The Trump administration has made a controversial move to roll back air regulations for power plants, which could have significant implications for public health and the environment. The decision, announced at an event in Kentucky, will ease pollution standards for coal plants, a move that the administration claims will boost baseload energy. However, public health groups argue that this decision will harm the most vulnerable groups in the US.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under Donald Trump has argued that easing pollution standards for coal plants will alleviate costs for utilities running older coal plants, especially as demand for power soars with the expansion of datacenters used for artificial intelligence. But environmental groups have raised concerns, stating that weakening standards for mercury, a neurotoxin that can impair babies' brain development, and other air toxics will lead to higher health-related costs.
The Mercury and Air Toxics Standard (MATS), implemented during the Biden era, had updated standards set in 2012 under the Obama administration. Despite a legal challenge from a group of mostly Republican states and industry groups, the Supreme Court declined to put the rules on hold, allowing MATS to remain in force. According to the Environmental Defense Fund, this rule would have reduced allowable mercury pollution from coal plants by 70%, emissions of nickel, arsenic, lead, and other toxic metals by two-thirds, and resulted in health cost savings of $420 million through 2037.
The EPA, however, has stated that the 2012 MATS rule provided 'an ample margin of safety to protect public health', and that its proposed 2024 additions would cost more than they benefit. Utilities had been phasing out aging coal-fired generators, but Trump's administration has promised to reduce barriers to meet rising electricity demand from artificial intelligence and datacenters.
Trump declared an 'energy emergency' last year to justify moves to keep open aging coal plants that were set for closure and exempt aging coal plants from key air regulations. Last spring, he issued a proclamation inviting coal plants to request by email to be exempt from MATS regulations for two years as part of his administration's energy emergency. Sixty-eight plants were granted exemptions.
The EPA has also recently announced the repeal of the 'endangerment finding', which gave the agency the authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. The White House has directed the Pentagon to purchase power from coal plants for military use.
Coal-burning power plants are among the largest sources of hazardous air pollution, including mercury, lead, arsenic, and acid gases, as well as major sources of benzene, formaldehyde, dioxins, and other organic hazardous air pollutants. According to the Energy Information Administration, coal plants generate less than 20% of US electricity.
