Craft, Elena. Testimony Before the United States House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology. The Lack of Scientific Justification in the EPA’s Overreach: A Case Study in Texas. February 5, 2014.
Craft's testimony seeks to scientifically justify the need for the State of Texas to implement stricter standards and reduce air pollution.
2. Where do the authors work, and what are their areas of expertise? Note any other publications by the authors with relevance to the 6Cities project.
Elena Craft is a health scientist at the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), a national non-partisan, non-profit environmental organization.
EDF often advocates for market-based solutions, and is known as the most environmental group that best understands economics.
She also is an adjunct professor at the University of Texas, School of Public Health in the Division of Epidemiology, Human Genetics, & Environmental Sciences.
She has a masters of science in toxicology and a doctorate in molecular toxicology.
Craft serves as the current chair for the Houston Regional Air Quality Planning Committee, advisor to the Clean Air Task Force of Central Texas, and advisor to the Texas state environmental agency in the development of a remediation program for pollution hot spot areas.
3. What are the main findings or arguments presented in the article or report?
The health benefits of the reduction of air pollution greatly outweighs the costs.
The health effects of the air pollutants ozone and mercury especially need to be addressed.
Texas’ opposition to the EPA’s greenhouse gas standards is not well founded.
New oil and gas standards will provide extreme benefits to air quality at no net cost to industry.
4. Describe at least three ways that the argument is supported.
Ozone
Over half of all Texans are breathing air that does not meet the 2008 federal air quality standards for ozone.
Uses the findings of health organizations to support a lower ozone standards.
The American Academy of Pediatrics is a leading medical association with more than 18.000 members. They have reviewed the draft Criteria Document and Staff Paper for ozone, and in 2007, published an editorial in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. In it, they made a recommendation for an 8=hour average ozone standard of 60 ppb, based upon concerns for the health of both adults and children.
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) published a review of ambient air pollution and health hazards to children in 2004. They concluded that like 1997 NAAQS for ozone may not protect the health of children and infants, and recommended a minimum standard of 70 ppb. The review cites studies that correlate high ozone concentration areas with higher incidents of emergency department visits for asthma, asthma exacerbations, and decline of lung function.
Mercury
Coal-fired and oil-fired power plants are responsible for approximately 50% of the nation’s mercury pollution, and Texas was home to 6 of the top 10 highest emitting coal plants for mercury in 2012.
In a letter to President Obama, mercury scientists explained the severity of mercury's toxicity: “Mercury is such a potent toxin because it bonds very strongly to functionally important parts of proteins including enzymes, antibodies and nerve growth cones that keep cells alive, ‘intelligent’ and safe. Target enzymes, organs, or metabolic pathways vulnerable to mercury poisoning may change from cell to cell, person to person and in the same individual over time. Regardless, minimizing all mercury exposure is essential to improving human, wildlife and ecosystem health because exposure to mercury in any form places a heavy burden on the biochemical machinery within cells of all living organisms."
5. What three (or more) quotes capture the message of the article or report?
"Texas has not taken advantage of ample opportunities to get ahead of federal policy by developing its own laws and regulations to reduce criteria pollutants, air toxics, and greenhouse gases. Now, the state lags behind. At a bare minimum, all Texans deserve leadership that supports life-saving federal protections rather than stands in the way."
"EPA Standards are estimated to be cost effective and to generate significant health benefits. Many Texas businesses are well-positioned to adopt new standards and initial cost estimates for compliance have proven to be overstated."
"This hearing is held under the auspices of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology. With that in mind, it is science that informs us that so many health benefits are available to the people of Texas. Technologies exist that makes those benefits achievable and cost-effective. We need leadership and cooperation from our representatives and public officials in employing common sense solutions to ensure that Texas has a vibrant economy and a healthy environment."
6. What were the methods, tools and/or data used to produce the claims or arguments made in the article or report?
The methods of this report are to summarize data and scientific findings from multiple organizations into one cohesive argument.
Utilizes TCEQ data that show that in Houston, economic growth and ozone concentrations have been rarely correlated, and many years that had a decline in 8-hour and 1-hour ozone design values showed substantial economic growth. The graph below is used to compare the varying economic growth or reduction as the ozone design values decrease, which shows the lack of correlation. Source
Also uses TCEQ ozone design values to demonstrate Texas' lack of improvement or iniative to decrease ozone. The graph from the report below shows that ozone design values have either remained stagnant or increased in the state's 3 largest metropolitan areas.
Uses previous successes for other states and industries as examples for Texas to follow.
