EPA seeks to roll back Biden power plant wastewater standards

“This proposal is critical to advancing the Trump administration’s efforts to make electricity more affordable and reliable for all Americans while powering economic growth,” EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said in a statement.

“The AI and data center revolution is creating an electricity and baseload power demand that cannot be met under the overly restrictive policies of past administrations,” he continued. “The Trump EPA will continue doing its part to address these burdensome regulations on the coal-fired power plant sector that hold American communities back from the new opportunities presented by this new 21st century energy reality.”

The Trump EPA has sought to reverse several Biden administration standards on power plants as part of an effort to boost fossil fuel energy production. The Trump EPA said the 2024 rule has “jeopardized many affordable and reliable baseload power plants.” 

It added that the proposal is estimated to reduce electricity generation costs by as much as $1.1 billion annually. 

The Biden administration’s 2024 wastewater rule set stringent standards aimed at reducing the discharge of toxic metals and other pollutants into waterways from coal-fired power plants. 

The administration said at the time that the dischargers include pollutants such as selenium, mercury, arsenic, and nickel, halogen compounds such as bromide, chloride, and iodide, nutrients, and total dissolved solids. It noted that those pollutants can enter drinking water sources, recreational waters, and aquatic life. 

In another deregulatory effort on power plants, the EPA last year proposed rescinding a Biden administration rule that would require new and existing plants to reduce carbon pollution by installing carbon capture, sequestration, and storage technology to limit the release of other toxic substances, such as mercury.

The EPA has also finalized a rule rescinding the Biden administration 2024 rule known as the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards, or MATS. The agency reverted the rule back to the 2012 standards, arguing that those requirements are sufficient to reduce emissions.