DUE: MAY 15, 2017
Trump and Pruitt are seeking to roll back many of our environmental regulations through an executive order which vaguely directs all agencies to examine the "burden"of their regulations. The EPA has opened up public comment on this topic.
Public comments are one of the most impactful actions you can take as an activist. Federal agencies are required, by law, to read and consider your public comment prior to changing agency rules. Therefore, even though it takes more time and some real thought to compose a public comment, it is worth it!
Compose your comment in a separate document and save it. Use the following talking points as inspiration, if needed. Please reword where possible and, where there are CAPS, please personalize the comment. Once you have completed your comment, submit it HERE.
- While I appreciate the opportunity to submit a comment, the Agency's request for public comment is extremely vague. It is not even clear which regulations are at issue. To ensure meaningful public feedback, the Agency must re-issue its request and include a list of affected regulations. The Agency must also provide an extended deadline for public comment.
- Any repeal or change to rules and regulations can occur only after the Agency provides specific analysis of the health and environmental impact of such repeal or change. The rules and regulations currently in place were implements only after years of peer review studies, consultation with health experts and voluminous public comments. The same process should be used to unravel any of these rules or regulations. Further, the Agency must determine the social costs, health and environmental impact, and risks of specific repeals or changes. Such analysis must then be provided to the public for review and the opportunity to comment.
- It would be inappropriate to permit industries and companies to self-regulate. While we might all hope for the best, it is very likely that companies will not comply with rules or will only partially comply. The Agency must consider what impact self-regulation (complete with associated non-compliance and partial compliance) would have on human health and the environment. The subsequent analysis should then be provided to the public for review and the opportunity to comment on proposed self-regulation.
- Coal-fired power plants are the number one source of water pollution in our country. Collectively, these plants dump billions of pounds of pollutants - including lead, arsenic and mercury - into our waterways. The Toxic Wastewater Protections Rule reduces the discharge of toxic pollutants into America’s waterways, resulting in cleaner drinking water, safer habitat for our fish and wildlife and a positive impact on human health. Repealing or postponing this rule would endanger families who live near coal-fired plants. It is well established that the pollutants at issue can cause problems with cognitive development in children. Fetuses and children are four to five times more sensitive to mercury, for instance, than adults because their nervous systems are still developing. AS A PARENT/GRANDPARENT/AUNT or UNCLE, I AM CONCERNED ABOUT THE SAFETY OF OUR DRINKING WATER. I or MY FAMILY HAVE BEEN IMPACTED BY [NAME AN AILMENT OR ILLNESS] AND I BELIEVE THAT THIS RULE WOULD MAKE OUR WATER SAFER AND CLEANER AND THEREFORE OUR FAMILY HEALTHIER.
- Obama's Clean Water rule protects our streams and wetlands from pollution and impacts clean water for drinking, agriculture and forestry. Healthy wetlands reduce the risk of flooding and provide habitat to many endangered species. Further, this rule helps ensure that 1/3 of Americans have access to clean, safe drinking water. I LIVE NEAR A FLOOD ZONE AND RELY ON HEALTHY WETLANDS TO REDUCE MY PERSONAL RISK OF FLOODING. or AS A LOVER OF WILDLIFE or AS SOMEONE WHO FISHES, IT IS IMPORTANT TO ME THAT WE MAINTAIN SAFE HABITAT TO PROTECT OUR BIODIVERSITY. Finally, clean and safe drinking water is a basic human right. Unsafe drinking water can have wide-ranging health impacts, ranging from cancer to serious birth defects, and is simply not worth the risk. We ALL suffer when American communities do not have access to clean and safe drinking water.
AUTOMATED PUBLIC COMMENTS:These are set up like petitions from several environmental non-profits. You can complete your original public comment here and then submit through the following platforms as well:
Sierra Club
EarthJustice
Center for Biological Diversity
Food & Water Watch
Climate Truth
While I appreciate the opportunity to submit a comment, the Agency's request for public comment is extremely vague. It is not even clear which regulations are specifically at issue. To ensure meaningful public feedback, I urge the Agency to extend the deadline for public comment and please re-issue its request, including a list of affected regulations.
ReplyDeleteI would like to formally request that prior to repealing or revising any regulations the Agency provide specific analysis of the health and environmental impact of each such repeal or change. The rules and regulations currently in place were implements only after years of peer review studies, consultation with health experts and voluminous public comments. The same process should be used to unravel any of these rules or regulations.
It would be inappropriate to permit industries and companies to self-regulate. Companies answer to their investors, not to the general American public.
Coal-fired power plants are the number one source of water pollution in our country. Collectively, these plants dump billions of pounds of pollutants - including lead, arsenic and mercury - into our waterways. The Toxic Wastewater Protections Rule reduces the discharge of toxic pollutants into America’s waterways, resulting in cleaner drinking water, safer habitat for our fish and wildlife and a positive impact on human health. Repealing or postponing this rule would endanger families who live near coal-fired plants. As a parent of two small children, I an extremely concerned about the safety of our drinking water. I believe this rule would help to make my family’s drinking water safer! Please preserve this protection for America’s children.
Obama's Clean Water rule protects our streams and wetlands from pollution and impacts clean water for drinking, agriculture and forestry. Healthy wetlands reduce the risk of flooding and provide habitat to many endangered species. Further, this rule helps ensure that 1/3 of Americans have access to clean, safe drinking water.
Cean and safe drinking water is a basic human right. Unsafe drinking water can have wide-ranging health impacts, ranging from cancer to serious birth defects, and is simply not worth the risk. We ALL suffer when American communities do not have access to clean and safe drinking water.
Thank you for taking my thoughts into consideration.
We must protect our Mother Earth! This Administration is set on destroying everything good about America! STOP DESTROYING OUR COUNTRYS EPA!
ReplyDeleteI write as a physician who knows that the major forces which increased human life span were the efforts to provide uncontaminated water for our consumption. Self-regulation of industries has shown over time that many have dumped toxic wsstes in manners that polluted water sources for adjoining communities. The EPA should concern itself with upholding protections and seeking ways to improve the public health. Which regulations are under examination? Where is your impact study of any proposed changes? Preserve the "Protection" component of EPA!
ReplyDelete