The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is to revisit Biden-era soot and emissions limits, announcing a review of greenhouse gas and soot restrictions imposed under former President Joe Biden. This action aligns with President Donald Trump’s broader deregulation initiatives aimed at boosting manufacturing and the coal, oil, and mineral extraction industries. The rollback follows Trump’s January 20 executive orders directing the EPA to reassess energy reliability standards and declaring a national energy emergency to enhance electricity and fossil fuel production.

By noting that 91% of existing coal plants were already in compliance, Biden’s EPA defended the stricter 2024 soot standards. However, the Trump administration seeks to maintain the operation of aging coal plants and potentially reopen closed ones to meet rising electricity demand.

Impact on the Nation’s Dirtiest Coal Plants

In the United States, more than 200 coal-fired power plants remain operational, supplying approximately 16% of the nation’s electricity. A rollback of soot regulations could benefit some of the country’s most polluting plants, including Montana’s Colstrip power plant. The EPA has identified Colstrip as the only coal facility in the nation without modern particulate matter emission controls.

Colstrip’s minority owner and operator, Talen Energy, joined over 20 states in the Washington, D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals to challenge Biden’s stricter emissions rules. Last month, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin requested the court to postpone the March 27 oral arguments, allowing the agency’s new leadership to review the rule.

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EPA to Revisit Biden-Era Soot and Emissions Limits: Financial and Legal Ramifications

NorthWestern Energy Group Inc., set to assume majority ownership of the Colstrip plant by year-end, estimated compliance with Biden’s stricter standards would cost between $350 million and $665 million. The 1,500-megawatt plant will supply power to Montana data centers and a 3,000-megawatt transmission line connecting Colstrip to Bismarck, North Dakota.

Talen Energy and NorthWestern Energy did not respond to requests for comment on the EPA’s review of soot and emissions regulations.

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