Testimony submitted to: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA-HQ-OAR-2013-0602) In support of U.S. EPA's Clean Power Rule Submitted by David J. White, National Wildlife Federation July 29, 2014 Thank you forthis.opportunity

### to submittestimony in support of EPA's proposed Clean Power Rule. My name is pavidWhite, ansJ I am the Director ofthe Gulf of Mexico Restoration Campaign forthe Na1ional Wildlife Federation. I live in St Petersburg, Florida, but my work covers the entire Gulf Coast. The goal ofthe Gulf Campaign is to ensure the recovery offish and wildlife populations and the communities ofthe entire Gulf Coast following the BP Oil Spill disaster in April 2010.

As devastating as the oil spill was, climate change and ocean acidification from carbon pollution are still the largest threats facing our coastal fish and wildlife resources, marine ecosystems, and coastal communities. Ifwe fail to dramatically reduce carbon pollution, accelerating climate change and ocean acidification could eventually undermine all ofour restoration efforts, waste literallytens ofbillions in restoration dollars, escalate degradation of important coastal ecosystems, and increase threats to entire coastal communities.

About 10 million people live alongthe GulfCoast. These communities face increasing challenges from annual natural disasters such as hurricanes and severe coastal flooding, and from longterm hazards such as storm-induced erosion, land subsidence and sea-level rise. In justthe past 10years, eight ofthe costliest hurricanes in American history caused an estimated $225 billion in damages to GulfStates. Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005 caused the loss of217 square miles ofLouisiana's coastal wetlands, destroying important nesting, wintering and foraging areas for countless birds, including ducks and otherwaterfowl, wading birds, and migrating songbirds.

The estuaries and coastal systems ofthe Gulf Coast-such as the Mississippi River Delta, Mobile Bay, Galveston Bay, Tampa Bay, and the Mississippi Sound -provide critical nursery habitat for 80-95% ofthe commercial and recreational fish species in the Gulf, and support nationally importantoyster and shrimp industries. Many ofthese areas have been recognized as estuaries ofnational significance by EPA's National Estuary Program, and theyare particularlyvulnerable to climate change.

From Florida toTexas, increasing erosion ofcoastal barrier islands undermines storm protection for coastal communities, degrades beaches that supportthe local tourism economy, and affects numerous species like Kemp's Ridley and loggerhead sea turtles. Just about all wildlife species that occur alongthe coast are at increasing risk from habitat loss from rising sea levels associated with climate change. While these coastal habitats might naturally move inland as sea levels rise, the current rate ofincrease is likely to be too fast forthese natural processes to occur. Efforts to resist increasing coastal erosion by buildingsea walls and other "hard"infrastructure will prevent inland migration ofcoastal habitats and lead to even more loss of coastal wetlands.

Coral reefs are amongthe most biologically important ecosystems in the Gulf, supporting high levels ofbiodiversity, and providing significant economicvalue through tourism and fishery habitat. Oyster and coral reefs in the Gulfprovide many human services, including reducing shoreline erosion and storm surge, creating habitatfor many otherspecies, and improving water quality byfiltering nutrients and sediments.

These habitats have declined as a result of increased watertemperature, and increasingocean acidityfrom carbon pollution. Ocean surface waters have become 30% more acidic as they absorb large amounts ofatmospheric carbon, adversely affecting shell-building organisms like corals, krill, oysters, clams, and crabs and threateningthe entire marine food chain. Clearly, our changing climate is already alteringthe physical, chemical and biological characteristics ofour oceans, coasts and adjacent watersheds. Increasingair and water temperatures, changing precipitation patterns, rising sea level, and ocean acidification will increasinglyconfound effortsto restore or sustain coastal ecosystems. Actions taken nowto significantly reduce carbon pollution will reduce future impacts from storms and sea-level rise, significantly decreasingthe expense of response and recovery. We owe ittofuture generations to make these necessary reductions in carbon pollution now.
Thank you forthis opportunityto express ourstrongsupport for EPA's historic action to combat climate change by setting limits on carbon pollution from existing power plants.
David J. White, Esq. Director, GulfofMexico Restoration Campaign National Wildlife Federation 1700 FairwayAvenue South, Suite 100 St Petersburg, Fl 33712 (727) 362-6345 (office) (727) 365-9794 (cell) whited@nwf.org