On Friday, it revoked portions of Biden-era standards that tightened restrictions on how much mercury, lead and arsenic these plants can release.
The move is one in a series of steps from the Trump administration to reduce environmental standards in order to bolster fossil fuels.
The Biden-era standards in question, which President Trump is rescinding, would have upped mercury controls by 70 percent for a subset of power plants that use a type of coal known as lignite. The Trump rule, which would reinstate 2012 standards, would have these plants operating under looser mercury limits than other coal plants.
The Biden-era standards also would have sought to reduce emissions from all coal plants of lead, nickel and arsenic by 67 percent.
Mercury is a neurotoxin. Exposure to it can cause harm to a person’s brain, heart, kidneys, lungs and immune system. Lead is also a neurotoxin, especially in children. Arsenic exposure can cause cancer.
The Trump administration argued in a Friday press release that it was getting rid of moves that hampered the coal industry. It also estimated that it would save Americans a total of $670 million.
“The Biden-Harris Administration’s anti-coal regulations sought to regulate out of existence this vital sector of our energy economy. If implemented, these actions would have destroyed reliable American energy,” EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said in a written statement.
Read more at TheHill.com.
