; the 

### 14 Fisk and the Crawford coal plants in addition to four 

### 15 other coal plants that they run in the rest of 

### 16 Illinois. 

### 17 And Midwest Generation has been very much 

### 18 opposed to our efforts to clean up these coal plants. 

### 19 They've opposed the Chicago Clean Power Ordinance 

### 20 which, which my friend Caroline spoke about earlier and 

### 21 that ordinance has wide support from groups all over 

### 22 Chicago and it was only asking them to bring these 

### 23 plants, the plants in Chicago up to national standards 

### 24 and especially at the last hearing, last month, they 

### 25 really brought out the big guns when they actuallyAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 388 1 bussed in workers, not only for -- from the Chicago 

### 2 plants, but also from plants all over the state and we 

### 3 will continue that fight. 

### 4So it's a little bit funny for me to say that 

### 5 I, I feel kind of proud of them for something that they 

### 6 did back in 2009. That is to say that they saw, in 

### 7 this instance at least, the need to upgrade their 

### 8 plants to modern standards. 

### 9 Following an agreement with the Illinois EPA, 

### 10 Midwest Generation installed mercury controls at all 

### 11 six of their Illinois plants resulting in an eighty 

### 12 percent reduction in levels of mercury emitted from 

### 13 their plants. 

### 14According to an Illinois [indecipherable] 

### 15 report from 2005, their plants emitted one thousand 

### 16 eight hundred and twenty-four pounds of mercury in 2003 

### 17 before these controls were, were implemented. 

### 18 Now as someone else said before, according to 

### 19 this, the Sierra Club, one gram of mercury is enough to 

### 20 contaminate twenty-acres worth of lake and, which you 

### 21 know, make -- rendering the fish inside it inedible for 

### 22 humans and the result of this move would be -- was to 

### 23 every year rescue three point three million acres of 

### 24 lake surface from these unacceptable levels of mercury 

### 25 contamination and save many lives in the process.AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 389 1 So I'm not sure why these, these victories 

### 2 can't be replicated nationwide. If it's been done in 

### 3 Illinois, which is a very difficult state to do 

### 4politics in as, as I think some of you know, I'm not 

### 5 sure why we can't do it in the rest of the country. 

### 6 Reducing mercury levels is a smart choice for 

### 7 us to make. There was a time when we didn't know how 

### 8 bad mercury is for human beings. My friend's mother 

### 9 tells me how when she was a child, they used -- well 

### 10 they, they had these children's toys that had little 

### 11 blobs of mercury in them and if they broke, you can, 

### 12 you could play with the blobs of mercury, push them 

### 13 around the kitchen table or just hold them in your 

### 14 hand. Maybe some of you remember that, those days. 

### 15 And you know, the same was true of things 

### 16 like lead paint, radium paint, DDT, agent orange, 

### 17 asbestos, tobacco, [indecipherable] and the list goes 

### 18 on. We need to use science. We need to use science to 

### 19 make educated choices about what kind of air we want to 

### 20 breathe and what kind of water we want to drink. 

### 21 Our victory is here and Illinois have shown 

### 22 us, not only the path to the future, but also what's 

### 23 politically possible -- what is politically possible 

### 24 and feasible. I urge the EPA to regulate mercury as it 

### 25 is proposed and to act in the best interest of theAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 390 1 people whom it has been entrusted to protect. 

### 2 The whole nation will be grateful and will be 

### 3 inspired if you do this. Thank you for your time. 

### 4MS. BLUMENSHINE: Good evening. My name is 

### 5 Joyce Blumenshine, B-L-U-M-E-N-S-H-I-N-E. My gratitude 

### 6 to the panel members of EPA for being here in Chicago. 

### 7 Thank you very much for coming to our State of 

### 8 Illinois. I live a hundred fifty miles south of here 

### 9 in the City of Peoria on the beautiful Illinois River 

### 10 Valley where there are high bluffs. Thirty miles south 

### 11 of Peoria is Pekin, Illinois, and that is a hometown of 

### 12 a woman for whom I have respect; author, lecturer, 

### 13 researcher, Sandra Steingraber. 

### 14Ms. Steingraber came to Peoria and spoke 

### 15 twice for us in our efforts to contest a hazardous 

### 16 waste landfill because of concerns for our air and land 

### 17 quality. She talks about our environmental crisis as 

### 18 fundamentally a crisis of family life. This is in her 

### 19 nationally renowned book Living Downstream 

### 20 And I can attest to seeing this as many 

### 21 people have spoken to you today about if you have a 

### 22 co-worker call who happens to be a single parent of 

### 23 several children and say that she has pulled off the 

### 24 side of the road to, due to an asthma attack and hear 

### 25 the panic in her voice. Gives you great pause toAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 391 1 wonder of the personal impacts and also then her lost 

### 2 time at work due to air quality. 

### 3 I have two friends who have retired after 

### 4 serving gallantly as teachers and researchers for many 

### 5 years and they are spending their retirement taking 

### 6 care of their autistic son. 

### 7 None of us know perhaps right now what is 

### 8 the critical tipping point in our own chemical burden 

### 9 that we bear that causes something to go awry that will 

### 10 cause our own health problems. 

### 11 Dr. Sandra Steingraber refers to this as 

### 12 toxic trespass. She talks about the involuntary 

### 13 chemical pollution that we all endure and a great part 

### 14 of this right now is that rule that you're considering. 

### 15 In my Peoria hometown area, we have three old 

### 16 coal-fired power plants. Just outside of Pekin is the 

### 17 Ameren Duck Creek Plant; a hundred pounds of 

### 18 mercury per year from your very helpful EPA toxic 

### 19 release inventory. 

### 20 The [Indecipherable] -- I'm sorry, the Edison 

### 21 International Powerton Plant south of Pekin, has one 

### 22 hundred forty-one pounds of mercury in 2009 and then 

### 23 also there's an E.D. Edwards Plant in Bartonville, 

### 24 close to my town; about five miles away. Two hundred 

### 25 twenty-one pounds of mercury in 2009.AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 392 1 So for 2009, from your EPA tier, that's forty 

### 2 hundred sixty-two pounds of mercury and our river 

### 3 valley down from us in the City of Peoria with a 

### 4 hundred and seventeen thousand people, our metro area, 

### 5 two hundred fifty thousand people, with the prevailing 

### 6 winds coming toward these populated areas. 

### 7 With our beautiful river, the recreational 

### 8 areas, and now our national resources are the 

### 9 Emiquon Preserve restored area. This was a huge 

### 10 riverside wetland that Nature Conservancy's developing 

### 11 to improve fishing and wildlife. 

### 12 So I am here today to appeal to you to 

### 13 continue with all diligence and belated progress, to 

### 14 fulfill your mandates with your proposed mercury and 

### 15 air toxic standards. Please finalize these regulations 

### 16 without delay. We are depending on you. Thank you 

### 17 very much. 

### 18 MR. CLARK: Thank you. Thank you both. Okay 

### 19 Maureen McCue and Susan Lannin please. Ms. McCue. 

### 20 DR. MCCUE: Okay, we'll switch. 

### 21 MR. CLARK: No, I'm sorry. 

### 22 DR. MCCUE: It's okay. My name is Maureen 

### 23 McCue. I'm a Physician and a Professor at the 

### 24 University of Iowa. I'm the Medical Officer for 

### 25 Johnson County Iowa Public Health Board, theAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 393 1 Coordinator of the Iowa Physicians for Social 

### 2 Responsibility, so I'm kind of speaking in all of those 

### 3 hats. 

### 4PSR has about thirty thousand members across 

### 5 the country. 

### 6 I'm also a mother and a grandmother, so I'm 

### 7 definitely speaking in that hat as well. 

### 8 The toll from coal you've been hearing all 

### 9 day long. I don't think I could give as good a report 

### 10 on the many asthmatic patients I've treated over the 

### 11 years, but you've certainly heard what it means to be 

### 12 there with a very sick patient, whether it's the 

### 13 mother, the grandmother, or the lineup of the children. 

### 14So many of us go to great lengths to maintain 

### 15 our health, yet in spite of all of our efforts, all of 

### 16 us have relatives or friends or patients who have 

### 17 diseases that are being caused by air pollution. 

### 18 Air pollution is now, as you know, as has 

### 19 been recited, linked to six of the top seven causes of 

### 20 death among Americans including premature mortality 

### 21 from all causes; asthma, chronic bronchitis, lung 

### 22 cancer, myocardial infarction, congestive heart 

### 23 failure, fatal anomalies of heart rhythm, stroke, and 

### 24 has been mentioned with regard to lead and mercury, 

### 25 obviously the loss of intellectual capacity.AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 394 1 And this list, as you know, as we've heard 

