Tips for Your Testimony/Comments on Protecting the Clean Power Plan

Tips for your Testimony/Comments on Protecting the Clean Power Plan

Time Limit for testimony is 3 Minutes:(no limit on length of written comments)
Remember this formula: 1 minute = 150 words
Your 3 minute comments should not exceed 450 words; time yourself!
Write your comments down and practice them, so you are familiar with what you want to say.
Bring Two Copies of your Written Testimony:
Please bring TWO hard copies of your testimony to submit to the official US EPA record. Your comments can be typed or handwritten. You may also submit them online; see below.
Include your name, city and state of residence:
You may choose to include contact information in your testimony, but it will become a public document available online.

Make it personal:
Use your comments to add the human face to the need for the Clean Power Plan.
Express your personal concernsabout your communityor the health risks to you and your family/friendsfrom carbon pollution or climate change.
Have you been personally affected by the impacts of pollution from dirty power plants?
Do you live coal power plant or coal mining operation that emits a lot of pollution?
Do you or a loved-one suffer from asthma attacks or other related health issues?
Are you a public health professional who serves people suffering from pollution?
You can bring photos or other visuals to the hearing to help you tell your story.
Some examples of great visuals from past hearings include:
Pictures of a place threatened by air pollution or family portraits.
Your children to the podium, or bringing them in a stroller or car seat.
Asthma inhalers, healthcare bills, and medication for air-pollution related illnesses

Include a few key facts:
Pick one or two Sierra Club sample talking points on the importance of the Clean Power Plan to frame your personal comments, or use facts relevant to this area.
Don’t worry about highly technical information or legal arguments.

To submit a written comment of any length online:

Write your comment--It’s best to type in a word processor beforehand, then copy and paste.
Go to: https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=EPA-HQ-OAR-2017-0355-0002
Select the blue “Comment Now!” button in the top right of the page.
On the new page, enter your comment and press “Continue.” Follow prompts to complete the process.
The deadline for submitting written comment is not until April 26 but don't forget!

Attending the EPA Listening Session: Building, Security & Parking

Wednesday, February 21, 2018, 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM at the U.S. Department of Agriculture Beacon Complex, 6501 Beacon Drive, Kansas City, MO.

Building and security information:

The Beacon Complex will be available for entry beginning at 9:00 AM.Visitors should enter and exit through the South entrance (main lobby) only. Visitors should expect airport style ID verification and screening upon entering the facility.

Visitors will need to bring a CURRENT State/Federal approved government identification card. An expired ID will result in not being allowed to enter the building. No backpacks will be allowed into thebuilding. Purses will be allowed. Persons and packages are subject to administrative inspection/screening in accordance with General Services Administration (GSA) and Federal Protective Service (FPS) policies.

Upon successful completion of security screening, visitors will receive a temporary visitor badge that must be displayed above the waistline at all times while in the facility. Visitors will be escorted by EPA staff while in the building.

Prohibited Items:

No signs greater than 8.5 x 11 will be allowed in the building. Demonstrations will not be allowed on federal property for security reasons. Demonstrations are allowed on the public sidewalk in front of the facility. Demonstrators are NOT allowed to protest on Federal Property (federal property starts at the grass) or hamper vehicular traffic at the vehicle gates.

No weapons, alcohol or narcotics will be allowed in vehicles and/or in the building. This includes firearms (BB Guns and/or Paint Ball Guns), Knives, Tasers, Pepper Spray, Gerber/Leatherman, Box Cutters, etc.

Cameras are ONLY allowed in the listening session rooms, public sidewalk, and public street. Anyone taking pictures or perceived to be taking pictures elsewhere will be asked to leave the event. There will be a zero tolerance for threats, verbal abuse, or harassment.

Parking:

Visitors should only use the West "C" Gate entrance, identified with orange traffic cones. Vehicles will park in a designated parking area. All vehicles are subject to administrative inspection/screening in accordance with GSA and FPS policies. Event parking will begin at 9 AM and parking will only be provided to those attending and/or speaking at the listening session. Parking will not be available for those not entering the building.

Stop by the Sierra Club “Green Room” at Plumbers Local 8 Union Hall

5950 Manchester Trafficway, Kansas City, MO 64130 (~ 2 mi. from the USDA Building)

Bus transportation available to the hearing. Eat lunch, meet/park/carpool, share talking points, contribute to photo petitions, chat with like-minded folks, gather before heading over to testify, get buttons/ stickers, etc.

Suggestions for your Testimony

Outline for your public comment:

● Introduction: State name, city/state of residence, note that you are testifying as a private citizen.

