Mercury exposure may rise in coal communities under new EPA rule

EPA reverts coal plants to older pollution rules

The EPA finalized a rule on Feb. 20, 2026, repealing tighter pollution limits on coal- and oil-fired power plants.

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced the move at a coal plant in Louisville, Ky. The repeal strips away stricter caps on mercury, arsenic, lead, nickel, and other hazardous pollutants that the Biden administration put in place in 2024.

It also drops a requirement for plants to install systems that monitor emissions around the clock. Coal plants now fall back to the original 2012 standards.

Biden-era rule demanded steep emission cuts

The Biden administration finalized those tighter standards in May 2024 after a required eight-year review of available technology. The rule called for a 70% cut in mercury emissions from plants that burn lignite coal.

It also pushed for a 67% reduction in toxic metals like lead, nickel, and arsenic from all coal plants. Every plant would have needed real-time monitoring systems for particulate matter.

The deadline to comply was July 2027, but plants will no longer have to meet it.

The fight over these rules spans three presidents

This battle goes back more than a decade. The Obama administration created the original mercury standards in 2012, and those rules worked.

Mercury emissions from coal plants dropped about 90% within several years. Acid gas emissions fell more than 96%, and other toxic metals dropped more than 81%.

Then the first Trump administration tried to undermine the rule’s legal foundation in 2020. Biden tightened the standards in 2024, and now the current Trump administration has undone those updates entirely.

Trump exempted dozens of plants before repealing

Before the full repeal, President Trump signed a proclamation in April 2025 exempting 68 coal plants across 24 states from the 2024 standards for two years.

Those exemptions covered 148 generating units, more than a third of the entire U.S. coal fleet. Zeldin had invited companies to request exemptions by email, pointing to national security concerns.

Six more units at three facilities got exemptions in July 2025. A coalition of 12 environmental groups sued the administration over the exemptions in June 2025.

EPA says families will see lower costs

The EPA estimates the repeal will save about $670 million, which the agency says families will feel through lower everyday costs.

Annual savings would land between $69 million and $78 million per year from 2028 to 2037, the agency said.

EPA Deputy Administrator David Fotouhi said the move follows the law and will bring down the cost of generating baseload power. The agency maintains the original 2012 standards still protect public health.

Industry group America’s Power called the repeal an important step for keeping electricity reliable and affordable.

Health groups warn the real costs are much higher

The Biden EPA had estimated the 2024 standards would deliver up to $1.9 billion in health benefits and $1.4 billion in climate benefits each year.

The American Lung Association said the tighter rules would have added $300 million in health benefits.

Health advocates warn the rollback will lead to more asthma attacks, heart disease, and early deaths in communities near coal plants.

The Environmental Protection Network said facilities across 45 states will feel the effects. A former EPA scientist said the repeal will contribute to thousands of additional deaths and learning disabilities.

Mercury poses serious risks to children

Mercury is a powerful neurotoxin that can damage the nervous, digestive, and immune systems. Coal plants are the single largest human source of mercury emissions in the country.

Once released into the air, mercury can turn into methylmercury, which pollutes waterways and builds up in fish.

The EPA has previously estimated that more than 75,000 newborns each year may face a higher risk of learning disabilities from methylmercury exposure.

Children exposed in the womb can suffer lasting harm to memory, attention, language, and motor skills.

Communities lose a key pollution tracking tool

The 2024 rule would have required every power plant to use systems that track particulate matter emissions in real time. Those systems give regulators and nearby residents hard data on what plants release into the air.

Without them, communities near coal plants lose one of their best tools for checking whether a facility stays within pollution limits. Most of the exempted plants already lacked those monitoring systems.

Earthjustice said removing the requirement strips communities of their ability to hold polluters accountable.

Rising energy demand fuels the push to keep coal alive

The Trump administration framed the repeal as necessary to meet surging electricity demand. A big driver of that demand is the rapid growth of data centers powering artificial intelligence systems.

The administration declared an energy emergency in 2025 to justify keeping aging coal plants running. The White House also directed the Pentagon to buy power from coal plants for military use.

Emergency orders have halted the planned shutdown of several plants the administration says the grid still needs.

Coal keeps declining despite looser rules

Even with the rollback, coal’s future looks dim. The U.S. Energy Information Administration predicts coal will keep shrinking as a share of the country’s energy mix, while renewable sources like solar continue to grow.

Research firm Energy Innovation found that aging coal plants face rising costs from higher maintenance bills, with costs climbing 28% from 2021 to 2024.

Environmental groups and some energy analysts say the repeal props up a declining industry without changing the market forces that keep pushing coal aside.

Legal challenges are already taking shape

Environmental groups say they plan to challenge the repeal in court, arguing it breaks the Clean Air Act.

A separate lawsuit landed on Feb. 18, 2026, challenging the EPA’s repeal of the endangerment finding, which had served as the legal basis for regulating greenhouse gases.

The American Lung Association, American Public Health Association, and Sierra Club are among the groups behind that suit. The legal battles could drag on for years and may eventually reach the Supreme Court.

Original 2012 rules still apply, but limits are weaker

The 2012 mercury standards remain in place, so coal plants still face some emission limits. But those caps are far less strict than what the 2024 rule required.

According to the scientific publication Eos, coal plants may now release more than twice as much mercury as the 2024 standards would have allowed.

Families living near plants, especially in the Midwest and Appalachia, may face greater exposure to hazardous pollutants. The full picture depends on how plants adjust and whether courts step in.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

Read more from this brand:

• Trump’s EPA just removed the legal foundation for most U.S. climate rules
• Food Stamps Will Stop Covering Soda, Chips, and Candy in 18 States by 2026
• USA Quit the Paris Climate Agreement – Again