The US Environmental Protection Agency proposed revisions on May 14 to wastewater requirements governing coal-fired power plants, a move the agency says could lower electricity generation costs and preserve grid reliability as demand increases.
The proposal would revise the Effluent Limitation Guidelines, known as ELGs, for steam power plants by rescinding treatment requirements associated with untreated residual combustion leachate or wastewater linked to coal ash disposal sites. The EPA estimates the change could reduce electricity generation costs by up to $1.1 billion annually.
The action marks the latest step in a broader reconsideration of Biden-era wastewater standards that utilities and industry groups argued created operational and compliance challenges for coal facilities.
The proposal follows a series of EPA actions this year aimed at giving utilities additional compliance flexibility as the agency reconsiders broader wastewater standards.
A March EPA final rule extended some compliance deadlines by five years, to Dec. 31, 2034, while creating mechanisms to allow facilities to switch between compliance pathways and request alternative deadlines due to supply chain or reliability issues.
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said the proposal supports the administration’s efforts to lower electricity costs and improve reliability. He argued that the growing demand for electricity from AI infrastructure and data centers “cannot be met by the overly restrictive policies of previous administrations.”
The EPA said the proposal would replace prescriptive requirements with a case-by-case permitting approach intended to provide more flexibility to regulators and plant operators. The agency said it would continue to use Clean Water Act authorities while pursuing what it described as more workable standards.
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In a March analysis, Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP partner Andrew J. Turner and counsel Brian R. Levey outlined compliance flexibility provisions that could require facilities seeking alternative timelines to submit detailed engineering dependency charts and milestone schedules documenting project sequencing and critical path considerations. These planning requirements could create additional engineering and project management work as companies evaluate compliance options.
Power industry groups welcomed the proposal, arguing it could reduce regulatory uncertainty and help companies keep coal capacity online.
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“We welcome EPA’s efforts to overturn the one-size-fits-all ELG requirements that are unnecessarily prescriptive and costly,” said Michelle Bloodworth, president and CEO of America’s Power. “This proposal represents another important step toward preserving the nation’s coal fleet.”
The National Mining Association also endorsed the approach. Tawny Bridgeford, the organization’s general counsel and senior vice president of regulatory affairs, said the previous requirements “resulted in early coal retirements that increased electricity prices and harmed grid reliability.”
According to estimates cited by Earthjustice, the EPA previously estimated that treatment requirements for unmanaged leachate would prevent 113 to 601 million pounds of pollutants annually from reaching waterways at 61 to 113 facilities nationwide. The environmental organization said the proposed revisions could weaken standards at up to 104 plants.
“This is yet another example of the Trump administration endangering the health of Americans as a favor to corporate polluters,” said Earthjustice attorney Thom Cmar. “This plan would eliminate safeguards for hundreds of millions of pounds of sewage containing neurotoxins and cancer-causing pollutants.”
Coal wastewater regulations have also drawn criticism from environmental and drinking water organizations. Earthjustice noted that the American Water Works Association and the Nurses Alliance for Healthy Environments have warned the EPA about the risks that coal wastewater pollution can pose to drinking water sources, while environmental groups, including Clean Water Action, have argued that stronger treatment requirements are needed.
Existing ELG requirements affect the planning of wastewater treatment systems, pipe networks, ash handling modifications, groundwater management systems and related environmental infrastructure at affected facilities.
Environmental groups harshly criticized the proposal and pointed to potential legal challenges that could widen uncertainty about future compliance planning.
The EPA said it will accept public comments on the proposal for 30 days.