### 2 all day comes from very well respected peer reviewed 

### 3 studies that are being published in leading medical 

### 4 journals, emerging data which I haven't heard, also 

### 5 suggests that type II diabetes and possibly Alzheimer's 

### 6 disease may also be linked to air pollution. As you 

### 7 know, these are also epidemics that we face; very 

### 8 costly epidemics. 

### 9 Coal-fired power plants, as has been said, 

### 10 but I think needs to be said again and again, emit 

### 11 three hundred and eighty-six thousand tons of hazardous 

### 12 air pollutants including the fine particle materials 

### 13 which are inhaled very deeply into the lungs and 

### 14 possibly across the blood brain barrier, possibly get 

### 15 into the circulation and are linked to numerous 

### 16 diseases. 

### 17 And in fact, the emissions from coal and oil 

### 18 fired power plants contain eight-four of a hundred 

### 19 eight-seven hazardous air pollutants. We've been 

### 20 talking primarily about mercury and lead, but the list 

### 21 is very long and includes the carcinogens that we've 

### 22 heard about and the metals and acid gasses, all of 

### 23 which combine to form many of these fine particles that 

### 24 induce the diseases that we've been talking about. 

### 25 They account for forty percent of allAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 395 1 hazardous air pollutants being spewed from point 

### 2 sources, that we're all forced to breathe; you, me, all 

### 3 of us including the people who own these factories, 

### 4 these plants. 

### 5 And you know that the risks of breathing air 

### 6 toxics from outdoor air in many of these localities 

### 7 close to the plants contributes nearly thirty percent 

### 8 overall. Cancer risk, I mean these are risks that are 

### 9 really unacceptable for our population. 

### 10 The Clean Air Act, as you know, has led to 

### 11 large improvements in the quality of air. It has 

### 12 brought about significant reductions in mortality. It 

### 13 did cost something. It cost about half a trillion 

### 14 dollars to put in the emission controls originally 

### 15 required, however the estimated benefits range up to 

### 16 about twenty-two trillion. 

### 17 In other words, for every dollar that we put 

### 18 into emissions controls to clean our air, there was a 

### 19 health benefit of about forty-four dollars. 

### 20 There's still lots of room for improvement as 

### 21 people have been talking about. As you know, probably 

### 22 still, about a hundred and twenty-five million 

### 23 Americans live in counties where air quality standards 

### 24 are not being met. Some of them, of course, being in 

### 25 Iowa as we've just heard.AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 396 1 So continued and further controlling of these 

### 2 pollutants as we've been discussing, would make 

### 3 significant strides in lowering lifetime cancer, 

### 4 cardiovascular, respiratory, immune system risks. 

### 5 In particular, I'm here sort of talking, 

### 6 reminding people about the risks to children. Most 

### 7 safety assessments right now for any kind of toxic 

### 8 exposures are based on the affect chemicals have on 

### 9 adults. Children are not little adults. They breathe 

### 10 more, they spend more time outside, they have more 

### 11 fragile respiratory tracks and so we're talking about 

### 12 kids at school and in Iowa, some of our city's rank 

### 13 among the worst of the worst and we don't think of Iowa 

### 14 in those terms, but the EPA, along with USA Today in 

### 15 2009, you probably read it, did the study of a hundred 

### 16 and twenty-eight thousand schools to determine the 

### 17 levels of toxic chemicals outside. 

### 18 And regarding Iowa schools in Cedar Rapids, 

### 19 Des Moines, Waterloo, and Muscatine ranked among the 

### 20 worst of the worst. I was actually quite shocked 

### 21 myself to learn that. They all ranked in the bottom or 

### 22 lower ten percent of the U.S. schools. 

### 23 These communities that are most heavily 

### 24 affected, have high air toxics like the acid gasses and 

### 25 the mercury nearest to the power plants.AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 397 1 In Iowa, almost two thirds of our children 

### 2 live within thirty miles of a coal plant. 

### 3 Just to cut -- for my time, just to remind 

### 4people that the hidden cost of burning coal to produce 

### 5 electricity in terms of health costs primarily are 

### 6 sixty-two billion each year, or about a hundred and 

### 7 fifty-six million for each coal plant. These are costs 

### 8 that we bear, that the companies don't bear. And these 

### 9 aren't numbers. These are people. There our families. 

### 10 They're our neighbors, children, the elderly, the, the 

### 11 vulnerable populations that we've been talking about. 

### 12 These are premature deaths of real people. 

### 13 These pollutants pose very significant, very real 

### 14 health threats to every one of us, from brain damage in 

### 15 the newborns that we heard about earlier to all the 

### 16 different diseases that eventually manifest in the 

### 17 adults. 

### 18 My children, my grandchildren, your children, 

### 19 your grandchildren are all being exposed to these very 

### 20 toxic emissions, just so we can boil water to turn a 

### 21 turbine. 

### 22 Our children and their children will inherit 

### 23 a nightmare if we don't continue to tighten down these 

### 24 standards. I don't think this is your wish for them. 

### 25 This is not my wish for them and like everyone elseAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 398 1 that you've heard this afternoon, I strongly urge you 

### 2 to go, move forward quickly with these regulations. 

### 3 I have a couple of articles and things that 

### 4 we've worked on with the peer reviewed materials if 

### 5 anybody would want them. 

### 6 MR. CLARK: We would actually and if we 

### 7 could, if we could leave them at that -- if you don't 

### 8 mind leaving them at the front desk, that would be 

### 9 perfect. 

### 10 DR. MCCUE: Not at all. 

### 11 MR. CLARK: And can I ask you also, did you 

### 12 spell your last name? 

### 13 DR. MCCUE: I'm sorry. I didn't not. 

### 14MR. CLARK: That's all right. 

### 15 DR. MCCUE: McCue, M-C-C-U-E. 

### 16 MR. CLARK: U-E. Okay. Great. Thank you 

### 17 for that. You get the microphone back. 

### 18 MS. LANNIN: My name is Sue Lannin, 

### 19 L-A-N-N-I-N and I'm testifying as an individual. 

### 20 I've worked downtown and lived in Chicago 

### 21 since 1974 in neighborhoods on the south, west, and now 

### 22 far north side of the City and I appreciate this 

### 23 opportunity to speak in support of the Environmental 

### 24 Protection Agency's proposed rule to significantly 

### 25 reduce mercury pollution and other air toxics that areAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 399 1 emitted from coal-fired power plants. 

### 2 As a mother and aunt, I'm very concerned 

### 3 about how exposure to these pollutants can cause 

### 4 reproductive problems, neurological damage, compromise 

### 5 immune systems, and lead to a host of other health 

### 6 issues, including premature death from cancer, 

### 7 respiratory or heart ailments. 

### 8 I live across the street from a school that 

### 9 works with children who suffer from autism and severe 

### 10 learning disabilities. I witness daily how just 

### 11 walking from the bus and up a set of stairs challenges 

### 12 these children. 

### 13 I am in favor of EPA's proposed rule because 

### 14 I believe that by implementing these standards, we as a 

### 15 society have much to gain. Fewer lives will be cut 

### 16 short. Time and resources that would have had to be 

### 17 spent at medical appointments can be directed instead 

### 18 to other endeavors. 

### 19 Implementing the proposed standards will help 

### 20 prevent an estimated seventeen thousand deaths and 

### 21 twelve thousand hospital visits annually. 

### 22 We are late unfortunately in curbing the 

### 23 pollution from coal-fired power plants. They have 

### 24 been allowed to emit copious amounts of mercury and 

### 25 other dangerous pollutants into our air far too long.AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 400 1 There are now mercury advisories on all 

