"Trump Spares Power Plants From Mercury Emissions Clampdown"

"The rollback is the latest salvo in the president’s multipronged push to boost the coal industry."

"The Trump administration is reopening a loophole to allow more mercury emissions from some coal-fired power plants, provoking swift denunciations from public health advocates who said the rollback will leave children at further risk of exposure to the brain-damaging element.

As part of a repeal of Biden-era regulations unveiled Friday, EPA will continue to allow plants that burn lignite, a low-grade type of coal, to release mercury at a rate more than three times that of other coal-fueled generating operations.

The reversal is part of President Donald Trump’s push to save the long-struggling coal industry, in part by peeling back regulatory pollution limits and propping up aging coal-fired power plants."

Sean Reilly reports for E&E News February 20, 2026.

SEE ALSO:

"EPA Repeals Biden-Era Coal Rules Aimed At Limiting Brain-Harming Pollution" (The New Lede)

"E.P.A. Weakens Limits on Mercury From Coal Plants" (New York Times)

Source: E&E News, 02/24/2026