● Statement of Support for the CPP – Your personal reason for supporting the CPP: your concerns about the health hazards posed by coal fired power plants, acting on climate change to protect the health and safety of your children, needing clean energy jobs in the state to propel the economy, etc.

● Conclusion: Reiterate your position and thank the panel for the opportunity to testify.

Talking Points in Support of the CPP: (reword & include a couple to support your statement)

The Clean Power Plan was created after an unprecedented engagement process that included outreach to stakeholders across the spectrum--utilities, public health advocates, communities of color, labor unions, and the coal industry, as well as 4.3 million comments EPA received on the proposed CPP. EPA’s proposed repeal is not following the same process.
Majorities of every state in the nation support the Clean Power Plan because it will save lives by keeping dangerous pollution out of our air and our water, helping curb the climate crisis, and encouraging cleaner and healthier economic options to support families affected by the transition away from coal and fossil fuels.
We’re here because there is a better way forward. EPA now claims that the Clean Power Plan would kill jobs. We don’t have to choose between healthy communities and good jobs -- the Clean Power Plan creates a path for both.
We’re here because we support the Clean Power Plan and we support workers. We demand healthy communities and a healthy economy, where workers receive the good-paying, family sustaining clean energy jobs that are growing all over the country, and their livelihoods are protected in the meantime. There is no reason those jobs can’t grow right here ; the Clean Power Plan offers a path to do just that.
As we move to cleaner and healthier sources of energy, we must protect the livelihoods of the workers and communities who have powered our country for over a century. The Clean Power Plan recognizes this reality. In fact, it urges states to take employment impacts seriously and to both invest in the livelihoods of workers and coal-producing communities and ensure that they benefit from the job and economic opportunities expected from the implementation of the rule.
The Clean Power Plan is built on a strong legal foundation and it enforces critical parts of the Clean Air Act. It is consistent with the law and complies with court precedent. And, it is flexible and achievable, as it was shaped by unprecedented outreach and public engagement.
Repealing the Clean Power Plan without any replacement, or replacing it with a dramatically weakened standard would expose millions of Americans to more dangerous pollutants and remove the orderly and flexible national framework for implementation of carbon pollution reductions and the transition to clean energy that the Clean Power Plan facilitates.
It is our hope that the hearing will provide a safe place where all viewpoints can be heard, not just those Pruitt wants to hear as he tries to end this life-saving standard.
Americans want safe, clean, family-sustaining jobs and healthy communities, contrary to what Pruitt and his corporate polluter accomplices are trying to prove.

By gutting the Clean Power Plan, the Trump Administration is throwing out an affordable, flexible life-saving plan to cut carbon pollution in an effort to support industry to continue polluting our air and climate without meaningful limits while our families pay the price.
The Clean Power Plan protects the health of our families and communities by curbing dangerous, climate-disrupting carbon pollution that is exacerbating extreme weather events, as well as reducing other harmful pollutants that contribute to dangerous smog and soot, causing heart attacks, respiratory illnesses, and even premature deaths.
Trump’s ignorance of the climate crisis now has thousands of faces because he’s throwing out a plan that would prevent 3,600 premature deaths and 90,000 asthma attacks every year by 2030.
He’s not just ignoring the deadly cost of the climate crisis to our communities in the form of extreme storms like Harvey, Irma, and Maria -- he’s ignoring the clean energy economy that is rapidly creating jobs across the country.
The coal industry will continue to decline and we will continue to organize and redouble our efforts to continue moving away from fossil fuels and achieve a clean energy economy.
Grassroots advocates have helped push coal to its lowest level in history by retiring more than 250 plants nationwide, and cities across the country are committing to 100 percent clean energy.
No matter who is in the White House or in the EPA Administrator’s office, the EPA is legally required to limit dangerous carbon pollution, and the Clean Power Plan is a flexible, affordable way to do that.
In fact, many states are already on track to meet or exceed their 2030 emissions goals years ahead of schedule. But without the Clean Power Plan, the country will lack a nationwide strategy to guide this transition. Residents of states with high potential for production of renewable energy will miss out on the environmental and economic benefits of a fair and just clean energy economy.

Clean Power Plan Benefits

The EPA has estimated that, by 2030, the Clean Power Plan would prevent 90,000 asthma attacks and up to 3,600 premature deaths annually. It will provide $20 billion of annual climate benefits and between $14 billion to $34 billion of annual health benefits by 2030. These benefits far outweigh the estimated annual costs of the plan, which are only $7.3 billion to $8.8 billion in 2030.
EPA projects that in 2030, when the plan is fully implemented, electricity bills would be roughly 8 percent lower than they would been without the actions in state plans. That would save Americans about $8 on an average monthly residential electricity bill.