### 2 Illinois rivers, lakes and streams and indeed, on most 

### 3 waters through the United States. The condition of our 

### 4 air, land, and water resources are inextricably linked 

### 5 with the health of our environment and its inhabitants. 

### 6 Coal plant operators must clean up their 

### 7 emissions. Allowing them to continue to pass these 

### 8 harmful pollutants into the air we breathe and onto 

### 9 land and water is a form of subsidy that we, and our 

### 10 environment, can ill afford. 

### 11 Thank you very much. 

### 12 MR. CLARK: Thank you. Thank you both for 

### 13 your testimony. Tim, Tim Sutherlin and Kristen Vyhnal 

### 14 please. And let me just ask if the following people 

### 15 are in the audience, if they could go to the 

### 16 registration desk; Ann Marie Dunlap, Janet Bohn, 

### 17 B-O-H-N and Ross Richmond. Oh did we call Janet 

### 18 earlier? You know what, we did. That's right. 

### 19 Okay. Anyway, thank you for that. I 

### 20 apologize. Mr. Sutherlin. 

### 21 MR. SUTHERLIN: Yes, my name is Tim 

### 22 Sutherlin, it's S-U-T-H-E-R-L-I-N. I'm a concerned 

### 23 citizen. I live here in Chicago. I have lived in the 

### 24 past in southern Indiana and Alabama. I'm not an 

### 25 expert by any stretch of the imagination on the issuesAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 401 1 that are before you today, but I am an off and on again 

### 2 environmental activist and a reasonably intelligent 

### 3 fellow, I'd like to think, so I sometimes do a little 

### 4 research on my own. 

### 5 And I want to start off simply by saying that 

### 6 I support this proposed rule. I think we need to stop 

### 7 putting this stuff in the air. It gets in the air, 

### 8 people breathe it, animals breathe it, we eat the 

### 9 animals, it gets in the water. It's much more 

### 10 dangerous to put this stuff in the air. 

### 11 So this is not only a necessary regulation, 

### 12 set of regulations, it is, actually a very long overdue 

### 13 set of regulations considering the fact that the EPA 

### 14 had the authority to do this when the 1980 -- I'm 

### 15 sorry, when the Clean Air Act was passed in 1990 and 

### 16 it's taken up to this point to get this national 

### 17 regulation done. 

### 18 But I do have a concern. And it is another 

### 19 environmental concern and that is I am concerned about 

### 20 the regulation of coal fly ash. The -- I know that 

### 21 this is an apples and oranges kind of situation for you 

### 22 guys because I'm going to talk about regulation under 

### 23 the Resource Conservation Recovery Act of the ash even 

### 24 though you're here considering a regulation under TOSCA 

### 25 and I understand that I'm going off in a differentAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 402 1 direction. 

### 2 But I'm specifically concerned about the fact 

### 3 that the ash is going to potentially become 

### 4 significantly more toxic because what you're doing is, 

### 5 for the most part, most of these plants are going to 

### 6 install technology which is called carbon injection 

### 7 from what I understand and that is basically causes 

### 8 these particulates, particularly the mercury to bond 

### 9 with the carbon and then become part of the ash, the 

### 10 fly ash. 

### 11 Now some of you in the audience may have 

### 12 remembered back in 2008, there was this horrific 

### 13 accident in Tennessee, the Kingston facility, the TVA 

### 14 facility where they had a slurry pond and it ruptured 

### 15 and the fly ash which was mixed in with water, 

### 16 basically came in and damaged and wrecked a bunch of 

### 17 homes and everybody was concerned about the toxicity 

### 18 and so forth and after that happened the EPA undertook 

### 19 some inquiries and then promulgated some new rules, but 

### 20 what they didn't do, what they chose not to do and 

### 21 correct me if I'm wrong, is regulate the ash as 

### 22 hazardous under RCRA. They chose, instead, 

### 23 to regulate it as non-hazardous material. 

### 24So my concern is this, if you're going to do 

### 25 something that you know is potentially going to makeAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 403 1 the ash more toxic, don't you think that we might then 

### 2 have to follow on and revisit the issue of how you're 

### 3 going to deal with the ash afterwards? And that's 

### 4 basically my comment. 

### 5 Like I said, I know I'm mixing apples and 

### 6 oranges here, but it's just a, it's just a concern. 

### 7 And if you -- you know what, as I said earlier, I'm not 

### 8 an expert, so this may be complete nonsense. But. 

### 9 MS. KURLANSKY: Well, we are interested in 

### 10 that actually and we are working very closely with that 

### 11 office because there is a relationship, as you said. 

### 12 That rule however, is also between proposal and final. 

### 13 MR. SUTHERLIN: Right. 

### 14MS. KURLANSKY: So it's only a proposal. 

### 15 They've proposed two options. One would be to regulate 

### 16 it as hazardous and the other is to regulate it as 

### 17 non-hazardous waste. 

### 18 MR. SUTHERLIN: Okay. I'm sorry. I 

### 19 missed -- I understood that we were moving, basically 

### 20 moving in the direction of not treating it as 

### 21 hazardous. Maybe this, this as you say, is going to 

### 22 impact that decision because it may change the 

### 23 character of the ash. 

### 24MS. KURLANSKY: Yeah. There hasn't been a 

### 25 decision as to where to go with the --AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 404 1 MR. SUTHERLIN: Okay. Thank you very much 

### 2 for your time. 

### 3 MS. KURLANSKY: Unlike this rule, it's not on 

### 4 a court ordered deadline, so it's moving a little bit 

### 5 more slowly. 

### 6 MR. SUTHERLIN: Yeah. It's been a while 

### 7 since that process started, so thank you. 

### 8 MS. VYHNAL: Hi there. My name is Kristen 

### 9 Vyhnal, that's V-Y-H-N-A-L. I want to thank my 

### 10 companion here for bringing up something excellent and 

### 11 I just want to start with some more detail, small scale 

### 12 stuff. 

### 13 I'm thirty-one, single, no children, probably 

### 14 won't have any, sixty thousand dollar income last year, 

### 15 hundred and twenty thousand dollars in student loans. 

### 16 I am middle class America. I like to run. My best 

### 17 friend likes to bike. We really like having clean air 

### 18 to breathe, so day to day particular matter is kind of 

### 19 a big deal for us. I've had asthma in the past, viral 

### 20 or related. It's not fun. Please keep our air clean. 

### 21 Second, as far as lead and other heavy 

### 22 neurotoxins. I'm a veterinarian. That's my student 

### 23 loans and on occasion I get to see animals that have 

### 24 heavy metal toxicity. Usually they come in when they 

### 25 are seizuring, when their level of aggression hasAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 405 1 become so severe that the owners cannot handle them. 

### 2 I usually diagnose their heavy metal toxicity 

### 3 with abnormalities on the blood screen. It is not 

### 4 standard to go searching for lead as part of a general 

### 5 chemistry. So only once we have the inkling of heavy 

### 6 metal toxicity due to CBC are we going to test for lead 

### 7 and such. 

### 8 You can imagine, but based on the small 

### 9 number of animals that we test, that there are many 

### 10 more out there who we do not test. 

### 11 Same goes for children. And it is only after 

### 12 I speak with the owners, oh your pet has lead toxicity 

### 13 that they start to notice yeah, you know, before he 

### 14 started seizuring, he was kind of a little bit off, 

### 15 stumbling around. Before he became intimately 

### 16 aggressive, he used to be a pretty focused dog and now 

### 17 he's kind of ADD, so speaking of our kids, ADD, ADHD, 

### 18 unknown numbers who are exposed, etcetera. You get 

### 19 where I'm going with that. 

### 20 On the regulatory side, I'd like to refer you 

### 21 guys to an article on Midwest Generation. Chicago 

### 22 Tribune, February 21. This isn't about mercury, this 

### 23 is more just about I believe the fine particulate 

### 24matter scrubbers. So they were supposed to be 

### 25 installing scrubbers. After the latest elections,AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 406 1 there was some hope that maybe the republican Congress 

### 2 would prevent any sort of regulations from being 

### 3 passed and Midwest announced that oh no, wait they're 

### 4 not going to install those. Since the plan was already 

### 5 there to install them, I'm sure that the money that 

### 6 they had gotten to install those probably came from 

### 7 billing the consumers, us. Now that they're not 

### 8 installing them, I'm sure that that money is going to 

### 9 the CEO's. 

### 10 I really doubt that they are actually hiring 

### 11 new people and creating new jobs. The money was there 

### 12 for the scrubbers. Scrubbers would have created jobs 

### 13 and helped. All of us have to breathe the air. 

### 14Lastly, I'd like to refer you to some 

### 15 research by Dr. Jessie Lepak, that's L-E-P-A-K. He has 

### 16 some articles that came out 2007, 2008, looking at 

### 17 mercury levels in various fish, in various situations. 

### 18 Turns out that when you change the whole food chain in 

### 19 there, it changes the amount of mercury levels in the 

### 20 fish, so what you may think is a safe level of mercury 

### 21 going on right now in this stream, in this lake, may 

### 22 not be when you have an introduced species. When you 

### 23 remove an introduced species, when you actually start 

### 24 looking the mercury levels in the fish we eat as 

### 25 opposed to the mercury levels in the fish that areAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 407 1 commonly caught and tested for mercury. 

