### Testimony on EPA's Proposed Rule for "Standards of Performance for Greenhouse Gas Emissions for New Stationary Sources: Electric Utility Generating Units" Docket Number EPA-HQ-OAR-2011-o66o; FRL-9654-7 Presented by Robert Collier Research Analyst Environmental Def e n se Fund May 24, 2012 

### Public Hearing Chicago, IL Thank you for the oppmtunity to testify tod ay. My name is Rob ert Collier and I am h e re on behalf of Environmental D e fense Fund (EDF), a non-parti san e nvironmental organization with more than 750,000 members n a tionwide and 37,000 members in Illinois. EDF i s dedicated to working t oward innovative cost-effective so luti ons to environmental problems , building on a foundation of so und science, ec onomics, and l aw. Th e proposed s tandards are an important s tep towards addressing the massive quantities of climate destabili zi ng pollution emitted from U.S. power plants, one of the largest sources of greenhouse gases (GHG) in the world. By halving the lifetime carbon emissions from new coa lfired power plants relative to a traditional coal plant, th ese historic clean air standards will provide long overdue and urgently needed pro t ections for our health and climate while strengthening our Made in th e U.SA. clean ene r gy eco nomy . 

### Urgency of action: human health and climate impacts Climate c h ange pres e nts a cl ear threat to th e U.S. and to the world. Th e United States Global Change Re search Program, started in 1989 as a Presidential initiative under George H.W. Bu s h, h as determined that if carbon pollution is not reduced, it is likely that American communities will e xperi e nce increas ingly severe climat e impacts. Since the 1980s , Midwesterners have b ee n experienc in g intens e h e at waves mor e frequently than any other time except the Dust Bowl era.i Data from the insurance industry reveals that in 2011 American s saw 12 climate disasters cau sing at least a billion dollars of damage each, a record number of such events (see appended graphic). Among thes e disasters we r e two major floods in the Upper Midw es t and the M i ssiss ippi River and a blizz ard that paral yze d the region and brought Chicago to a standsti ll. ii Although any particular individual extreme weather event cannot be directly connected to climate change, c h anges in frequenc y and intensity ca n be connected-and these are pre cisely the type of impacts projected to affect American co mmunities with increasing frequency and severity as climate-d es tabili z ing emissions continue to accumulate in the atmosphere. Unless · our country takes aggressive action to reduce GHG emissions, climate impacts are projected to worsen. Severe heat waves such as the unprecedented 1995 event in Chicago could happen as often as eve ry other year. iii Furthermore , warmer temp e ratures will also lead to rising leve l s of dangerous smog pollution , which is known to cause hei ghtened risk of re s piratory infections , more asthma attacks, and more premature deaths.Delay is not an option In the interest of the health and prosperity of our citizens, ecosystems, and economies, we s impl y cannot afford addition a l delay. Each year U.S. power plants discharge over 2.3 billion tons of carbon dioxide pollution, an amount th at exceeds total carbon emi ss ion s of indu str iali zed n a ti ons such as Russia , Japan, and Germany (see g raphi c below). Since power plant infrastructure is extraordinarily long -liv ed-

- th e average r etirem e nt age of a coal plant i s 

## so years -- building just one in efficien t , emission-intensive plant t oday l ocks u s into milli o n s of tons of future climate pollution

. 

### U.S. Power Generation GHG Emissions Surpass Emissions from Most Countries ( Mill i on Metric Tons C02 Equivalent)

Soon»: UNFCCC • Slxlll**~-~~~,._.** OllfiiiiiiiiiiiOnll commu!Xallonl**tam~** nat lnCIUcMd**In~** liD IIW carw.Gan , -**~ are.~~~ou**  .. O..trw.11Dfy c... lor IIW period 111110-2008**(r.-.ct~ng ~**  1**~) .** 
Midwestern states and the City of Chicago have led the way During th e past several years, s t ates across th e n atio n h ave adopted GHG e mi ssio n standards for new fossil fuel fired pow er plants that have l aid th e gro undwork for a stro ng n a tional s tand ard. Right h e re in th e Midwest , com muniti es are working together t o low er carbon pollution and slow the serio u s imp acts of a chang in g climate. For examp le, in 2007 Minnesota e n acted the Next Generation En e rgy Act, which req uir es increases in power sect or greenhouse gas emiss io n s fro m any new l arge coal-fired power plants built in Minneso ta or the import of e lectricity from s u ch a facility l ocated o ut- of-s t at e to be offse t by eq ui va l ent emiss i on reductions. The City of C hi cago is takin g imm ed iate actio n b o th t o mitigate additional impacts and adapt to c

