July 29, 2014 

Environmental Protection Agency 

EPA Docket Center (EPA/DC) 

Maile ode 28221 T 

1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW 

Washington, DC 20460 

Re: Docket ID No. OAR-2013-0602 

Dear Administrator McCarthy: 

MARYLAND LEAGUE 

OF CONSERVATION VOTERS 

Ramon Palencia-Calvo 

Latino Outreach Program Director 

Maryland League of Conservation Voters 

86 Maryland A venue 

Annapolis, MD 21401 

My name is Ramon Palencia, and I am the Latino Outreach Program Director of the Maryland League of 

Conservation Voters, an organization that advocates for sound environmental laws and policies and 

monitors the environmental choices of its elected officials. 

I am writing on behalf of the undersigned organizations representing a large and diverse segment of 

Maryland's Latino population and across the country. These include faith-based, youth, immigrants and 

environmental groups, which are united in support of the Environmental Protection Agency's efforts to 

limit carbon pollution from existing power plants. Moreover, we would like to express the concerns of 

overburdened Latino communities and to offer specific recommendations on how the Environmental 

Protection Agency can better address these concerns. 

Climate change is one of the biggest public health threats of our time. Among Latinos, respiratory 

diseases are reaching epidemic proportions. Air pollution is one of the main causes, especially carbon 

dioxide and other pollutants released from power plants and other facilities, which also cause climate 

change. Since nearly 40% of Latino families live within 30 miles of a power plant, and many lack health 

insurance and access to basic health services, we are the first to feel the impacts and the last to receive 

help. For us, the Clean Power Plan is crucial to the health and safety of our communities. 

As parents and grandparents, we are concerned about the high rate of asthma in our community. One in 

ten Latino children suffer from asthma, each a real story of a family that might not be able to afford 

medicine or take their kids to the hospital when they are having an asthma attack, a story of kids that 

Maryland League of Conservation Voters • 86 Maryland Avenue • Annapolis, MD 21401 • 410-280-9855 

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cannot play soccer with the rest of their friends or just have a normal life and thrive. These stories are a 

narrative that plays out far too often in Latino communities. 

For Latinos and other minorities, the new standards have the potential to be real lifesavers and 

dramatically benefit the safety, wellbeing, and the health of our communities, by protecting our children, 

grandchildren and future generations from the harmful effects of carbon pollution. However, there are a 

number of concerns that need to be addressed to protect the welfare of our overburdened communities and 

increase their capacity to address environmental injustice and environmental health disparities. 

• We recommend that the EPA conducts a thorough environmental justice analysis of this 

proposed plan, and makes environmental justice analysis a required component of the State 

Implementation Plan. 

• We suggest significant outreach and engagement efforts with the most vulnerable 

communities and the inclusion and participation of community advocates and environmental 

justice leaders during the State Implementation Process. 

• We also recommend energy solutions that benefit communities. From housing incinerators to 

the exploration and extraction of natural gas, community concerns must be seriously taken 

into consideration. States need to make sure low income communities have fair access to 

renewable energy programs and renewable energy systems. 

So, representing a wide and diverse segment of the Latino population from Maryland and across the 

country, we urge you to stand firm on your commitment to protect the health of all Americans and 

support Executive Order 12898, making environmental justice an integral part of the Environmental 

Protection Agency's mission. 

Sincerely, 

CASA de Maryland 

GreenLatinos 

Latino Justice, Peace and the Integrity of 

Creation ( JP I C) Committee of St. Camillus 

Catholic Church, Silver Spring, MD. 

Maryland League of Conservation VotersLatino Outreach Program 

Maryland Multicultural Youth Center 

Maryland League of Conservation Voters • 86 Maryland Avenue • Annapolis, MD 21401 • 410-280-9855