### 2 Okay. Thank you very much. 

### 3 MR. CLARK: Thank you. You guys have any 

### 4 questions? Thank you guys. Okay. Okay. Melissa 

### 5 Mullarkey and Alexandra Sipiora. 

### 6 FEMALE: Can I leave written comments at the 

### 7 desk out front? 

### 8 MR. CLARK: Yes. 

### 9 MS. MULLARKEY: Good evening. 

### 10 MR. CLARK: Hi. 

### 11 MS. MULLARKEY: Melissa Mullarkey, it's 

### 12 M-U-L-L-A-R-K-E-Y. I'm a Policy Associate at Recycled 

### 13 Energy Development. We're a Chicago based firm that 

### 14 seeks to reduce green house gas and other types of 

### 15 emissions profitably. We do that by partnering with 

### 16 manufacturing and industrial firms in order to increase 

### 17 industrial pollution -- in order to decrease industrial 

### 18 pollution and increase efficiency. Wow. 

### 19 We appreciate the opportunity to comment on 

### 20 the proposed rule and we applaud the EPA's efforts and 

### 21 really applaud the fact that you recognized the value 

### 22 of efficiency in the proposed rules. 

### 23 My comments address two areas of the rules 

### 24 pertaining to combined heat and power or CHP. First, 

### 25 it's appropriate for EPA to recognize the environmentalAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 408 1 benefits of electricity generated by efficient CHP, by 

### 2 accounting for onsite generations, avoidance of line 

### 3 losses from the transmission and distribution of 

### 4 electricity. 

### 5 We believe, however, the five percent benefit 

### 6 is far too low. 

### 7 Second, we believe that plants that seek to 

### 8 comply MACT by installing clean CHP should be 

### 9 explicitly granted the opportunity for a one year 

### 10 extension. 

### 11 To the first point, the rules should provide 

### 12 a benefit greater than five percent for CHP's avoidance 

### 13 of transmission and distribution losses. 

### 14CHP's environmental benefits should be 

### 15 recognized including its ability to cut line losses and 

### 16 displace less efficient electric only generation. 

### 17 We believe however, the suggested five 

### 18 percent benefit is too low. Line losses from centrally 

### 19 generated electricity now average about six and a half 

### 20 percent nationally and that number can rise to about 

### 21 twenty-percent during peak times. This costs the U.S. 

### 22 grid about twenty-six billion annually. 

### 23 Studies from Carnegie Mellon and 

### 24 MIT have shown that one megawatt hour of local 

### 25 generation like CHP can displace up to one point fourAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 409 1 seven megawatt hours of central generation suggesting a 

### 2 forty-seven percent benefit for efficient CHP. 

### 3 These numbers imply the benefit CHP should 

### 4 receive should be well above five percent. 

### 5 In addition to being more efficient and less 

### 6 polluting, CHP projects significantly reduce line 

### 7 losses. They free existing transmission capacities 

### 8 and provide less expensive back up electricity and 

### 9 generates sustainable base load power. 

### 10 To the second point. EPA should clarify that 

### 11 facilities seeking to incorporate clean and efficient 

### 12 CHP are explicitly eligible for the one year compliance 

### 13 extension. The most efficient and effective compliance 

### 14 option is to install natural gas-fired CHP. 

### 15 CHP developers and environmental engineering 

### 16 firms however worry that three years may not be 

### 17 sufficient time for boiler owners to design, permit, 

### 18 and install a CHP system. 

### 19 EPA regulations already recognize the same 

### 20 potential delays for owners seeking to install add on 

### 21 pollution controls allowing those owners to petition 

### 22 for a one year extension for the installation of those 

### 23 controls. 

### 24We urge EPA to clarify that CHP can be deemed 

### 25 controls, thereby allowing the same one year extensionAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 410 1 to apply for any potential facility facing compliance 

### 2 that is seeking to install efficient CHP or clean 

### 3 waste heat recovery. 

### 4Absent this clarification, facilities may be 

### 5 deterred from pursuing these technologies. They can 

### 6 ultimately lead to greater fuel savings and emission 

### 7 reductions. 

### 8 RED understands that EPA is operating under a 

### 9 tight time line, given that the rule is supposed to be 

### 10 published November 16, which I think is even a smaller 

### 11 time line than you had for industrial boiler MACT, and 

### 12 so we really appreciate the opportunity to provide oral 

### 13 comments. 

### 14MR. CLARK: Thank you. Ms. Sipiora. 

### 15 MS. SIPIORA: Hello. My name's Alexandra 

### 16 Sipiora and I am a, a graduate student at a local 

### 17 university and right now I am greatly suffering from 

### 18 mercury and arsenic poisoning and I am a member of 

### 19 MENSA and I usually make A's in school, like a three 

### 20 point seven three and the summer semester when I 

### 21 contracted the mercury and arsenic poisoning, I ended 

### 22 up getting a failing grade and had to take a leave of 

### 23 absence. 

### 24And now it's iffy if I'll get my degree and 

### 25 the reason I'm wearing a respirator is because theAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 411 1 mercury has made me hyper allergic to everything. I'm 

### 2 wearing the mask and already the air freshener in the 

### 3 room is starting to bother me. It doesn't keep 

### 4 everything out. 

### 5 And I developed [indecipherable] coordination 

### 6 to the point I no longer drive and when I lived out in 

### 7 the suburbs, I rode my racing bike and enjoyed it. 

### 8 So I was hoping you would take into account 

### 9 the human cost and retrofit the plants to avoid spewing 

### 10 mercury and arsenic into the air. Thank you. 

### 11 MR. CLARK: Thank you very much. Any 

### 12 questions? Ms. Mullarkey, if you could hang on just 

### 13 one second. 

### 14 MS. KURLANSKY: I didn't get the name of 

### 15 the -- I think you said the company that you worked for. 

### 16 MS. MULLARKEY: Sure. Recycled Energy 

### 17 Development. 

### 18 MS. KURLANSKY: Okay. Thank you. 

### 19 MS. MULLARKEY: Thank you. 

### 20 MR. CLARK: Thank you. Ms. Mullarkey, we 

### 21 won't let you leave. 

### 22 MR. HUTSON: You, you had some, you had some 

### 23 really good points and I hope you'll provide more 

### 24 detailed comments, you know, written comments. 

### 25 MS. MULLARKEY: Oh definitely.AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 412 1 MR. HUTSON: Good, good. 

### 2 MS. MULLARKEY: But with you being right here 

### 3 in a our backyard -- we had to take this opportunity. 

### 4MS. HUTSON: No, no. Yes, yeah. 

### 5 MS. MULLARKEY: Thank you. 

### 6 MR. CLARK: Thanks. Next speakers Matt 

### 7 Runquist and Kevin Carol please. Okay. You are? 

### 8 MR. CAROL: Kevin Carol. 

### 9 MR. CLARK: Kevin. Okay. So no Matt? How 

### 10 about Adam Burke. Okay. Thanks. Go ahead, Mr. Carol. 

### 11 MR. CAROL: Hi. Thanks. My name is Kevin 

### 12 Carol. I'm a resident of Chicago and I'm here to speak 

### 13 in support of the proposed EPA standards on mercury and 

### 14 air toxics. This is pretty much going to be anecdotal 

### 15 just because of where I grew up and where I live now. 

### 16 I grew up in western Pennsylvania. There 

### 17 were two coal-fired power plants within two miles of my 

### 18 home. One was in Springdale, my hometown, and was 

### 19 operated by the western Pennsylvania power company. It 

### 20 has since closed. 

### 21 The other one was located in Cheswick, 

### 22 Pennsylvania in an adjacent town and was operated by 

### 23 Duquesne Light. There's a new operator there now and 

### 24 I'm not sure of the name, but it was Duquesne Light 

### 25 back in the day.AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 413 1 I remember the smell of the smoke on days 

