Republicans launch bid to overturn coal wastewater rule

By Miranda Willson | 05/22/2024 04:06 PM EDT

The EPA regulation sets stricter pollution limits for coal power plant waste.

Reps. Mike Collins (R-Ga.) and Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.).

Republican Reps. Mike Collins of Georgia and Matt Gaetz of Florida at the Capitol. Collins is leading a resolution against EPA rulemaking on coal power plant waste. Mark Schiefelbein/AP

House Republicans introduced legislation this week to overturn a new environmental regulation that sets stricter water pollution limits for coal plants.

Republican Reps. Mike Collins of Georgia and Brett Guthrie of Kentucky are targeting an EPA rule finalized last month that seeks to limit wastewater from coal plants, a major source of toxic heavy metals in rivers and streams.

If signed into law, their resolution under the Congressional Review Act, H.J. Res.151, would prevent EPA from enforcing the rule or promulgating a similar one. The agency has not presented enough data to justify the new limits, according to the lawmakers.

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“Millions of Americans depend on safe, reliable, and affordable electricity derived from coal,” Collins said in a statement. “The Environmental Protection Agency’s revision to technology-based wastewater standards sets unworkable and unattainable limits for coal-fired power plants and is another step in the Biden administration’s war on American energy.”

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