While Texas’ mercury emissions from electric utilities has remained fairly consistent since 2001, 17 other states have taken measures to reduce mercury emissions from power plants. Maryland passed the Health Air Act in 2007, which reduced their mercury pollution by 80%.
Calpine Corporation, one of the nation's largest utilities, submitted a brief in the US Supreme Court in support of applying PSD requirements to greenhouse gas emissions. PSD, or Prevention of Significant Deterioration, permits are pre-construction permits that have been required by newly constructed or modified power plants and industrial facilities since 2011. It ensures they implement the best available control technology for greenhouse gases. Texas has refused in implement this program and has litigated the EPA's authority to enforce it in Supreme Court. Calpine Corporation's brief stated that they have successfully completed PSD permits for 6 projects, two of which located in Texas, and that obtaining these permits did not delay projects or add significant costs. They also said the resulting adoption of energy efficient technologies came with many environmental and economic benefits.
Based off proven on proven extremely cost effective technologies that were required in Colorado and Wyoming, the EPA issued revisions in 2012 to emission standards for equipment used in oil and natural gas production, processing, and transmission. These regulations no net cost to industry, because many of the emission reduction measures result in recovery of natural gas that would otherwise be lost to the atmosphere, which would be monetarily beneficial to producers by resulting in more product with less production.
7. How (if at all) are health disparities or other equity issues addressed in the article or report?
Focuses less on community based health disparities within the state, and more on the disparities Texas faces as a whole.
States that over half of Texans are breathing air that does not meet federal standards for ozone, and that excessive ozone exposure can lead to severe health issues such as asthma attacks, cardiac arrests, reduced lung function, etc.
Explains how mercury pollution in the air returns to Earth in the form of precipitation, increasing the mercury levels in the water. Humans are then primarily exposed to mercury through fish consumption. There are fish consumption advisories in approximately one out of every five counties in Texas, and the map below displays these counties that face the greatest health related risks due to mercury pollution in the state.
8. Where has this article or report been referenced or discussed? (In some journals, you can see this in a sidebar.)
Craft's testimony is referenced on David Porter's campaign website for railroad commissioner. Porter has been Texas' railroad commissioner since 2010, and he also gave testimony for this case. The article posted on his campaign site was originally published by Texas Energy Report. Source
Multiple news articles referenced the testimony, including an article titled Texas Regulators Blast EPA Overreach In House Hearing published by LAW360, which explains the conflict between the parties on either side of the argument.
EDF posted an article on behalf of Craft's testimony, providing support to her argument and making her full testimony available online.
9. Can you learn anything from the article or report’s bibliography that tells us something about how the article or report was produced?
Craft pulled from a wide variety of sources to summarize and support her arguments. This was not a scientific report and did not produce data, but instead relied on sources focused on state organizations, private health organizations, and companies to create an organized and persuasive argument to scientifically and economically justify the environmental protections put in place by the EPA.
10. What three points, details or references from the text did you follow up on to advance your understanding of how air pollution science has been produced and used in governance and education in different settings?
In the TCEQ's analysis in 2010, they stated “reducing ozone concentrations in the presence of continuing economic growth through the development of state implementation plans and implementing control strategies for emission reduction is possible. Expansion of emitting activities during phases of economic growth certainly makes the task of attaining clean air standards more challenging, but it should not prevent, and has not prevented, the HGB area, among many others, from making substantial progress in improving air quality."
I compared this to previous research, and found that it contradicts with other TCEQ statements. The TCEQ Chairman, Bryan Shaw, gave a testimony in December 2014 saying the TCEQ has concluded that tightening the country’s smog standard would be too costly and is to a necessity for public health.
On The Committee of Science, Space, and Technology's website, I found that Craft gave the only testimony in defense of the EPA's actions and decisions, and four testimonies by different individuals were given in opposition. Furthermore, the formal title of the hearing on their website is "Examining the Science of EPA Overreach: A Case Study in Texas." The phrasing of the title and the ratio of opponents to proponents seems to imply bias on the committee's part.
11. Does the article provide information or perspective on any of the thematics already identified as important for the 6Cities project?
There is a growing need for capacity to characterize pollutants from distant (sometimes international) sources; enhanced capacity for this will in turn create complex transboundary governance challenges.
In her testimony, Craft discusses the benefits of the Cross State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR).