### 2 when there was little wind and the particulates and 

### 3 pollution that fell on everything that was left 

### 4 outside. I've seen what air pollution at these coal 

### 5 fired power plants can do to those living near them. 

### 6 I have two brothers with respiratory 

### 7 ailments, a sister with cancer, tumors in her lungs and 

### 8 numerous nieces and nephews with asthma and other 

### 9 breathing problems. 

### 10 Now here it is almost forty years later. I 

### 11 live in Chicago which is home to two of the oldest coal 

### 12 fired power plants around. The Fisk Generating Station 

### 13 and the Crawford Generating Station. Both are located 

### 14 in predominantly working class Latino neighborhoods 

### 15 with a lot of grammar and high school aged children. 

### 16 Crawford Station has a relatively short smoke 

### 17 stack and sometimes I can see, rarely, but sometimes I 

### 18 can see the smoke hanging low in the air over the 

### 19 Little Village neighborhood where it is adjacent to. 

### 20 It reminds me of what my hometown of Springdale looked 

### 21 and smelled like back in the 1970's when you could 

### 22 literally taste the air. 

### 23 The other power plant here in Chicago is the 

### 24 Fisk Plant which is located in the Pilsen neighborhood. 

### 25 It's got a taller stack on it and is located a mile orAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 414 1 two from west of Lake Michigan. The prevailing winds 

### 2 are often from the west and sometimes you can see the 

### 3 plume of smoke. It's really steam in the winter time, 

### 4 but you know the pollutants are in there. And it's -- 

### 5 you can see it pushing out over the lake. 

### 6 I won't go into the health effects of 

### 7 mercury, arsenic, and the other toxins that, that I 

### 8 know are in those plumes, but common sense tells us 

### 9 that these metals and other toxins are being deposited 

### 10 into our Lake Michigan, not the industry's Lake 

### 11 Michigan. It's everybody's Lake Michigan. They're 

### 12 being consumed, these toxics are being consumed by the 

### 13 fish as well as by the people who eat them. They're 

### 14 being built up year after year in one of the world's 

### 15 largest sources of fresh water, which I think is a 

### 16 shame. 

### 17 Now I know that those who are opposed to 

### 18 these tighter regulations are quick to say that it 

### 19 places undo economic cost on the industry. My 

### 20 understanding is that the EPA's own studies have 

### 21 concluded that for every dollar invested in reducing 

### 22 these pollutants, five to thirteen dollars in health 

### 23 benefits are realized. Maybe not to the industry, but 

### 24 to the society as a whole. 

### 25 Aside from the economic argument, I wouldAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 415 1 like to point out that the EPA stands for the 

### 2 Environmental Protection Agency not the coal-fired 

### 3 power plant protection agency. 

### 4Study after study show that Americans are 

### 5 willing to pay the price for clean air and clean water, 

### 6 but too often all we hear about is the heavy burden 

### 7 increased regulation will place on industry, which 

### 8 passes the additional cost onto consumers anyway. 

### 9 The industry has fought tougher pollution 

### 10 standards for decades and yet all of us pay the price 

### 11 in terms of health, water, and air quality and quality 

### 12 of life. I have seen it both as a child and as an 

### 13 adult. 

### 14So now I'm urging you to adopt these proposed 

### 15 standards for power plants. Thank you. 

### 16 MR. CLARK: Thank you. 

### 17 MR. BURKE: Thank you. My name is Adam 

### 18 Burke, B-U-R-K-E. I'm here with a group from 

### 19 Muscatine, Iowa, where a group of coal plants and other 

### 20 industries have almost ruined that town for new 

### 21 business growth and some of the residents there are 

### 22 suffering from it. 

### 23 I became involved with the Muscatine area 

### 24 when I wrote an article for Midwest Energy News and we 

### 25 found out that one of the monitors there had beenAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 416 1 malfunctioning that was recording sulfur dioxide levels 

### 2 and some of the data had to be thrown out and so I hope 

### 3 with this new rule and regarding mercury and other 

### 4 toxic pollution, pollutants that enough monitors are in 

### 5 place to account for malfunction. 

### 6 My guess is that if we had more monitors for 

### 7 all pollutants in, across the country, we'd find more 

### 8 areas that are out of attainment. So I hope that 

### 9 that's part of this new rule. 

### 10 It may also surprise some of the EPA people 

### 11 who are here that most people in this country, I think, 

### 12 probably believe that mercury is already regulated. 

### 13 Does that seem like it's -- I see some nodding heads 

### 14 over there, so I'm going to take that as a -- 

### 15 MR. CLARK: Let me just interject. 

### 16 MR. BURKE: Yeah. 

### 17 MR. CLARK: It is, it is regulated from a 

### 18 variety of industrial sources; medical waste 

### 19 incinerators, municipal waste combustors, 

### 20 [indecipherable] gold mines, -- 

### 21 MR. BURKE: But if you said, if you said -- 

### 22 MR. CLARK: -- [indecipherable] not this, not 

### 23 this [indecipherable]. 

### 24MR. BURKE: Not from power plants. 

### 25 MR. CLARK: Not from power plants, that'sAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 417 1 right. 

### 2 MR. BURKE: Okay. And I think if you said 

### 3 that to most people, if you put it in a poll across the 

### 4 country, people would say of course we're regulating 

### 5 mercury. And, and here we're finally getting around to 

### 6 it, so thank you for ending the free ride that we've 

### 7 been giving polluters on this matter. 

### 8 MR. CLARK: Thank you. 

### 9 MR. BURKE: Thank you. 

### 10 MR. CLARK: Let me try again on Matt 

### 11 Runquist. Is Matt here? Okay, we'll pass on Matt and 

### 12 then move on to Marybeth Gardam and Richard Stucky. 

### 13 MS. GARDAM: Good evening. I'm Marybeth 

### 14 Gardam. That's G-A-R-D-A-M I'm a member of Women's 

### 15 International League for Peace and Freedom based in Des 

### 16 Moines. It's an international organization founded by 

### 17 Jane Adams from Chicago here. 

### 18 WILPF's members are extremely concerned about 

### 19 the ever declining condition of our nation's water 

### 20 which is directly affected by air pollution. 

### 21 WILPF works on social justice and economic 

### 22 justice issues of water and air quality as it effects 

### 23 the most vulnerable Americans. 

### 24The facts that Maureen McCue of Iowa PSR and 

### 25 others made are difficult to argue. It's compellingAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 418 1 documentation that Iowans particularly are becoming ill 

### 2 and dying needlessly because of the already compromised 

### 3 condition of our air and water. 

### 4Disproportionately the old, the young, and 

### 5 the poor are most affected by this profit at any cost 

### 6 cancer on the environment, but increasingly, all of us 

### 7 are affected. If the regulations for air particulate 

### 8 are further relaxed, or if the EPA is further weakened, 

### 9 we will all pay the price, either in direct results 

### 10 which is more seriously ill Americans or in indirect, 

### 11 unintended consequences; for instance, higher medical 

### 12 costs, higher indigent care costs, higher insurance 

### 13 costs for all of us. Illnesses that further degrade 

### 14 our children's educational experience and ability to 

### 15 succeed or quality for skilled employment. 

### 16 Air quality that makes it impossible for our 

### 17 kids to play, our athletes to compete, our tourist to 

### 18 recreate outside in Iowa without risking our health. 

### 19 Coal-fired power plants use about two point 

### 20 two billion gallons of water per plant per year. 

### 21 Enough water for a city of two hundred and fifty 

### 22 thousand people. 

### 23 Earlier today, I'm sure you heard from energy 

### 24 industry officials, men and women who get paid well to 

### 25 tell you how vital it is not to change anything.AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 419 1 Because in this status quo world, they are healthy and 

