EPA to amend Biden-era water pollution rule for coal plants

By Miranda Willson | 06/30/2025 04:25 PM EDT

Administrator Lee Zeldin said the planned revisions would advance President Donald Trump’s pro-coal agenda.

Waste water from coal ash is pumped into a treatment facility outside Dominion Powers Bremo Bluff power plant in Bremo Bluff, Va., Tuesday, April 26, 2016.

Wastewater from coal ash is pumped into a treatment facility outside Dominion Energy's Bremo Bluff power plant in Bremo Bluff, Virginia, on April 26, 2016. Steve Helber/AP

EPA will revise a Biden-era water regulation that seeks to limit toxic pollution from coal plants, in the Trump administration’s latest attempt to bolster the struggling industry.

The agency will propose extending compliance deadlines for a 2024 rule that requires coal power plants to effectively eliminate heavy metals and other pollutants from three wastewater streams. EPA will also “explore other flexibilities” to promote use of coal for power generation, the agency said in a news release Monday.

Administrator Lee Zeldin said the planned revisions would advance President Donald Trump’s pro-coal agenda.

Advertisement

“We know there are serious concerns about the compliance timelines, and we must consider more realistic options that may prevent the burdensome costs required by the current regulation from hurting American families,” Zeldin said in a statement.

GET FULL ACCESS