The Environmental Protection Agency’s comment deadline on its proposed landmark rule to limit greenhouse gas emissions from existing coal-fired plants is this Monday, and below are tips on how to comment or to read the voluminous draft rule. You can also find a recent Snake River Alliance summary here.
For those eager to take on the challenge, the 645-page draft rule and the mountain of technical support documents can be found on EPA’s website at www.epa.gov or www.epa.gov/climatechange or http://www2.epa.gov/carbon-pollution-standards/what-epa-doing. You won’t need to search hard; a rule of this magnitude is front and center on EPA’s home page and likely will remain there indefinitely. From there, you can access myriad other pages and documents ranging from the most technical to more easy-to-digest fact sheets, statements, and other information about why the rule was proposed, how it’s designed to work, and how you can comment – again, by Dec. 1.
You don’t have to be a climate scientist or an energy expert to have your voice heard. It’s likely EPA may receive 2 million comments or more, and this is one of your best opportunities to speak out against climate-changing energy production.
You can tell EPA you support the nation’s Clean Power Plan. The agency’s Rule 111(d) public comment section is at http://www2.epa.gov/carbon-pollution-standards/how-comment-clean-power-plan-proposed-rule. There’s also a “comment guide” at http://www2.epa.gov/carbon-pollution-standards/clean-power-plan-proposed-rule-comment-guide. And you can read the long Federal Register notice of the proposed rule at http://www2.epa.gov/carbon-pollution-standards/clean-power-plan-proposed-rule-comment-guide. You can even dive into the thousands of comments that have already been submitted by going to http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketBrowser;rpp=100;so=DESC;sb=docId;po=0;dct=PS;D=EPA-HQ-OAR-2013-0602