### 2 comfortable and well heeled. They are paid to tell you 

### 3 how catastrophic change is to the energy distribution 

### 4 system will be. We came here from Iowa on our own 

### 5 time, paid by no one, representing not thousands of 

### 6 employees, but nearly three million Iowans that 

### 7 couldn't come. 

### 8 On both sides of our political spectrum, 

### 9 people agree that it is government's most critical role 

### 10 to keep citizens safe. The operative part of safe in 

### 11 these hearings seems to be the word acceptable. What 

### 12 level of pollution is acceptable. 

### 13 Not just acceptable to Iowans with great jobs 

### 14 who can afford to live and send their children to 

### 15 schools in the suburbs, but acceptable to Iowa families 

### 16 already dealing with expensive heart rending family 

### 17 health issues. 

### 18 I'm here to demand that our government in the 

### 19 form of EPA continues to be authorized to keep our 

### 20 citizens safe, to preserve our health, to use every 

### 21 tool available to do so. 

### 22 They also serve and protect who monitors and 

### 23 regulates. It's an important role and we hope that 

### 24 those of you who stand guard at the door of 

### 25 unsustainable, profit driven, suicide energy plants andAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 420 1 say, no, not on my watch. Well, keep on saying that. 

### 2 The country's vulnerable citizens will thank 

### 3 you and in time, so will the children and grandchildren 

### 4 of those captains of industry too. If we continue to 

### 5 invest unlimited resources into the status quo, nothing 

### 6 will change. 

### 7 Besides mercury, one of the other chemical 

### 8 minerals released by coal plants is cadmium and that 

### 9 rang a bell with me. French impressionist painters 

### 10 mixed paints using cadmium and finally the chemical 

### 11 was banned because the artist had a really bad habit of 

### 12 licking their brushes to sharpen the edges of it and 

### 13 make sharper lines and they were dying at alarming 

### 14 rates from cadmium poisoning. Too many of them were 

### 15 becoming poisoned. 

### 16 Let's act now to save all of the creative 

### 17 individuals our coal pollution is keeping from their 

### 18 destiny and from coloring our world. 

### 19 After all you've heard about the suffering of 

### 20 American citizens, families, communities, waterways and 

### 21 wildlife, why wouldn't you do this? It's, it's just 

### 22 the right thing. 

### 23 And I, I just wanted to ask when the deadline 

### 24 is for filing electronic comments? 

### 25 MR. CLARK: July the 5th.AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 421 1 MS. GARDAM: Okay. Thank you very much. 

### 2 MR. CLARK: Thank you. Mr. Stuckey. 

### 3 MR. STUCKEY: Good evening. My name is 

### 4 Richard Stuckey, that's S-T-U-C-K-E-Y. I'm a life 

### 5 member of the Sierra Club and a member of various other 

### 6 organizations environment, but I'm here, here for 

### 7 myself, my family. 

### 8 I appreciate the opportunity to speak in 

### 9 strong support of the proposed EPA regulations to 

### 10 reduce hazardous air pollution from power plants. 

### 11 In the forty years since the EPA was created, 

### 12 your regulations have saved millions of lives by 

### 13 enforcing clean air and water standards. More than one 

### 14 point seven million asthma attacks and a hundred and 

### 15 ten billion dollars in health care costs were saved in 

### 16 2010 alone through your efforts and thank you for that. 

### 17 The strong air toxin standards from the EPA 

### 18 that you're proposing will protect Americans from 

### 19 life threatening air pollution and help clean up the 

### 20 air and create jobs and continue the long list of 

### 21 contributions that you have made to the health and 

### 22 economy of the country and thank you for that too. 

### 23 Millions of tons of air toxins are released 

### 24 annually from coal powered power plants. Mercury is 

### 25 particularly harmful component of the air toxinsAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 422 1 recognized by, as a powerful neurotoxin that adversely 

### 2 impacts the function, development of central nervous 

### 3 systems in both people and wildlife. Approximately six 

### 4 hundred and thirty thousand babies are born every year 

### 5 at risk from developmental problems because of prenatal 

### 6 mercury exposure. 

### 7 But mercury is not only a risk to people and 

### 8 we've heard a lot about the risk to people, but I would 

### 9 like to point out it's also a major risk to wildlife. 

### 10 High levels of mercury have been found in many species 

### 11 in many habitats. 

### 12 Besides the economic problems that result 

### 13 from harm to wildlife such as the risk to honey bees 

### 14 and other pollinators which cause huge economic 

### 15 problems, we should regard the impact to wildlife from 

### 16 the extinction of hundreds of species every year as a 

### 17 like canaries in the coal mine. 

### 18 The wildlife is warning us of the future 

### 19 problems that lie ahead for us if we do not heed the 

### 20 warning we're getting now from them. 

### 21 The proposed EPA standards are based on 

### 22 existing technologies. The proposed approach closes 

### 23 loop holes and establishes a level playing field for 

### 24 power plants that have installed good pollution 

### 25 controls so they will not be disadvantaged compared toAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 423 1 competitive plants that have no pollution controls. 

### 2 The imposition of reasonable standards would 

### 3 also level the playing field for renewable resources, 

### 4 sources of energy making them more competitive so they 

### 5 can -- so, so long as coal-fired generators can pass so 

### 6 much of their cost onto the public by dumping their 

### 7 filth and poisons into the public air at no cost, 

### 8 renewable energy sources have -- that do not create 

### 9 pollution, will always be at a huge disadvantage. 

### 10 Finally, the EPA proposed standards will be 

### 11 great for the economy creating thirty thousand short 

### 12 term construction jobs and nine thousand long term 

### 13 utility jobs just in the current electrical industry 

### 14 and these numbers I believe do not include the jobs 

### 15 that will be created in renewable economy where such 

### 16 things as a smart grid, which I believe will cost 

### 17 two point six billion in the Illinois alone will create 

### 18 many, many jobs as well as the jobs created by wind 

### 19 farms and solar plants which will finally become 

### 20 economically attractive as they should be. 

### 21 Thank you again for proposing sound and cost 

### 22 effective standards. I encourage you to implement your 

### 23 proposal as quickly as possible and resist the pressure 

### 24 from those in industry who only care about this 

### 25 quarter's earnings per share and care nothing for theAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 424 1 harm they're causing to the country. Thank you very 

### 2 much. 

### 3 MR. CLARK: Thank you both. Grace Pai and 

### 4 Bob Rosenstein [phonetic] please. 

### 5 MS. PAI: Thank you for the opportunity to 

### 6 testify tonight. My name is Grace Pai, and that's 

### 7 P-A-I and I'm a student, I'm a first year student at 

### 8 the University of Chicago. 

### 9 I'm originally from Los Angeles so I moved 

### 10 here pretty recently, this Fall and a few months ago, I 

### 11 became involved with the effort to pass the Chicago 

### 12 Clean Power Ordinance. As part of my efforts, I 

### 13 personally met with two [indecipherable] men on the 

### 14 south side of Chicago to encourage them to vote for the 

### 15 ordinance in favor of it. 

### 16 I met with them mainly to express the huge 

### 17 importance of this ordinance in regulating the two 

### 18 power plants and in forcing them to take responsibility 

### 19 for the huge health impacts and pollution that they 

### 20 cause. 

### 21 So both Aldermen that I spoke to 

### 22 eventually said that they would support the ordinance 

### 23 and they would vote yes. However, when an official 

### 24 hearing was held for the ordinance, it did not come to 

### 25 a vote because the committees that were presiding overAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 425 1 it decided that it was too controversial to vote for on 

### 2 that day, so the Aldermen that I talked to didn't even 

### 3 have a chance to express their support and try to pass 

### 4 this ordinance. 

### 5 So I'm telling you this story because I want 

### 6 to emphasize the need for federal regulation because 

### 7 even though Chicago as a city, has Aldermen who are 

### 8 trying to pass regulations that would really support a 

### 9 clean, a clean environment and clean air for people to 

### 10 breathe in the City, it's not, it doesn't always work 

### 11 out. I mean politics is complicated that way as I have 

### 12 discovered first hand. 

### 13 So I completely, obviously, support the, the 

### 14 regulations that the EPA has proposed and I really urge 

### 15 you to impose as strict regulations as possible because 

### 16 cities like Chicago need you to. 

### 17 Thank you very much. 

### 18 MR. CLARK: Thank you. Mr. Rosenstein. 

### 19 DR. ROSENSTEIN: Oh my name is Dr. Bob 

### 20 Rosenstein. I'm a member of the Sierra Club, Union of 

### 21 Concerned Scientists. I do volunteer work with Chicago 

### 22 Clean Power Coalition and I'm a member also of the 

### 23 American Physical Society in Chicago and the 

### 24American Chemical Society. 

### 25 I'm not speaking for any specificAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 426 1 organization, but just deeply concerned about the 

