Trump EPA Rolls Back Another Biden-Era Rule
Last week, at Kentucky’s Mills Creek Power Plant, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency finalized a major deregulatory action. EPA announced that it would repeal the Biden Administration’s 2024 amendments to the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS). The move restores the original 2012 standards while preventing costly new mandates.
In announcing the rollback, EPA emphasized,
“In today’s final action, EPA repealed the Biden Administration’s 2024 amendments to the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Coal- and Oil-Fired Electric Utility Steam Generating Units (EGUs) – a rule commonly known as the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards for power plants, or simply MATS. By doing so, EPA will enforce existing, highly effective and robust MATS requirements, which will ensure public health and the environment are protected without compromising America’s energy or economic prosperity. The final rule is expected to save an estimated $670 million, savings American families will see in the form of lower everyday living costs.”
It is important to note that the original MATS standards were already working. By 2021, mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants were 90 percent lower than pre-MATS levels. Acid gas hazardous air pollutants declined by more than 96 percent, and non-mercury metals such as arsenic, nickel, and lead fell by over 81 percent. Even the Biden Administration acknowledged that the 2012 standards provided an ample margin of safety for public health.
Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman praised the Trump Administration for protecting affordable energy and standing up for Kentucky coal, calling it essential to keeping costs low and the lights on.
By reverting to the 2012 MATS standards, EPA demonstrates that environmental protection and economic prosperity can advance together.
At Power The Future, we’ve said it all along: affordable, reliable energy is the foundation of American prosperity. Ending the war on coal is a critical step to protect families from rising costs, strengthen grid reliability, and secure America’s energy future.
February 25, 2026