PA Clean Power Climate Plan Comments: American Lung Association-PA

Listening sessions held by the Department of Environmental Protection around the state are gathering comments on EPA’s Clean Power Climate Plan to help Pennsylvania develop a plan for meeting those requirements.

Kevin Stewart, Director of Environmental Health, American Lung Association-PA, presented these comments at the October 5 session--

Good afternoon.  I thank the panel for your work here today.

I am Kevin Stewart and I serve as Director of Environmental Health for the American Lung Association in Pennsylvania.  I represent not only over one-and-a-half million people in the Commonwealth who suffer from chronic lung disease, but also the millions more who desire to breathe clean air and so protect their good health.

The American Lung Association in Pennsylvania has championed the Environmental Protection Agency’s efforts to set strong carbon pollution standards for new and existing power plants, and applauds Gov. Wolf’s commitment to comply with the Clean Power Plan.

Pennsylvania’s prompt and robust response to reduce carbon pollution from power plants will help protect public health and provide much-needed state leadership in combatting climate change.

In response to the Department’s questions for the state plan, the American Lung Association in Pennsylvania emphasizes the following:

-- Health Risks of Climate Change: The changing climate threatens the health of Americans alive now and in future generations.  Climate change is already affecting the health of people in Pennsylvania.  We urge the Commonwealth to act rapidly with real, enforced changes that can protect the health of all Pennsylvania residents, changes that are measured and verified.

The risks we face are multiple and profound.  For one example, ground-level ozone is likely to be worse in Pennsylvania as a result of climate change.  Ozone is a serious respiratory irritant that can lead to asthma attacks, hospital admissions, and premature death.

And over the last few years, we’ve seen growing evidence that these risks imperil the lives and health of millions, and that the window in which to act to reduce those threats is shorter than was once believed.

-- Vulnerable, Over-burdened and Environmental Justice Communities: Many communities of color and low income face higher risks from air pollution and climate change.  Polluting power plants are often located near where many people in these communities live and work.

And for many reasons, people in such at-risk communities also face a greater burden of lung disease, making them even more vulnerable to these pollutants.

The American Lung Association supports regular, thorough assessments of local impacts from sources of dangerous air pollutants, including power plants.  Moreover, we support the aggressive and preferential targeting of these sources for cleanup.

As the Department has begun to do, Pennsylvania officials should directly reach out to citizens and leaders in disproportionately vulnerable communities, including those with high rates of asthma and other lung diseases, to engage them in the process of developing the state’s plan.

For example, one such leader is Dr. Tyra Bryant-Stephens, a physician at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and founder of the Community Asthma Prevention Program.  Her research has found that one out of four children in the poorest neighborhoods in West and North Philadelphia has been diagnosed with asthma-- a rate of 25 percent compared with the nationwide average rate of 9 percent.

-- Participation in Trading: The American Lung Association is concerned that carbon trading risks leaving parts of Pennsylvania continuing to bear the burden for others.  By contrast, actions to clean up each power plant not only reduce the carbon emissions; they reduce other harmful emissions including toxic air pollutants that harm those living closest to the plants.

Therefore, we recommend that Pennsylvania take steps to reduce carbon emissions from all sources rather than emissions trading, and require enforceable pollution reduction obligations for all power plants.

-- Renewable Energy: The American Lung Association Finds the term “renewable energy” to be overly broad for policymaking.  Depending on the user, it can encompass a wide range of sources including wood, biomass, waste products, hydroelectric, wind, solar and geothermal.

Not all of these sources produce clean and healthful energy, with low levels of emissions.  Certain energy sources labeled “renewable” by some can actually produce significant and dangerous air emissions-- nor are they close to being carbon-neutral, as purported.

For that reason, the American Lung Association supports non-combustion energy choices for renewable energy, including solar and wind, and opposes the use of biomass combustion.

-- Clean Energy Incentive Program: Finally, the American Lung Association strongly encourages the Commonwealth to participate in the Clean Energy Incentive Program.  This program offers us real opportunities to help improve the lives and health of Pennsylvanians and to accrue benefits quickly from cleaner energy.  This includes our support of its use for demand-side energy efficiency programs implemented in low-income communities.

A complete copy of Stewart’s comments is available online.

The next listening sessions will be held October 22 in Lehigh County, October 28 in Schuylkill County, October 29 in Erie, October 30 in Clarion and Clearfield counties and November 4 in Lycoming County.

For more information, visit DEP’s Climate Change webpage.  Comments on the Clean Power Plan can be submitted online.  Click Here to see comments submitted by others so far.