Roughly a dozen environmental groups filed lawsuits this week to try to stop the Trump administration from rolling back a major regulation on water pollution from coal power plants.
EPA in late December issued a rule delaying new pollution reduction requirements for coal plants mandated by the Biden administration. Coal plants release toxic chemicals like mercury and arsenic through their wastewater, but the Trump administration has argued that the requirements and deadlines were unworkable for the industry.
The latest EPA rule would now give power plants five more years to clean up their discharges and six more years to determine whether to close for good instead of investing in stronger pollution controls. It’s one of many rules from the Trump administration to try to prevent coal plants from closing.
An EPA spokesperson declined to comment, citing a long-standing practice of not discussing pending litigation.
