July 28, 2014 

Gina McCarthy 

Environmental Protection Agency 

Office of the Administrator 1101A 

1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. 

Washington, DC 20460 

RE: Docket No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2013-0602 

Dear Administrator McCarthy: 

I am writing to support the proposed carbon pollution rules. Carbon pollution is a threat 

to the natural environment and Americans' health and safety. This is because rising 

levels of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere are heating the 

planet and changing the climate in dangerous ways. These dangers include changes in 

weather and precipitation patterns that result in flooding, drought, and extreme weather; 

changes in the ranges of plants, insects, and animals that result in ecological disruptions, 

crop loss, and loss of natural resources; rising seas; and ocean acidification. 

In Iowa, for example, we have now suffered 20 major Presidential disaster declarations 

just since March, 2007. Last month, June 29-30, Cedar Rapids suffered another flash 

flood and severe storm which has not yet been declared a Presidential disaster, but one 

teenager was killed, infrastructure was damaged, houses were ruined, and hundreds of 

vehicles were destroyed. Over the last 25 years, our state has suffered over $20 billion in 

damage from floods alone. In 2008, Cedar Rapids suffered an unprecedented flood from 

the Cedar River (more than 10 feet higher than any previous flood). It was the most 

costly flood in state history at $5 billion for a city of 125,000, or $40,000 of damage per 

resident. These types of disasters cause real costs and real consequences for real people, 

including both emotional heartache and economic hardship. 

In addition to flooding and storms, Iowa also faced significant losses from drought in 

2012, and Iowans continue to face ongoing losses from the dramatic decline of game 

species like pheasants and the increasing ecological disruptions of invasive pests. But 

these losses are just the start of an era of climate disasters, unless we take action. 

In an open letter to the United States Senate on October 21, 2009, America's leading 

scientists warned us that "the severity of climate change impacts is expected to increase 

substantially in the coming decades." The carbon pollution rules are an essential step to 

begin to limit the future costs of climate-related disasters. 

No one set out to cause the climate problem, but all Americans have the responsibility to 

recognize it and do our part to help stop it. Individual Americans cannot do it alone. We 

urgently need our government to adopt carbon pollution rules to help slow down and 

eventually stop and reverse the buildup of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. 
Gina McCarthy 

July 28, 2014 

Page 2 

The proposed rules give states significant flexibility in how to meet the carbon pollution 

standards. That makes sense because different solutions will work best in different states. 

What is clear is that many climate solutions — such as energy conservation, energy 

efficiency, demand management, cogeneration, green buildings, wind, solar, biogas, and 

other renewable energy sources — work for our economy by creating jobs and saving 

money on fossil fuels. These climate solutions also work for our health by reducing 

pollution. These solutions are already at work in Iowa and across America. 

Some people are concerned that the carbon pollution rules do no go far enough or that the 

carbon pollution rules, by themselves, will not be effective. These concerns fail to 

recognize that the carbon pollution rules are not the only action Americans are taking to 

fight climate change. For the fight against climate change to be effective, carbon 

pollution rules are absolutely necessary, but they are only one of thousands of actions 

Americans can take — individually and as a country — to safeguard our people and 

property from the threat of climate change and to achieve long-term sustainability. 

It is time for climate action. It is time to adopt the carbon pollution rules. 

Sincerely, 

Rob Hogg 

State Senator 

District 33 

cc: Environmental Protection Agency 

EPA Docket Center (EPA/DC) 

Mailcode 28221T 

Attention Docket ID No. OAR-2013-0602 

1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. 

Washington, DC 20460 

Senator Rob Hogg 

2750 Otis Road SE 

Cedar Rapids, IA 52403 

(319) 247-0223 (home) 

rob.hogg@legis.iowa.gov