Most coal-fired power plants have already made the technological upgrades required by the 2011 mercury rule. Many utilities have urged the Trump administration not to go ahead with Thursday’s rollbacks, fearing expensive legal battles will result.
Fred Krupp, president of the Environmental Defense Fund advocacy group, said the Obama-era mercury standards already had proved to be “a resounding success,” reducing mercury pollution from coal plants by more than 80 percent. “Thanks to these vital clean air protections, we all have less poison in the air we breathe and the food we eat,” Krupp said in a statement.
