Coal Industry Cheers Trump’s Pause on Stronger Pollution Rules

Fossil fuel utilities are celebrating a presidential proclamation that would relieve some of the country’s dirtiest emissions sources from compliance with stronger EPA air toxics rules.

President Donald Trump’s proclamation issued April 8 grants “regulatory relief” to stationary sources from 2027 to 2029, maintaining the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) that existed before the Biden administration lowered the limits to be more health-protective.

The action targets one of the many rules the Environmental Protection Agency is trying to roll back, and stretches the bounds of how far the executive can go with the idea that unfavorable regulations threaten US ...