Coal industry had warned that Biden-era rules would raise electricity prices
The EPA will announce Wednesday that it is reconsidering federal regulations the Biden administration put forward as part of its crackdown on coal-fired power plants, the Washington Free Beacon has learned. The announcement tees up a likely overhaul of the rules.
The EPA is reviewing the so-called Mercury and Air Toxics Standards, which the Biden administration finalized in April 2024. Those standards expanded upon similar regulations set by the Obama administration years prior and were a central pillar of the Biden administration’s efforts to regulate coal-fired power plants under its green energy agenda.
The EPA’s review of the standards is a major salvo in the Trump administration’s efforts to gut Biden-era environmental regulations in pursuit of its “energy dominance” agenda. Just days after taking office in January, Trump signaled that part of the agenda would involve enabling the industry to boost coal-fired power production to ensure electric grid reliability.
“EPA needs to pursue commonsense regulation to Power the Great American Comeback, not continue down the last administration’s path of destruction and destitution,” EPA administrator Lee Zeldin said in a statement shared with the Free Beacon.
“At EPA, we are committed to protecting human health and the environment; we are opposed to shutting down clean, affordable and reliable energy for American families,” he continued.
The EPA added that the review represents a “lifeline” to an industry that has been targeted for more than a decade, calling Wednesday’s announcement the “most consequential day of deregulation in the history of the United States.”
According to the coal power industry group America’s Power, the Biden-era Mercury and Air Toxics Standards will increase compliance costs, raise electricity prices, and could lead to additional retirements of coal-fired electric generating units.
The Biden rule was cheered at the time by climate activist groups that have advocated for a transition from reliance on fossil fuels for electricity generation to reliance on green energy sources like wind and solar.
“We applaud the EPA for strengthening this critical rule, which will now save even more lives,” then-Earthjustice attorney Neil Gormley said last year. “We will continue fighting for stronger protections until all people are safe from hazardous air pollution.”
Overall, while the coal industry has faced an onslaught of regulations, coal-fired power plants still generate more than 16 percent of the nation’s electricity, according to federal data. Wind power generates about 10 percent of total electricity while solar power produces just 4 percent.
