A coalition of public health, environmental, and community advocates filed a lawsuit March 30 challenging the Trump administration’s repeal of standards that limit brain-damaging mercury, lead, and other hazardous air pollution from coal-fired power plants.
Days later, 21 states and local governments filed a separate lawsuit April 1 targeting the same regulatory rollback.
The EPA published its final rule Feb. 20 repealing recent amendments to the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards, reinstating weaker compliance requirements that environmental groups say will increase toxic pollution from the nation’s coal fleet.
Since the original Mercury and Air Toxics Standards took effect in 2012, EPA data shows they have driven down dangerous mercury pollution from power plants by approximately 90%, according to the agency’s most recent National Emissions Inventory.
Following the Trump administration’s regulatory changes, environmental monitoring data indicates sulfur dioxide emissions from affected coal plants have increased significantly, with mercury emissions also rising at facilities granted compliance extensions.
“The American Lung Association is taking this action because of EPA’s choice to allow more toxic pollution to impact the health and well-being of children throughout the United States,” said American Lung Association President and CEO Harold Wimmer in a statement. “This will expose more communities to mercury and other toxic pollutants, leading to brain development impacts, asthma attacks, cancers and premature deaths.”
Dr. Andrew D. Racine, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, warned in the organization’s public comments that “without strong Mercury and Air Toxics Standards in place, harms to children’s brain development will increase and risks of respiratory conditions like asthma will become worse.”
The lawsuits represent one of the most significant environmental legal challenges to the Trump administration’s regulatory rollbacks since it took office in January. The coalition argues the repeal “violates the Clean Air Act, ignores the scientific record, and abandons safeguards that protect communities living near coal plants and downwind of their pollution.”
The Mercury and Air Toxics Standards implement nationwide limits on emissions of toxic air pollutants from coal- and oil-fired power plants, including mercury, arsenic, lead and other toxic metals, in addition to acid gases such as hydrogen chloride and formaldehyde.
Mercury is a powerful neurotoxin that ends up in water and soil, concentrating in the food chain, especially in fish. It is particularly dangerous for pregnant women and young children, as exposure during fetal development can cause lasting cognitive impairments.
New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin joined the state coalition that includes attorneys general from 16 states and the District of Columbia, along with New York City, Chicago and Harris County, Texas.
“The Trump Administration continues to prioritize polluter profits over public health,” Platkin said in a statement announcing the lawsuit. “We cannot allow ideological opposition to environmental protection to override our duty to safeguard children’s health from toxic mercury pollution.”
The regulatory battle intensified after President Trump signed executive actions directing EPA to review and roll back Obama-era environmental standards, including the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards that had required coal plants to install pollution control equipment or shut down.
According to EPA compliance data, more than 90% of U.S. coal capacity had already met the mercury and air toxics standards through installation of pollution controls or plant retirements. The remaining facilities had sought extensions or exemptions from the requirements.
Coal plants that received regulatory relief under the Trump administration’s revised standards have increased their sulfur dioxide emissions substantially compared to facilities maintaining stricter controls, according to EPA’s Air Markets Program data tracking system.
Environmental health advocates argue the stakes extend far beyond regulatory compliance. The standards “have already reduced toxic mercury emissions dramatically from the power sector, protecting the health of children across the country,” said American Public Health Association Executive Director Georges C. Benjamin. “These standards have slashed emissions of toxic air pollutants, including mercury, particulate matter, arsenic and lead, and have saved thousands of lives each year.”
Deborah Murray, senior attorney for the Southern Environmental Law Center, said “federal safeguards that have significantly lowered levels of mercury, arsenic, lead and other toxic air pollutants have proven to be a success story for public health and the environment. Efforts by the Trump administration’s EPA to undermine this progress to promote industry-friendly policies comes at a huge cost for communities who depend on clean air.”
The lawsuit also challenges EPA’s rollback of continuous emissions monitoring requirements at power plants, which environmental groups say would have given communities accurate real-time data on the pollution they’re breathing and stronger tools for enforcing compliance.
Industry representatives have argued the mercury standards imposed unnecessary costs on coal-fired power generation, contributing to plant closures and higher electricity prices in some regions. However, EPA’s own economic analysis found the health benefits of reduced mercury exposure far exceeded the compliance costs.
The case will likely take months or years to resolve in federal court, during which time the revised standards will remain in effect unless a judge grants an injunction halting their implementation.