hang es already underway. With the Climate Action Plan l a unched in 2008 , th e City set o n a path to r eexam in e th e exis tin g fl eet of coal-fired power plants th ro u gh out th e s tate , promote en e r gy efficiency and renewab l e so urces of energy, an d adapt to clim at e changes already set in motion by reduci n g ozo n e -forming air pollution, managing the heat-island effect, and preparing the city for more inte n se beat waves. iv , vShifting market dynamics are influencing utility sector business decisions Th ese s tand ards are align e d with market for ces th at are alrea dy dri vi n g utilities t o d evel op cleane r t echn o logies

. An April 2 012 W o rld R eso urces In stitute r epo rt explains th a t " lowe r natural gas pri ces, d e clinin g gr o wth in el e ctricity d e mand, ris in g coal p ri ces, a nd in c r ease d cost

c ompeti ti ve n ess of re n e w abl es" ar e s h a ping bu sin ess d eci s ion s in th e uti li ty sect or .vi Lead e r s within th e utili ty indu s t ry r ec o g ni ze th e imp o rtan ce and achi evab ility of EP A's p ro p osed s t a nd ard s. F o r i n st an ce , Ral ph I zzo, C EO of Public S e rvi ce Ent e rp r is e G ro up , i ss u e d th e f oll o wi ng s t a t ement imm e di at e ly after EPA r eleased th e p r o p osal:

" Th e Age n c y '

s a c ti o n es tablis h es a lo gi cal a n d m o d es t stan dard for n ew electri c p owe r plant s a nd pr ov id es th e indu s try w ith mu ch n ee ded r eg ulato ry ce rt a in ty
. Th e EPA p ro v id es afram e w o rkf o r th e indu s try to co nfr o nt th is p r o ble m in a cos t effec ti ve mann e r . "uii Diverse voices of support In a d diti o n t o th e s co r es of c iti ze n s t es ti fyi n g t o d ay, ove r 1. 2 milli o n Ame ri cans h ave spok e n o ut b y s ubmitting writt e n co mme nts in s u p p ort o f E PA 's hi storic p r opose d h eal th protectio n s. Gr o up s that rep r ese nt milli o n s of Am erican s fr o m all walks of li f e h ave also r elease d s tro n g s upp o rti ve s t at e m e n ts:



### • " Catholics United we lco m es th e E PA ' s g r ee nho use gas rule. . .Caref o r c r e atio n is a ce ntral moral co n ce rn for many peo pl e offa ith .''uiii

• BlueGreen Alliance: " To day ' s ru le e n sures th a t new power p l ants w ill be b uilt clea n er a nd m o re effic i e nt , c r ea tin g jo b s a n d r edu c ing greenhouse gas emiss ions a n d e n s urin g th a t th e natio n is co m pe titive in th e 2 1 s t ce n tur y economy . 'u

•**~s** th e nation 's 

### largest online 

### Latino advocacy group , Presente is ve ry plea se d that EPA ha s ann o un ced th ese n ew s tanda rds t o pro tec t o ur h ea lth by lim itin g carb o n p o lluti on that ca us es globa l w arming

... Th is is a critica l iss u e for La tin o communities w h o will fee l th e imp acts of climate c h ange close l y and d ir ectl y w h e th e r fro m wo r se n i n g s m og, h arsh er s umm e rs, or wo r sen i ng droug h t. ''x

• " T

h e 

### A m e rican Public Health Association we lco m es a new s tan da rd fo r n ew powe r p lant s re l ea sed t oday by th e U.S. E n v ir o nm e n ta l Protec tio n Age n c y t h a t w ill s tre ng th e n th e C lean A ir Ac t, r e du ce carbo n po lluti o n a n d p r o tec t p ublic h ea lth

