The Environmental Protection Agency is proposing to roll back the Biden administration’s wastewater standards for power plants, a move the agency said would improve grid reliability and reduce compliance costs. The agency said Thursday it is reconsidering a rule known as the effluent limitation guidelines for power plants. The Biden administration finalized the rule in 2024 as part of a suite of standards aimed at reducing pollution from fossil fuel power plants. The EPA’s proposal would rescind certain “one-size-fits-all” limits and allow permit writers greater flexibility to set discharge limits on a case-by-case basis.
“This proposal is critical to advancing the Trump administration’s efforts to make electricity more affordable and reliable for all Americans while powering economic growth,” EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said in a statement.
“The AI and data center revolution is creating an electricity and baseload power demand that cannot be met under the overly restrictive policies of past administrations,” he continued. “The Trump EPA will continue doing its part to address these burdensome regulations on the coal-fired power plant sector that hold American communities back from the new opportunities presented by this new 21st century energy reality.”
