Comment submitted by Southwestern Indiana Citizens for Quality of Life

I urge the EPA to require prompt and safest removal of coal ash ponds and all related toxic emissions, especially in areas like my home, the well-known environmental and public health sacrifice zone of southwestern Indiana. Also, the polluters shouid foot the bill without increasing their rates and passing on the burden to the utility ratepayers. For too long in areas like ours, pollution has been the source of illness, death, and exorbitant healthcare costs. INDIANA'S ENVIRONMENTAL AND PUBLIC HEALTH RANKING Under the Republican party's supermajority leadership and Republican governors, Indiana is consistently among the 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘥 states (currently #2) in the nation and ranks near the bottom in public health, autism, infant mortality, overall quality of life, etc. For example, 1. Indiana leads US in toxic releases per square mile. https://www.chicagotribune.com/2021/03/26/indiana-leads-us-in-toxic-releases-per-square-mile-epa-report-states/ 2. Indiana's infant mortality rate is among the worst 10 in the US. https://www.wfyi.org/news/articles/indiana-cdc-7th-worst-state-infant-mortality-rate 3. Indiana has one of the highest rates of autism in the United States, with the southern Indiana counties being alarmingly high, and trending higher. The recent prevalence rate is 1 in 44 children in Indiana. A known cause of autism is an expectant mother's exposure to large volumes of pollution. https://www.magnetaba.com/blog/autism-prevalence-in-indiana See attached document I created listing a sampling of southwestern Indiana schools' high special education rates. 4. Southwestern Indiana has a concentration of superpolluters among the worst on earth. www.superpolluters.com On October 28, 2024, four members of SWICQL were honored to give an official, peer-reviewed presentation for 90 minutes to doctors, other healthcare officials, etc., at the American Public Health Association (APHA) Annual Meeting in Minneapolis, Minnesota—on the sobering topic of southwestern Indiana's 50-year-long fight for clean air and water and the state's continual unfounded denial of any adverse health effects. Here are the presenters and their abstracts for the APHA Annual Meeting: Jessica Blazier (administrative assistant and community leader in Bloomfield, Indiana, and parent whose son is dealing with multiple health challenges adversely influenced by our poor environment) https://apha.confex.com/apha/2024/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/560543 Rock Emmert (retired teacher from Ferdinand, Indiana, vice-president of Southwestern Indiana Citizens for Quality of Life) https://apha.confex.com/apha/2024/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/560542 Mary Hess (retired US postal worker from Dale, Indiana, president of Southwestern Indiana Citizens for Quality of Life) https://apha.confex.com/apha/2024/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/560544 Norma Kreilein, MD, FAAP (native of Ferdinand, Indiana, pediatrician in Illinois, formerly pediatrician in southwestern Indiana, APHA delegation/team leader, long-time, multi-published advocate for meaningful, stricter environmental policies and effective enforcement, in southwestern Indiana and other sacrifice zones, that protect children's health) https://apha.confex.com/apha/2024/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/560541 National podcast (100 public radio stations) with host David DeRose, American Indian and Alaskan Native Living. Dr. DeRose approached us after our presentation and invited us to be interviewed for his radio program that focuses on giving a voice to vulnerable communities. https://open.spotify.com/episode/3PcbVqgnwL4tYZFPuIEuPj?si=hIJZQLGLQx-A9HDG4YC7QA Thank you. Sincerely, A retired teacher and concerned citizen Ferdinand, Indiana Dubois County