In Texas alone, it is estimated to:
save 1,704 lives per year
prevent 712 heart attacks, 414 hospitalizations, and 665 ER visits per year
prevent 113,128 lost work days
• provide approximately $14 billion in benefits to Texas each year
TCEQ Bryan Shaw gave testimony at another U.S. House Committee on Science, Space and Technology hearing titled“Out of Thin Air: EPA’s Cross-State Air Pollution Rule.” Shaw said, "This rule serves as another example where the EPA inadequately rationalizes the need for a complex regulatory scheme to solve a non-existent problem." Source
Scientific capacity to link air pollution to economic impacts has also grown dramatically.
Aim of the opponents is to prove the EPA's regulations are not economically feasible, and Craft attempts to challenge this with a more holistic monetary view to prove it saves society money.
During the hearing, Texas Representative Marc Veasey criticized the TCEQ for fighting against the EPA's greenhouse gas rules, which lead to the backlog of 80 permit applications. He asked, "Wouldn't it have been better for Texas to work with the EPA rather than making lawyers rich?". Source
Craft notes that the Texas attorney general Greg Abbott has filed or been a party to 27 lawsuits against the federal government since 2009, which has cost the tax payers of Texas $2.8 million.
This resistance also can have a negative economic impact directly on industries. The Texas Pipeline estimates that more than 50 planned projects since 2011 have been significantly delayed by the Texas permitting process. A longer process drains a company's resources, and Texas Pipeline said the backup has put 48,000 jobs at risk.
Air pollution has received increasing attention by public authorities in recent years, driving intensified effort to address the problem at some locations and scales, and notable push back at other locations and scales – at times provoking considerable cross-scale conflict.
This testimony addresses further actors who are a part of the conflict in the battle between the EPA and the TCEQ.
2. Where do the authors work, and what are their areas of expertise? Note any other publications by the authors with relevance to the 6Cities project.
- Elena Craft is a health scientist at the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), a national non-partisan, non-profit environmental organization.
- EDF often advocates for market-based solutions, and is known as the most environmental group that best understands economics.
- She also is an adjunct professor at the University of Texas, School of Public Health in the Division of Epidemiology, Human Genetics, & Environmental Sciences.
- She has a masters of science in toxicology and a doctorate in molecular toxicology.
- Craft serves as the current chair for the Houston Regional Air Quality Planning Committee, advisor to the Clean Air Task Force of Central Texas, and advisor to the Texas state environmental agency in the development of a remediation program for pollution hot spot areas.
3. What are the main findings or arguments presented in the article or report?4. Describe at least three ways that the argument is supported.
- Ozone
- Over half of all Texans are breathing air that does not meet the 2008 federal air quality standards for ozone.
- Uses the findings of health organizations to support a lower ozone standards.
- The American Academy of Pediatrics is a leading medical association with more than 18.000 members. They have reviewed the draft Criteria Document and Staff Paper for ozone, and in 2007, published an editorial in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. In it, they made a recommendation for an 8=hour average ozone standard of 60 ppb, based upon concerns for the health of both adults and children.
- The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) published a review of ambient air pollution and health hazards to children in 2004. They concluded that like 1997 NAAQS for ozone may not protect the health of children and infants, and recommended a minimum standard of 70 ppb. The review cites studies that correlate high ozone concentration areas with higher incidents of emergency department visits for asthma, asthma exacerbations, and decline of lung function.
- Mercury
- Coal-fired and oil-fired power plants are responsible for approximately 50% of the nation’s mercury pollution, and Texas was home to 6 of the top 10 highest emitting coal plants for mercury in 2012.
- In a letter to President Obama, mercury scientists explained the severity of mercury's toxicity: “Mercury is such a potent toxin because it bonds very strongly to functionally important parts of proteins including enzymes, antibodies and nerve growth cones that keep cells alive, ‘intelligent’ and safe. Target enzymes, organs, or metabolic pathways vulnerable to mercury poisoning may change from cell to cell, person to person and in the same individual over time. Regardless, minimizing all mercury exposure is essential to improving human, wildlife and ecosystem health because exposure to mercury in any form places a heavy burden on the biochemical machinery within cells of all living organisms."
5. What three (or more) quotes capture the message of the article or report?6. What were the methods, tools and/or data used to produce the claims or arguments made in the article or report?
7. How (if at all) are health disparities or other equity issues addressed in the article or report?
8. Where has this article or report been referenced or discussed? (In some journals, you can see this in a sidebar.)
9. Can you learn anything from the article or report’s bibliography that tells us something about how the article or report was produced?
10. What three points, details or references from the text did you follow up on to advance your understanding of how air pollution science has been produced and used in governance and education in different settings?
11. Does the article provide information or perspective on any of the thematics already identified as important for the 6Cities project?