On Monday I had the honor of testifying at the Environmental Protection Agency’s only hearing about EPA head Andrew Wheeler’s plan to roll back the Mercury and Air Toxics Standard. This standard provides tens of billions of dollars in public health benefits to our country, yet Andrew Wheeler -- a former coal lobbyist -- wants to help his coal buddies by getting rid of it.

Here’s my testimony to the EPA:

Good afternoon. My name is Loren Blackford.

I am the president of the Sierra Club, America’s oldest and largest grassroots environmental organization, with 3.5 million members and supporters across every state in the union. I am also a member of the President’s Council of Ceres, a nonprofit that works with the most influential investors and companies to drive sustainable solutions that work for the economy, the planet, and our communities.

First and foremost, however, I am here as a wife, a mother, and a proud New Yorker. My husband has had asthma since he was a young child. A few years ago, we learned that his heart was stopping (for up to 7 seconds) when he was in deep sleep. I have traveled in ambulances and waited in hospitals, helpless, as my husband struggled to breathe and underwent two heart surgeries.

I strongly oppose the EPA’s proposed withdrawal of its determination that it is appropriate to regulate mercury and other air toxics from coal-fired power plants because of all the facts and figures you have been hearing all day… but also because my own husband’s life hangs in the balance.

He is in his mid-fifties but fears he may not live more than another couple of years. One of his greatest hopes is to meet his grandchildren. As our children approach child-bearing age, however, we worry about the effects mercury and other pollutants may have during their pregnancies and on those hoped-for grandchildren.

Our experiences and fears are not unique. New York City is on the top 10 list of cities with the worst air quality in the country. Many of my fellow New Yorkers lack the access to quality healthcare that my family enjoys and live in more polluted neighborhoods. Too many young, old, and otherwise vulnerable New Yorkers are dying or suffering severe health impacts due to exposure to toxic pollutants.