Letter to Lisa Jackson, Administrator - EPA

Letter

Dear Administrator Jackson,

We are writing to express our support for the Environmental Protection Agency's final Cross-State Air Pollution Control Rule. This important public health standard will prevent approximately 34,000 premature deaths, more than 15,000 heart attacks, 19,000 cases of acute bronchitis, 4000,000 cases of aggravated asthma, and 1,8 million lost workdays annually. The aggregate health benefits will save up to $280 billion annually in avoided costs, at only a cost of only $800 million. This 350-1 benefit to cost ratio represents a great deal for the public and an opportunity to improve the quality of life and competitiveness of American metropolitan areas. In concert with other improvements to state and federal regulations, it will reduce sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide by 73% and 54%, respectively, by 2014.

The Cross-State Air Pollution Control Rule finally ends decades of failure to control air pollution at its source. For too long, highly polluting facilities located upwind have been allowed to pollute major metropolitan areas with impunity. In fact, those sources of pollution have made it impossible for most major metropolitan areas to come into compliance with federal standards for smog pollution. As a result, local and state governments have had to spend more money on local pollution mitigation even when most pollution is generated by large upwind sources. We applaud your efforts to make polluters control pollution at the source rather than continuing to shift the cost burden onto local governments and local taxpayers.

Thank you again for your leadership on this important issue. We look forward to dramatic improvements in air quality as a result of this important public health standard.

Sincerely,

Gerald E. Connolly
Carolyn Maloney
John Carney
Mike Quigley
John Olver
Earl Blumenauer
Maurice Hinchey
Lois Capps
Donna Edwards
Jim Moran
Jesse Jackson, Jr.
Mazie Hirono
Raul Grijalva
Louise Slaughter
Luis Gutierrez
Jackie Speier
Jim Langevin
Diana DeGette
Jerrold Nadler
Maxine Waters
Mike Honda
Linda Sanchez
Jan Schakowsky
Chellie Pingree
Emanuel Cleaver
Niki Tsongas
David Price
Gwen Moore
Ed Markey
Pete Stark
Keith Ellison
David Cicilline
Bob Filner
Danny K. Davis
Joe Courtney
Jose Serrano
Lynn Woolsey
Howard Berman
Christopher S. Murphy
Donna Christensen
Rush Holt
Barbara Lee
Jim Himes
Chris Van Hollen
Eleanor Holmes Norton
Betty McCollum
Anna Eshoo
Jerry McNerney
Bill Pascrell
Judy Chu
John Sarbanes
John Conyers
Charles B. Rangel
Stephen E. Lynch
Robert Brady
Jim McGovern
Bobby L. Rush
Doris Matsui