### 2 environmental climate and energy issues, so I coming 

### 3 down to speak briefly on that. 

### 4I certainly support strongly the 

### 5 implementation of the EPA ruling on the control of the 

### 6 toxic substance discharge. I also, you know, the 

### 7 mercury and arsenic -- I heard at a conference Saturday 

### 8 something I didn't realize that the coal mining and the 

### 9 coal emissions are also related to radioactive release. 

### 10 I didn't realize that radon gas is released in the 

### 11 coal mining and that there is radioactivity in the 

### 12 particulate discharges. 

### 13 So I, I certainly support as a parent and 

### 14 concern for our young people that we mitigate these 

### 15 particulate emissions. 

### 16 Now in the past, I spoke briefly on short 

### 17 occasions to our current Mayor Rahm Emanuel 

### 18 when he was campaigning how I felt about passing this 

### 19 Clean Power Ordinance and to the former Mayor at a 

### 20 reception last November. I urged his support for that 

### 21 measure. And, and -- but there are other, there are 

### 22 other reasons I'm concerned as well. 

### 23 I, I -- the issue which concerns me most is 

### 24mitigating the climate stability. I don't think unless 

### 25 we get off our coal kick which is one of the majorAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 427 1 emitters of the green house gas, that we're going to be 

### 2 able to reach the goal that responsible scientist like 

### 3 Dr. Jim Hanson [phonetic] has said, Senator Barbara 

### 4 Boxer who's Chair of the Environmental Committee that 

### 5 we must reduce our green house gas emissions by eighty 

### 6 percent by 2020 if we're to have a good chance of 

### 7 maintaining the resiliency of the climate. 

### 8 One of the consequences, I understand, in 

### 9 terms of health hazards of the, the climate 

### 10 deterioration is that the mosquitoes that bear malaria 

### 11 are gradually moving northward and it's also my 

### 12 understanding that Britain's preparing for an outbreak 

### 13 of malaria because of the climate instability that will 

### 14 be induced by our continued emissions. 

### 15 I feel that if the EPA is able to regulate 

### 16 coal discharges of toxic substances and help make 

### 17 renewables more competitive with the cheap former 

### 18 polluting energy, we can move substantially in our 

### 19 country towards clean renewable carbon free energies 

### 20 and use this as a basis for developing, be more 

### 21 competitive of the global economy and helping other 

### 22 countries like China, which are putting on 

### 23 [indecipherable] coal-fired power plants with examples 

### 24 of what we can do here. 

### 25 How can we expect other countries to not putAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 428 1 up coal-fired power plants if we don't clean up our own 

### 2 act. 

### 3 So I think that the process and the rules 

### 4 that you're doing will be a viable step in moving 

### 5 towards that goal of carbon neutral renewable energies 

### 6 and be good in the long run for our business and 

### 7 industry, make ourselves more competitive with the 

### 8 global economy and help the globe mitigate the onset of 

### 9 climate instability so that future generations in the 

### 10 United States and elsewhere in the world would have a 

### 11 viable future. 

### 12 So I try to do what I can with these various 

### 13 organizations to speak on behalf of this and work as I 

### 14 can to bring about this goal of sustainable renewable 

### 15 carbon neutral energy. 

### 16 Thank you very much for your time and keep up 

### 17 your good work at the EPA in implementing these very 

### 18 important rules for all our citizens. 

### 19 MR. CLARK: Thank you. Thank you both. 

### 20 Carol Chaplan -- Caplan, I'm sorry. Carol Caplan and 

### 21 Chris Didato. And if there's anyone else that would 

### 22 like to speak whose name we haven't called, right now 

### 23 these folks are set up to be our final two witnesses 

### 24 for the hearing. If there's anyone else that would 

### 25 like to speak, if you could sign up outside, that wouldAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 429 1 be great. If you don't mind just giving them your 

### 2 name, your name -- I'm sorry -- outside, that would be, 

### 3 that would be super. 

### 4So Carol. 

### 5 MS. CAPLAN: I teach yoga and meditation as 

### 6 part of my living and watching you guys up here, I kind 

### 7 of want to -- 

### 8 MR. CLARK: I'm sorry. 

### 9 MS. CAPLAN: Uh-huh [affirmative]. 

### 10 MR. CLARK: If you could, I just got the 

### 11 signal. If you could just say your name and spell it. 

### 12 MS. CAPLAN: My name is Carol Caplan, last 

### 13 name C-A-P-L-A-N. I kind of want to have to want you 

### 14 to stretch and wake up and breathe, but I have more 

### 15 important things to say. 

### 16 So thank you for the opportunity to speak 

### 17 this evening. My name is Carol Caplan. I'm here as a 

### 18 Green Faith fellow and as a member and leader of a 

### 19 faith community that has deep commitment to 

### 20 environment. 

### 21 I'm also here as a concerned mother and as a 

### 22 daughter. In 1987, my father was diagnosed with a 

### 23 brain tumor. And of the seven types of brain cancer 

### 24 that were delineated at that time, only two were 

### 25 thought to be genetic. The rest were thought to beAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 430 1 environmentally caused. 

### 2 When he died a year and a half later at the 

### 3 age of fifty-seven, I was left wondering what those 

### 4 environmental causes might have been, so I studied and 

### 5 clearly, as you are well aware, air pollution is one of 

### 6 those causes. 

### 7 Green Faith is an interfaith environmental 

### 8 organization with works -- which works with leaders 

### 9 from a range of religious communities; Christian, 

### 10 Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, and Buddhist. To educate and 

### 11 mobilize these communities for environmental 

### 12 leadership. Green Faith is a leader in the fast 

### 13 growing religious environmental movement with fellows 

### 14 like myself in over twenty states nationwide. 

### 15 I am here in Green Faith's behalf to express 

### 16 strong support for the proposed air toxics rule and on 

### 17 behalf of the over ten thousand people of faith 

### 18 nationwide who have signed Green Faith's petition in 

### 19 support of this rule. 

### 20 We will be delivering these signatures to 

### 21 Administrator Jackson's office in Washington within the 

### 22 next two weeks after hundreds of congregations 

### 23 nationwide have finished inviting their members to sign 

### 24 on with their support. 

### 25 Our support is based on two teachings sharedAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 431 1 by the world's great religions. These teachings; 

### 2 respect for creation and protection of society's most 

### 3 vulnerable communities represent a clear moral 

### 4 foundation for this rule. In recent years, religious 

### 5 group have begun to awaken to their responsibility to 

### 6 care for the earth and as part of this awakening, we 

### 7 have become increasingly aware of the disproportionate 

### 8 level of environmental degradation which falls on 

### 9 people of color and lower income communities. Our 

### 10 country's environmental justice communities. 

### 11 The interfaith community shares a commitment 

### 12 to a just and equitable society for all people. And 

### 13 this commitment extends and includes the environment. 

### 14It is wrong that residents of the EJ 

### 15 communities which are located closest to so many of the 

### 16 power plants which would be affected by the air toxics 

### 17 rule, it's unfair that they're exposed regularly to 

### 18 unhealthy and unsafe levels of air pollution, pollution 

### 19 which harms their health, shortens or ends their life 

### 20 and deprives them of the opportunity to reach their God 

### 21 given potential in life. 

### 22 For these reasons and many others, we support 

### 23 this new rule. It will clearly protect the health and 

### 24 the lives of hundreds of thousands of residents of 

### 25 these most vulnerable communities as well as our own.AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 432 1 We appreciate that the EPA recognizes this. 