Clean Energy and Climate Action are Moving Forward Despite Trump

Trump’s attack ignores not only the reality of the climate crisis, but also the reality that the clean energy economy is rapidly growing in the Midwest, creating jobs and safeguarding our air and water.

Cities nationwide have set a goal of achieving 100 percent clean energy by 2030, and states like Massachusetts and California are considering legislation to do the same.

The clean energy economy is booming. Right now, the solar sector totals over a quarter million jobs, and is adding workers at a rate nearly 17 times fasterthan the overall economy.

The coal industry will continue to decline. Over the past six years, the Sierra Club and our coalition partners have secured the retirement of more than 250 U.S. coal-fired power plants, driving coal use down to its lowest level in history. We will redouble our efforts to achieve a clean energy economy, as we fight for the investments and family-sustaining jobs needed to protect the livelihoods of coal workers and communities.

Many states have made plans and are on track to meet and even exceed the Clean Power Plan’s 2030 emissions targets years ahead of schedule, and clean energy growth nationwide will continue.

The Clean Power Plan is Still Very Important and its Loss Will Be Felt

In the long-run, the U.S. will be far better off with a well-designed plan to guide its transition to clean energy, particularly for states which continue to promote the burning of fossil fuels.
Trump’s aggressive action to benefit the fossil fuel industry means residents of heavily polluted states will suffer from dirtier air while missing out on many of the benefits of a fair and just clean energy economy the Clean Power Plan would help create.

The Clean Power Plan advances environmental and economic justice by encouraging states to prepare an environmental justice analysis and to direct the benefits of clean energy to low income communities, communities of color, and displaced fossil fuel workers. It also provides guidance on how to make sure the jobs that are created provide safe, family sustaining livelihoods. Without the Clean Power Plan, these goals are much less likely to be incorporated into state government and utility planning in states that favor the burning of fossil fuels.

The Legal Foundation of the Clean Power Plan

The Clean Power Plan is built on a strong legal foundation. It is consistent with the law and complies with court precedent. The Clean Power Plan is achievable, and it was shaped by unprecedented outreach and public engagement.

The Clean Power Plan has a solid legal foundation in the Clean Air Act. On three separate occasions, the U.S. Supreme Court has upheld EPA’s authority and responsibility under the Clean Air Act to protect human health and welfare by limiting carbon pollution.
The Clean Power Plan sets achievable limits on carbon pollution from power plants based on proven, cost-effective approaches that the power sector has been using for years to reduce emissions of harmful air pollution—and it provides states and power companies with extraordinary flexibility in deciding how to meet these targets in ways that are sensitive to local considerations. EPA’s flexible, cost-effective approach has parallels in precedents from administrations of both parties.
Shaped by years of unprecedented outreach and public engagement, the final Clean Power Plan is fair, flexible, and designed to strengthen the fast growing trend toward low cost clean energy.
The final rule is the result of unprecedented outreach to states, tribes, utilities, stakeholders, and the public, including 4.3 million comments EPA received on the proposed rule. The final Clean Power Plan reflects that input, and gives states and utilities the time and flexibility to provide reliable and affordable clean power for all Americans.
Major businesses, members of Congress, public health organizations, faith leaders, power companies, attorneys general, environmental organizations, and mayors all filed court briefs in the CPP litigation in support of these lifesaving standards, reflecting the broad support among Americans for the CPP.
The Clean Power Plan is reasonable and achievable, reflecting existing trends in the power sector away from high-polluting sources toward lower-polluting sources and renewables.

EPA has indicated that it does not know whether and when it will replace the Clean Power Plan

EPA has indicated that it does not know whether or when it would issue a rule to replace the Clean Power Plan. EPA has only issued a request for information on systems of emission reduction for power plants based on a legal interpretation that would lead to a much weaker standard. This request is not a proposed rule and the agency has not made any commitment to issue one. The CPP repeal, whether on its own or accompanied by a weaker standard, would expose the public to more carbon pollution and other dangerous pollutants emitted by power plants. This would be Pruitt’s Dirty Power Plan – more pollution for more Americans.
The tragic impacts of Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria have further underscored the need for immediate action that will prevent climate change from getting even worse. Reversing or indefinitely delaying policies that cut carbon pollution would leave our communities more vulnerable to supercharged storms, flooding, drought, wildfires, and other deadly disasters and the health risks associated with them.

Additional Resources in Support of the Clean Power Plan from Sierra Club and Allies

Sierra Club:

(before initiative to repeal)

Former EPA Employees (!):

Union of Concerned Scientists:

Natural Resources Defense Council:

Environmental Defense Fund: