# Coal-fired Power Plants

Type: industry

Source: GetYourBrief — https://getyourbrief.com/entity/coal-fired-power-plants
Canonical HTML page: https://getyourbrief.com/entity/coal-fired-power-plants

## Timeline

- **2026-02-21**: Current Rollback — The EPA announces a new rule to weaken limits, citing industry economic relief.
- **2026-02-20**: Current Rollback — The Trump administration finalizes the easing of toxic emission limits for coal-fired utilities.
- **2024-04-25**: Biden Strengthening — The EPA finalizes a rule to tighten mercury limits, specifically targeting lignite coal plants.
- **2024-04-25**: Standards Strengthened — The Biden administration restores and tightes mercury limits to record levels.
- **2020-04-22**: Cost-Benefit Revision — The EPA under the Trump administration weakens the legal justification for the rule.
- **2020-04-16**: First Trump Rollback — The EPA first attempts to weaken the 'appropriate and necessary' finding for MATS.
- **2012-02-16**: MATS Introduced — The Obama administration issues the first national standards for mercury and toxic air pollutants from power plants.
- **2012-02-16**: MATS Established — The Obama administration issues the first national standards for mercury emissions from power plants.

## Recent coverage (2 stories, network-wide)

### EPA Rolls Back Mercury Emission Standards for Coal Power Plants
2026-02-21 04:16:17 · Sector: climate · Sentiment: Negative · Impact: 8/10 · Sources: 3

The Environmental Protection Agency has officially weakened mercury and air toxics standards for coal-fired power plants, reversing years of stringent environmental oversight. This regulatory pivot aims to reduce operational costs for the aging coal fleet but faces immediate backlash from public health advocates and environmental groups.
Full story: https://getclimatebrief.com/story/epa-mercury-limits-coal-rollback

### Trump Administration Rolls Back Mercury Emission Limits for Coal Power Plants
2026-02-20 20:47:14 · Sector: climate · Sentiment: Negative · Impact: 8/10 · Sources: 5

The Trump administration has finalized a significant rollback of federal limits on mercury and other toxic air pollutants from coal-fired power plants. The move reverses stringent Biden-era environmental protections to reduce compliance costs for the fossil fuel industry, sparking a sharp divide between utility operators and public health advocates.
Full story: https://getclimatebrief.com/story/trump-epa-eases-coal-mercury-limits

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