. "xi New clean air standards are a critical step 

### in the right direction U n de r E P A's s t and ards the n a ti o n 's e n e r gy n ee d s can be met thro u gh a diverse, efficien t mix of powe r so urces , i ncludin g r e n ew abl e e n e r gy, efficie nt n atur al gas power plants, co mbin e d h eat a nd p ower, an d improvem e n ts in th e e ffici e n cy o f o u r e n e rgy u se . Th e s t a nd ards also pr ovi d e a p ath way fo r th e devel op m e n t of car b o n capture and se qu es trati o n for co al p l an t s. The New Sour ce P erf o rm an ce St and ard s f o r ca rb o n p o lluti o n will provid e power co mp ani es wi th r eg ul a t ory ce rtainty f or prude nt , lon g- t e rm inves tm e nts in cl e an e r , h o m egr o wn e n e r gy th at p uts Ame ri can s t o w or k. Th e t e chn ol ogy we n eed i s ava il a bl e t o d ay. W o rkin g t ogeth e r , Am e ri ca c an build th e e n ergy ge n e r ation infr as tru c ture w e n ee d t o p r o t ec t our h eal th an d s trengthe n o ur econo my.12
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# (i) B ill ion Dollar Weather/Cl i mate Disasters 1980- 

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80 8 1 828384 85 8687 88 8990919293 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 0304 05 06 07 080910 1 1 Y

ears (1980 - Nov
. 2011)**NCDC;"'-'Ya..~(PCS)** Source: NOAA, http: //www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2on/2o111207 novusstats.html

i U.S. G l oba l Change Research Program , Global C l imate Change Imp acts in the Unit e d State s, Regional C

lim ate Impacts: Midwest (2009) , avai l able at htto :// www.globalchange.gov/images /cir/ D<lUmjdw est. pdf

. ii Press release , In s ur ance Inform at

io n In s titut e , " P r iv a t e- S ector In s ure rs To Pay More Than $32 Billion In C l aims Fro m Natural Di sas t ers In 2011 ," D ecem b e r 30, 2011, available at http :// www . iii.org / press releases/priyate-sector-jnsurers-to

- pay-more-than-32-bi l l io n-in-claim s -fromnatural-di sas t e r s -in -2011- .html

. i ii U.S. Global Change Research Program, Global C lim a t e C han ge Impa cts in th e United State s, Regional Climate Impa cts: Midwest (2009) , available at http:/ / www . globalchange.gov/images/cir/D<lflmjdwest.pdf

. i v Chicago Climate Action Plan , Clean & Renewab l e Energy Sources , avai lable at http :// www . c h icagoclimateaction

. org/fi l ebin/pdfjfinalreport/CleanRenewableEnergy.pdf.

v Chicago Climate A c tion Plan , Adaptation, available at http :// www.chicagoclimat ea ction

. org/filebin/D<lf}finalrei)Ort/Adaptation.wf. vi James Br ad bury , World R eso urces In sti tut e, " U.S. Electricity Markets Incr eas in g l y Favor Alternatives to Coal ," April 20 1 2, available at http ://wf.wri.org/factsheets/factsheet us electricity markets favor alternatives to coal.pdf. VI i Press rel ease, Public Service Enterprise Group , "Stat e ment by PSEG Chairman a nd CEO R a lph I zzo o n th e EPA 's Proposed Carbon Pollution Standards," March 27, 2012, ava ilable at http :// pseg.com / info/media/newsreleases/20I 2/2 012-03- 27.is p. vi ii Press release , Catho li cs United , "Ca th o li cs United Applauds Greenhouse Gas H e alth Standard, ., March 27 , 2012 , available athttp://www.catholics-unjted.org/content/press-release-catholics-united-applauds-**~eenhouse-gas-health-standards .** ix Pre ss release , BlueGreen Allianc e, " Bl u e Green Alli a n ce Applau d s New C l ean Air Protecti o n s, " March 28, 2012 , avai l able at http :**// www.b** **uegree lli** **ance.on~ ews/latest/bga** **applauds new** **clean air**  p r otections

. x Press r el ease, Voces V e rd es, " Latinos Can ' Br eat h e Eas i e r ' Than ks t o EPA's Proposed Carbon P oll uti on Standa r d ," Marc h 27, 2012, availab le at**http: //** **www vocesyerdes.o~** **FINAL** FINAL VOCES 3-26- 12 Carbon Rul e Release

. pdf. xi Pr ess re l ease, America n P u b li c H e alth Assoc iat io n , " Am e r i ca

n Publ ic H ealth Associa tio n cheers new clean air s ta n dar d for powe r p l an t s, " Marc h 27, 2012, avai l ab l e a t http : //www . ap h a . org / abo u t / n ews / pressrel eases / 20 1 2/epa+green h ouse+gas+rul es .htm.