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EPA Proposal Would Let Up to 11 Coal Plants Keep Operating — and Dump Coal Ash — for Three More Years

02:16 AM, 11/27/2025
EPA Proposal Would Let Up to 11 Coal Plants Keep Operating — and Dump Coal Ash — for Three More Years

The EPA has proposed allowing up to 11 coal-fired plants to operate and continue disposing of coal ash in unlined ponds until Oct. 17, 2031, extending a prior 2028 deadline. Officials say the move preserves baseload power as prices rise; critics warn it risks mercury, arsenic and groundwater contamination. The administration also plans to reconsider a Biden-era rule targeting legacy coal ash sites, and the proposal will be subject to public comment and possible legal challenges.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed allowing as many as 11 coal-fired power plants to extend operations and continue disposing of coal ash in unlined ponds until Oct. 17, 2031 — three years beyond a previous 2028 cutoff. The move, announced under the current administration, would permit affected facilities both to remain in service and to keep using controversial coal ash impoundments while they plan closures or compliance work.

The 2020 rule exempted plants that planned to close by Oct. 17, 2028 from requirements to stop placing coal ash in unlined ponds. The new proposal would move that deadline to Oct. 17, 2031, potentially delaying cleanup at sites that environmental groups have long criticized.

Why it matters: Coal ash can contain toxic pollutants such as mercury, arsenic and lead. If impoundments are poorly managed or unlined, contaminants can leach into groundwater and surface water, threatening drinking-water supplies and local ecosystems.

The EPA framed the extension as a measure to protect grid reliability and control costs. "President Trump understands that maintaining baseload capacity is critical to providing affordable and reliable energy for all Americans," said Steven Cook, the EPA's principal deputy assistant administrator for the Office of Land and Emergency Management. "Today's proposal offers flexibility for coal-fired power plants, so they have the time needed to meet requirements and can continue to help secure prosperity and energy independence of our nation."

"The burning of the coal, of course, harms the health of nearby communities as well as producing greenhouse gases and operating the leaking impoundments further contaminates groundwater and threatens water resources," said Lisa Evans, senior counsel at Earthjustice.

As of 2024, the United States had 219 operating coal plants. The administration has repeatedly moved to ease pollution rules affecting coal facilities and has indicated plans to revisit a Biden-era rule aimed at reducing pollution from legacy coal ash ponds — the unlined disposal sites left at plants that have already shut down.

The proposal will be open for public comment and could face legal challenges from environmental groups and state regulators. If finalized, it would temporarily delay regulatory deadlines for certain coal plants while broader debates continue about energy reliability, public health and environmental protection.

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