Trump administration rolls back Obama-era rule aimed at limiting toxic wastewater from coal plants

Power plant discharge ranks as the largest source of toxic water pollution in the United States

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August 31, 2020 at 9:08 p.m. EDT

The Dave Johnson coal-fired power plant in Glenrock, Wyo. (J. David Ake/AP)

The Trump administration on Monday weakened a 2015 regulation that would have forced coal plants to treat wastewater with more modern, effective methods in order to curb toxic metals such as arsenic and mercury from contaminating lakes, rivers and streams near their facilities.

In a statement, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler said that the final rule’s “flexible, phased-in” approach would make it easier for the coal industry to comply while also protecting the environment. Three years ago the Trump administration delayed the Obama-era rule — which the EPA had estimated would keep 1.4 billion pounds of pollutants out of U.S. waterways each year — before replacing it with a scaled-back version.