Overview

• EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin on June 11 proposed scrapping both greenhouse gas limits and Mercury and Air Toxics Standards for coal- and gas-fired power plants.
• The proposal has moved into a public comment phase before any final rule, with the Environmental Defense Fund, NRDC and other nonprofits vowing legal challenges.
• The agency estimates the rollback will save power generators about $1.2 billion annually and cites surging electricity needs from AI data centers.
• Opponents warn lifting the standards could raise emissions of mercury, particulate matter and greenhouse gases linked to respiratory and cardiovascular harms.
• U.S. power plants produce nearly a quarter of national greenhouse gas pollution, and the rescinded rules aimed to cut roughly 1 billion metric tons of emissions by 2047.