### 2 Let me close on a more personal note. Six 

### 3 years ago, the Synagogue which I served on as a Board 

### 4 President, the Jewish Re-constructionist Congregation 

### 5 here in Evanston, Illinois, and we began the process of 

### 6 building our new spiritual home. We chose to put our 

### 7 beliefs about the importance of environmental 

### 8 stewardship and justice into action in a very concrete 

### 9 way. And I'm pleased and very proud to say that we 

### 10 became the first religious facility in the United 

### 11 States to earn LEED platinum status. 

### 12 Our Synagogue is very proud of this 

### 13 accomplishment, but we're also clear that our 

### 14 individual action alone, though important, is not 

### 15 enough to address the challenges on the scale which we 

### 16 all face. To meet these challenges, we need rules such 

### 17 as this new air toxics rule that will protect human 

### 18 health and the environment on a larger scale. 

### 19 I thank you again for the opportunity to 

### 20 testify in support of this new rule. It is now up to 

### 21 you and we hope it will be implemented without being 

### 22 weakened in any way. May the prayers of our hearts 

### 23 join the actions of our hands as we work together to 

### 24 bring a lasting sustainability into being. 

### 25 MR. DIDATO: Hi. I don't have a song to sing,AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 433 1 but I probably should have practiced I guess. 

### 2 I saw it online that someone was singing a 

### 3 folk song. It seemed pretty entertaining. 

### 4And well I'm just a Chicago resident and I 

### 5 think that toxics such as mercury or other types of -- 

### 6 you know, materials that are released by, by power 

### 7 plants such as coal or other type of power plants. 

### 8 They need to have standards, tough standards and I 

### 9 think the standards that are being proposed are in the 

### 10 right direction. 

### 11 Over various times there have been, you know, 

### 12 different complaints about like in Chicago a chocolate 

### 13 factory that's not too far from here and the EPA, you 

### 14 know, was willing to step in, but when it came to 

### 15 trying to control, you know, coal, it's been very 

### 16 gradual. 

### 17 The coal-fired power plants has been kind of 

### 18 gradual and nothing has really taken hold you know, in 

### 19 terms of holding them to some kind of a high standard. 

### 20 And people's lives and people's health are at risk, so 

### 21 I'm glad to see that EPA is trying to propose some 

### 22 tough standards against power plants that have been 

### 23 operating for years and years without such standards. 

### 24Thank you. 

### 25 MR. CLARK: Excuse me. Also, Chris if youAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 434 1 could say your name spell it. 

### 2 MR. DIDATO: Christopher, Chris Didato, 

### 3 D-I-D-A-T-O. 

### 4MR. CLARK: Thank you. Thank you both very 

### 5 much. I think our last speaker will be Bonnie Atkins. 

### 6 Is there anyone else that would like to speak? Well 

### 7 Bonnie, we said we'd stay here until the last speaker 

### 8 spoke, so you can go on all night if you'd like to. 

### 9 MS. ATKINS: Well thank you. I didn't plan 

### 10 on being the last, but I really appreciate you giving 

### 11 me this opportunity. 

### 12 I'm here tonight to speak not my words but on 

### 13 behalf of a friend of mine. I'm from Muscatine, Iowa, 

### 14 and Wanda Manseray [phonetic] is not here tonight and 

### 15 can't be here because she's not well enough to make the 

### 16 trip. 

### 17 Wanda has lived in Muscatine several years 

### 18 and she's a generational person that's been there and 

### 19 her family and this is her story. 

### 20 In our efforts with CLAM, which is Clean Air 

### 21 Muscatine, we met this woman in our first community 

### 22 meeting and here's how it goes. 

### 23 There is not a lot of fighting going on in my 

### 24 neighborhood. Mostly it's very quiet. You may hear a 

### 25 dog bark every once in a while and when I was younger,AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 435 1 there would be children everywhere; playing, riding 

### 2 bikes, running around, just having fun. 

### 3 Today, my neighborhood is almost silent. I 

### 4 live just off of Oregon Street which is right across 

### 5 the street from GPC, Grain Processing Company. 

### 6 Today, it's February 22, 2011. I went 

### 7 outside to my van. That's when I saw it. Like so many 

### 8 times that black smoke bellowing out of the pipes. A 

### 9 dark cloud is blowing the stinking smoke across my 

### 10 house. 

### 11 The smoke is coming from that factory which 

### 12 is located at the end of my street. It is hard to 

### 13 breathe. My lungs cry out for help. My eyes burn and 

### 14 say, rinse me with water. My heart is pounding and 

### 15 pumping blood faster while fighting the enemy attacking 

### 16 my body. 

### 17 Last night, the smell kept me from sleeping 

### 18 because it seeps through the windows and doors. The 

### 19 fumes move through each room of my house and I wake up 

### 20 lots of nights struggling to breathe. 

### 21 People say that GPC will clean it up. We'll 

### 22 clean up the air. I dare say many years have passed, 

### 23 yet I have not seen much change. The grain from the 

### 24 car, from the air covers my van and in the winter when 

### 25 it snows, I don't see pristine white snow. I seeAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 436 1 yellow snow and eventually black snow. 

### 2 The winter snows come and go. It falls 

### 3 whenever you're outside. I have to wear a mask over my 

### 4mouth if I go outside. 

### 5 My daughter left last Spring. She had 

### 6 breathing problems and her doctor asked her if she 

### 7 lived next to a factory. She said yes, GPC. 

### 8 Myself, I cough all the time, my nose runs, 

### 9 my doctor's trying to find out why. My dad died last 

### 10 April of stomach cancer. I found out that he had some 

### 11 kind of growth in his colon during the years that he 

### 12 worked at GPC. 

### 13 The elementary school has closed down. It's 

### 14 just three blocks north of my house. 

### 15 I work for the Muscatine Salvation Army in 

### 16 the summer programs, five years. 

### 17 We would take the children outside across the 

### 18 street to the park, but when the smoke moved in over 

### 19 the park, the children would cry because their throat 

### 20 and their eyes burned. You've heard that story 

### 21 already. 

### 22 They said it hurts and it smells bad. 

### 23 Sometimes there's a smell in that air that smells like 

### 24 the toilet. Will someone please clean up the air for 

### 25 children's sake and the people that are left?AGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

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### 437 1 Wanda has lived there for a number of years. 

### 2 This is a problem that's in Muscatine and I've been 

### 3 listening to family stories and I'm the one that talked 

### 4 about when you go and visit with people, they can 

### 5 point -- if you go to your neighborhood and you talk to 

### 6 people, they can say so and so lives over there, there, 

### 7 there this, there, that. 

### 8 When these folks in the bowl of Muscatine, 

### 9 which is next to GPC and just down the road from the 

### 10 coal burning plant, they point to their neighbors and 

### 11 say, he had lung cancer. She died of breast cancer. 

### 12 Their dad had -- can't breathe, can't come out of the 

### 13 house. They have nebulizers lined up like we have 

### 14 plants in the windows. 

### 15 That's the kind of life that we're living in 

### 16 Muscatine. I've lived there thirty-five years. I came 

### 17 in and saw a vibrant working community. We now have a 

### 18 community that is literally dying on the vine and GPC 

### 19 is one of the biggest polluters we've got and we're 

### 20 tied in with that group with two big coal burning 

### 21 plants. 

### 22 I urge you to please enforce the rules you 

### 23 have. I live by rules and everyone else in this room 

### 24 and in our country lives by rules and it's time to 

### 25 bring these people to justice. Make them follow theAGREN BLANDO COURT REPORTING & VIDEO INC

Denver (303) 296-0017 Boulder (303) 443-0433 Colorado Springs (719) 635-8328 Greeley (970) 356-3306 Court Reporting Videography Digital Reporting Transcription Scanning Copying

### 438 1 rules please. 

### 2 So thank you for your time and I speak for 

### 3 Wanda, I'm sure she would say thank you very much for 

### 4 hearing my story. So thank you. 

### 5 MR. CLARK: Thank you. Well again, I think 

### 6 from our standpoint, we just very much want to thank 

### 7 everybody. The folks from Muscatine that have come and 

### 8 people that have come from Michigan and Wisconsin and 

### 9 Champaign Urbana and across, across the region. Thank 

### 10 you all and further St. Louis and on. Thank you all 

### 11 very much. 

### 12 At this point, the hearing is adjourned. 

### 13 (Off the record.) 

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