EPA Poised to Toss Protections Against Power Plant Pollution

WASHINGTON — EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced on Wednesday that his agency is moving ahead with plans to repeal Biden-era greenhouse gas emissions standards for fossil fuel-fired power plants.

Though widely expected, given the Trump administration’s devotion to fossil fuels, the move nevertheless shocked many on Capitol Hill and beyond.

In essence, the agency’s intent is to overturn rules put in place by the Biden administration requiring all existing coal plants and new gas-powered plants to capture at least 90% of their carbon emissions.

The Biden policy also significantly tightened restrictions on the amount of mercury and other toxic metals these plants could release.

When they were enacted, the EPA estimated that the Biden rules would prevent 1,200 premature deaths in 2035. The agency has not indicated whether it has revised that prediction or now simply thinks that it is irrelevant.

“Affordable, reliable electricity is key to the American dream and a natural byproduct of national energy dominance,” Zeldin said in a written statement. 

“According to many, the primary purpose of these Biden-Harris administration regulations was to destroy industries that didn’t align with their narrow-minded climate change zealotry,” he continued, adding, “Together, these rules have been criticized as being designed to regulate coal, oil and gas out of existence.” 

Along with repealing the rules, the EPA is also expected to release a finding that power plants’ greenhouse gas emissions “do not contribute significantly to dangerous air pollution” and therefore should not be regulated.

Among those who applauded the announcement Wednesday was Rep. Brett Guthrie, R-Ky., chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

In a written statement, Guthrie called the EPA’s revised position on plant emissions “a victory for reliable and affordable energy.” 

“Enacted by the Biden-Harris administration, these are just two of the burdensome rules that were part of a far-left regulatory agenda that jeopardized grid reliability and drove up prices for American families and businesses,” he said.

“Attempting to push baseload power sources, including coal, oil and natural gas, offline puts our national security at risk and threatens the U.S. economy,” Guthrie added.

Zeldin’s announcement got a far colder reception from Democrats on the House committee, including Ranking Member Frank Pallone Jr., D-N.J.

“With this action today, the Trump administration is making Americans sicker, our air dirtier and our economy less competitive,” Pallone said. 

“Power plants are the second-largest source of carbon pollution in the United States, and this rollback will allow this dangerous pollution to once again go unchecked,” he said. 

“It’s clear the Trump EPA cares more about protecting polluters’ profits than the communities and Americans who will bear the brunt of this dangerous decision,” Pallone said.

But he didn’t stop there.

He went on to say he considered it “absolutely shocking” that in 2025 anyone could claim carbon emissions are not harming Americans.

“But that’s exactly what the Trump administration is saying with this rollback,” he continued. “The administration is flat out wrong when it uses illogical and baseless claims to deny the EPA’s authority and obligation to regulate these sources under the Clean Air Act.”

Also among those alarmed by the actions announced Wednesday were a number of environmental groups.

“Today’s announcements weakening important air pollution standards are dangerous actions that ignore human health standards and critical environmental health protections,” said Dr. Stephen A. Smith, executive director of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy. 

“These air toxic protections were developed with solid scientific facts on the neurotoxicity of mercury in children and the adverse impacts of other heavy metals emitted from the smokestacks of power plants,” he said, adding, “The current administration has captured the Environmental Protection Agency and turned it into a tool enabling the fossil fuel industry to bury science and use our common air and water as dumping grounds.”    

Vickie Patton, general counsel of the Environmental Defense Fund, also warned that the EPA’s current course of action poses a risk to the “health, safety and well-being of all Americans.”

“The Trump EPA is recklessly disregarding its responsibility under our nation’s clean air laws to protect the American people from mercury, arsenic and climate pollution from industrial smokestacks,” she said. 

“Power plants are already among the largest sources of mercury, toxic and climate-destabilizing pollution in the nation, and these proposals would allow them to pour more of that pollution into our air,” Patton added.

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