DoomsdaysCW<p>Oh. Too expensive, eh? Maybe all that money we're saving from <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/DOGE" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>DOGE</span></a> could go towards installing scrubbers or replacing them! (JK! <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/DOGESucks" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>DOGESucks</span></a>! <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/TaxTheRich" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>TaxTheRich</span></a>!)</p><p>More Than 60 Power Plants Exempted From Federal <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/MercuryLimits" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>MercuryLimits</span></a></p><p>More stringent rules were scheduled to be enforced in 2027. Selected plants will now have two more years to comply. </p><p>By Dan Gearino<br>April 16, 2025</p><p>"Included in the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Trump" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Trump</span></a> administration’s order last week to boost the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/coal" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>coal</span></a> industry was a two-year exemption to a rule that would have forced some of the nation’s most polluting power plants to reduce emissions of mercury and other air toxics. </p><p>"The ramifications of this exemption are beginning to sink in for people across the country who saw the mercury rule, updated and enhanced last year by the Biden administration, as a crucial part of reducing the harm of these power plants. </p><p>"The Environmental Protection Agency [<a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/EPA" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>EPA</span></a>] published a list of 47 plant owners and more than 60 plants that now have additional time to meet mercury and air toxics standards (MATS) that were set to become more stringent in 2027. </p><p>"The actions are part of a broader agenda in which the Trump administration aims to use executive orders to cut environmental regulations and increase electricity generation, mainly from <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/FossilFuels" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>FossilFuels</span></a>.</p><p>" 'The Trump administration has created an illegal special exemption by which polluters can go to the president and request a ‘get out of jail free’ card when it comes to the Clean Air Act,' said Howard Learner, CEO and executive director of the Environmental Law & Policy Center, a Chicago-based advocacy group that works throughout the Midwest. 'That’s legally irresponsible; it’s bad policy, and it will really harm people as a result of more pollution.'</p><p>"The exempted plants are in 23 states and include some of the country’s leading <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/polluters" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>polluters</span></a>, such as the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/JamesHMillerPlant" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>JamesHMillerPlant</span></a> in <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Alabama" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Alabama</span></a>, owned by Southern Co., and the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/LabadiePlant" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>LabadiePlant</span></a> in <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Missouri" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Missouri</span></a>, owned by <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/AmerenCorp" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>AmerenCorp</span></a>.</p><p>"Many of the plants are old, such as the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/TennesseeValleyAuthority" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>TennesseeValleyAuthority</span></a>’s <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ShawneePlant" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>ShawneePlant</span></a> in <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Kentucky" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Kentucky</span></a>, whose oldest generating unit began operating in 1953. </p><p>"A few are relatively new, such as the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/DryForkStation" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>DryForkStation</span></a> in <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Wyoming" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Wyoming</span></a>, which opened in 2011 and is owned by <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/BasinElectric" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>BasinElectric</span></a> Power Cooperative.</p><p>"The list consists mostly of <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/CoalPlants" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>CoalPlants</span></a>, but also includes a few properties that burn <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/gas" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>gas</span></a> or <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/petroleum" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>petroleum</span></a>."</p><p>Read more:<br><a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/news/16042025/power-plants-exempted-from-federal-mercury-limits/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">insideclimatenews.org/news/160</span><span class="invisible">42025/power-plants-exempted-from-federal-mercury-limits/</span></a></p><p>Archived version:<br><a href="https://archive.ph/uocBf" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="">archive.ph/uocBf</span><span class="invisible"></span></a></p><p><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/BadDOGE" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>BadDOGE</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/AirIsLife" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>AirIsLife</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/MercuryPoisoning" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>MercuryPoisoning</span></a><br><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ToxicAir" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>ToxicAir</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/WaterIsLife" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>WaterIsLife</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/DirtyCoal" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>DirtyCoal</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/CoalMining" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>CoalMining</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/USPol" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>USPol</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Pollution" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Pollution</span></a></p>