US Environmental Protection Agency today Finalizing the repeal of the 2024 Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS). A move that would allow coal- and oil-fired power plants to release more brain-damaging mercury, other harmful heavy metals, and dangerous soot. These emissions put the public at greater risk of heart and lung disease, cancer, and premature death.
The EPA also eliminated a common-sense requirement that power plants install cost-effective systems to continuously monitor how much pollution they emit — depriving communities of a powerful tool to ensure power plants comply with air pollution standards and provide real-time data on their emissions.
“Trump’s EPA launches public health attack by canceling 2024 MATS” said Earth Justice attorney Nicholas Morales. “This illegal repeal will lead to higher levels of mercury, soot, and other dangerous pollution in our air and communities. With this move, the Trump administration is rescinding important health protections to protect children from toxins like mercury just to save the coal industry some money.”
The cancellation of MATS follows a two-year waiver granted by the Trump administration to some of the nation’s dirtiest power plants, many of which have proven capable of meeting the updated 2024 standards. In June 2025, community and environmental groups were represented by Earthjustice and other consultants She filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over this illegal decision. The waivers, issued in April and July, allow 71 coal power plants to emit more mercury, arsenic and other heavy metals, despite overwhelming scientific evidence that stricter limits are achievable and would protect children, pregnant women and people with chronic heart and lung disease from toxic air pollution.
Background on MATS
Before MATS was created in 2012, there were no federal limits on how much mercury and toxic air pollution coal- and oil-fired power plants could emit. the The standards resulted in a 90% reduction in mercury emissionsan 80% reduction in other metals, and helped save up to 11,000 lives each year. In 2024, the EPA strengthened MATS, building on what has become one of the most effective air pollution rules.
EPA’s own analysis of the 2024 rule found:
- $33 million in annual health benefits
- Minimal impact on electrical reliability, with no retirements expected
- There were only 33 plants that required upgrades to meet non-mercury metal standards.
For many coal plants, the 2024 standards simply require adjusting existing pollution controls already in place, and most covered facilities have met or are on track to meet the stricter limits. By eliminating those stronger safeguards and returning to outdated standards, the EPA is giving a lifeline to some of the nation’s dirtiest power plants at the expense of public health.
Below is the feedback from our customers and alliance
“This announcement really impacts us here in the Houston area where one of the largest and dirtiest coal-fired power plants in the country is still operating at full capacity,” he says. Jennifer Hedaya, CEO, Air Alliance Houston. “The danger of coal plants like WAParish (owned by NRG) is not theoretical; it has real, measurable damage to people’s quality of life and health. Repealing the rules that limit coal plant pollution means that mercury, soot, arsenic and other harmful substances will still be present in our air at unhealthy levels. For what reason? Most of the remaining coal plants in the United States were already on track to meet stronger standards. This repeal is a sign of a dying industry and will not make anyone healthier. Those of us who work to protect health The public is truly aware of the harms of air pollution and will continue to push for stronger protections from coal pollution.
“This rollback is another example of the Trump administration putting the interests of fossil fuels before the American people.” Anne Haveman, deputy director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, said:. “The 2024 MATS rule has achieved meaningful public health gains at minimal cost. This is environmental protection at its best.”
“For decades, Montanans have been breathing toxic pollution from the dirtiest power plant in the country,” he said. Anne Hedges, executive director of the Montana Center for Environmental Information. “The old and unreliable Colstrip plant has the highest rate of toxic air pollution of any comparable coal plant in the country. It is the only one of its kind without modern pollution controls installed. People who live downwind should not have to pay the price for this management’s reckless disregard for human life through high medical bills and a reduced quality of life for treating completely preventable health problems. It is heartless.”
“The repeal of the 2024 MATS rule is the latest example of the Trump administration serving the fossil fuel industry rather than protecting public health,” he said. “Excessive emissions of arsenic, mercury, and other toxic heavy metals cause the greatest harm to the people who need protection most, including children, who are exposed to these toxins during critical periods of development.” Lawrence Havitz, Legal Director of the Clean Air Councilbased in Pennsylvania, a state with nine coal plants that would have been subject to improved standards.
“Trump’s EPA decision to rescind mercury standards is a direct attack on the health of Americans,” he said. Lori Williams, Beyond Coal Campaign Director for the Sierra Club. “For years, these life-saving safeguards have reduced the amount of toxic pollution that coal plants release into the air and water, keeping millions of Americans safe from heart attacks, asthma and premature deaths. Now, a president who promised to make Americans healthy again is intentionally weakening those protections and families will suffer preventable diseases just because he wants to give the coal industry another handout at the expense of our health. Americans deserve public health standards designed to protect people, not the profits of a dying industry that can’t compete with less expensive coal plants. Our air is polluted dramatically, but Donald Trump and Lee Zeldin made their choice: to help their fellow coal industry cut corners instead of prioritizing the health and safety of our communities, and the Sierra Club will fight this decision with everything we have to defend our communities from this dangerous and deadly decline.
“The coal industry is in decline, and dismantling clean air protections is not going to bring it back,” he says. John Walk, Senior Attorney at NRDC. “It will only lead to more asthma attacks, more heart problems, and more premature deaths, especially in communities living in the shadow of coal plants. We have a right to breathe clean air, and we will fight for that right even if Trump’s EPA denies it.”
“For more than a decade, mercury and air toxics standards have protected Americans from mercury and other dangerous pollutants emitted by coal plants, but now Donald Trump and Lee Zeldin are recklessly attacking those protections so their coal buddies can make a few extra bucks,” he said. Sierra Club climate policy director Patrick Drop. “This is the exact opposite of making Americans healthy. By rolling back these common sense, life-saving protections, the Trump administration is making Americans sicker and needlessly exposing families and children to more dirty pollution that causes heart disease, cancer, and developmental disabilities. This is despicable and reckless, and we will continue to defend our communities from these health risks caused by coal plants.”
“With many of the nation’s coal plants concentrated in the Midwest, this decision sends an unambiguous signal that our communities are expendable.” said Brian Link, senior staff attorney at the Center for Environmental Law and Policy. “Rolling back protections against toxic mercury pollution sacrifices public health to support a declining industry, even though it will not change the underlying economics that are driving coal’s decline. This administration is burying its head in the sand while the rest of the world moves forward toward less expensive, less toxic energy sources.”
“This repeal is unprecedented, illegal, and unjustified, and conflicts with efforts mandated by Congress to reduce dangerous air pollution from industrial facilities.” said Hayden Hashimoto, an attorney with the Clean Air Task Force. “Repealing the EPA puts the interests of polluters ahead of public health by relaxing restrictions on emissions of toxic substances into the air from power plants, which the agency previously recognized as the largest domestic source of emissions of mercury and other dangerous air pollutants. Allowing more emissions of toxic substances into the air puts Americans at greater risk to benefit a small number of particularly dirty coal plants.”
“Repealing these protections will allow coal plants to pour more mercury and toxic pollution into our air, which will then move into our water, our food, and ultimately our children’s bodies. It is needless cruelty when modern pollution controls can provide greater safety.” said Surbhi Sarang, senior staff attorney at the Environmental Defense Fund. “The Trump administration is willfully ignoring evidence that coal plants can reduce their pollution in ways that are readily available and affordable — and it will be American families who pay the price.”
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