Trump exempts nearly 70 coal plants from Biden-era rule on mercury and
other toxic air pollution
[April 16, 2025] By
MATTHEW DALY
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration has granted nearly 70
coal-fired power plants a two-year exemption from federal requirements
to reduce emissions of toxic chemicals such as mercury, arsenic and
benzene.
A list quietly posted as of Tuesday on the Environmental Protection
Agency's website lists 47 power providers — which operate at least 66
coal-fired plants — that are receiving exemptions from the Biden-era
rules under the Clean Air Act, including a regulation limiting air
pollution from mercury and other toxins. The actions follow an executive
order last week by President Donald Trump aimed at boosting the
struggling coal industry, a reliable but polluting energy source that’s
long been in decline.
Among plants receiving exemptions is the Colstrip Generating Station, a
massive power plant in Colstrip, Montana, that emits more toxic air
pollutants such as lead and arsenic than any other U.S. facility of its
kind, according to the EPA. Other plants with exemptions include Coal
Creek Station, a large power plant in North Dakota that is among the
nation’s top producers of mercury emissions, and the Oak Grove plant in
Texas, another large polluter.
The exempted plants are owned by some of the nation’s largest power
companies, including Talen Energy, Dominion Energy, NRG Energy and
Southern Co.
The exemptions also apply to four plants operated by the Tennessee
Valley Authority, the nation's largest public utility.
The EPA said in a statement Tuesday that the presidential exemptions
“will bolster coal-fired electricity generation, ensuring that our
nation’s grid is reliable, that electricity is affordable for the
American people, and that EPA is helping to promote our nation’s energy
security."
Michelle Bloodworth, president of a lobbying group for coal-fired
plants, said Trump recognizes that the nation’s coal fleet is “essential
to maintaining a healthy and secure electricity supply – the backbone of
our economy."
Rules imposed under former President Joe Biden “were inconsistent with
the Clean Air Act and based on an improper analysis of data,” she said.
The mercury rule, finalized last year, could have contributed to the
premature retirement of dozens of coal units, Bloodworth said, adding
that the plants are needed to support reliability of the electric grid.
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The Colstrip Steam Electric Station in Colstrip, Mont., is
photographed Sept. 30, 2014. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown, File)
 Environmentalists called the
exemptions — which require a presidential finding that technology
required to meet the new rules is not widely available and that
continued activity of the plants advances national security — a
dereliction of duty by Trump and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin.
“These passes to pollute carve a ragged hole through the heart of
federal protections for the air we breathe,” said Maya
Golden-Krasner, a senior attorney at the Center for Biological
Diversity, an environmental group. “To suggest that it’s a matter of
national security to force people from Montana to Alabama to inhale
more neurotoxins is offensive. This is what it looks like to put
polluter profits ahead of the wellbeing of Americans and the
planet.”
Environmental groups and public health advocates have denounced the
administration’s plan to grant exemptions, which they say could
allow hundreds of companies to evade laws meant to protect the
environment and public health.
Critics call the new email address set up by the EPA to request the
exemptions a “polluters’ portal.”
Exemptions can be given for nine EPA rules, including limits on
mercury, ethylene oxide and other hazardous air pollutants. Mercury
exposure can cause brain damage, especially in children, and birth
defects can occur after exposure in a mother’s womb.
Last week, in a series of executive orders, Trump used his emergency
authority to allow some older coal-fired power plants set for
retirement to keep producing electricity to meet rising U.S. power
demand amid growth in data centers, artificial intelligence and
electric cars. Trump also directed federal agencies to identify coal
resources on federal lands, lift barriers to coal mining and
prioritize coal leasing on U.S. lands.
Trump, a Republican, has long promised to boost what he calls
“beautiful” coal to fire power plants and for other uses.
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