Trump exempts dozens of coal plants from stricter pollution standard

President Trump on Tuesday exempted dozens of coal plants from a Biden administration regulation imposing stricter standards for mercury, lead, nickel and arsenic emissions.

Trump announced the exemption as part of a series of actions he took to bolster the coal industry.

“As part of our historic deregulatory efforts, this afternoon, I'm also granting immediate relief to 47 companies operating 66 coal plants, very big ones all over the country,” he said. 

He said that the Biden-era restrictions made it “impossible to do anything having to do, frankly, with energy.”

Exposure to the pollutants in question raises the risk of developmental delays in children, as well as heart attacks and cancer. 

The move comes after the Environmental Protection Agency temporarily opened up an email portal for polluters to request presidential exemptions from various regulations that it plans to roll back. 

In addition, the Trump administration pledged to use the Justice Department to go after states whose laws or policies burden coal and prevent their enforcement.

An executive order directs the attorney general to prioritize any laws related to climate change, environmental, social, and governance initiatives, environmental justice, greenhouse gas emissions or those that impose carbon taxes or penalties. 

“I'm instructing the Department of Justice to identify and fight every single unconstitutional state or local regulation that's putting our coal miners out of business,” Trump said. 

The other actions the Trump administration took to bolster coal include efforts to exempt coal mining projects from environmental reviews, removing restrictions on coal mining on federal lands, and requiring the Energy Department to use funding to support developing coal technologies.