Trump EPA will weaken the rule limiting harmful air toxics and mercury from coal plants
The Trump administration announced Friday that it would roll back air regulations for power plant?limiting mercury, and hazardous air toxin at an?event? in Kentucky. It says this will boost baseload electricity but public health groups claim it will harm the health of America's most vulnerable populations.
The EPA of President Donald Trump has stated that lowering the pollution standards for older coal plants will reduce costs for utilities who run them at a moment when the demand for electricity is soaring due to the expansion?data centres used for artificial intelligent.
Environmental groups say that lowering standards for air toxics, such as mercury, which is a neurotoxin and can affect babies' brain development, will increase health costs.
The Supreme Court refused to suspend the Biden-era Mercury and Air Toxics Standard after a group of mainly?Republican state and industry groups brought a legal challenge against it.
This rule would reduce the allowed mercury pollution from coal plants by? The rule would reduce emissions of toxic metals like nickel, arsenic and lead by 70%, as well as other toxic metals such as nickel, arsenic and lead. The Environmental Defense Fund estimates that by 2037, the cost of health care will be reduced by?$420,000,000? According to the Environmental Defense Fund, this will continue until 2037.
In a statement released on Wednesday, the EPA stated that MATS 2012 rule provided "an adequate margin of safety for protecting public health" and that adding 2024 would be more expensive than beneficial.
Utilities have been gradually phasing-out aging coal-fired generators, which are major emitters of mercury and carbon. But Trump has promised that he will reduce barriers in order to meet the rising demand for electricity from artificial intelligence (AI) and data centers.
He declared "energy emergencies" last year to justify his decision to keep open coal plants set to be closed and to exempt them from air regulations.
In the spring of last year, as part his administration's emergency energy plan, he published a proclamation inviting all coal plants to email him to request an exemption from MATS regulations. Sixty eight plants received exemptions.
The EPA announced last week that it would be repealing its "endangerment findings," which gave them the authority to regulate greenhouse gases emissions. And the White House instructed the Pentagon to buy power from coal-fired plants for military use.
The coal-burning power plant is one of the largest sources of air pollutants, such as mercury, arsenic and acid gases. It also produces benzene and formaldehyde.
According to the Energy Information Administration, coal plants only generate 20% of U.S. electricty. (Reporting and editing by Aurora Ellis; Valerie Volcovici)
(source: Reuters)
