Report: Trump gave $950 million and pollution waivers to coal plants

The Environmental Defense Fund, an environmental group, published an analysis Saturday finding that the Trump administration has supported 90 of the 184 operating coal plants connected to the U.S. grid ¹. The support came through what the group called "cash handouts, free passes to pollute, and requirements to stay online past their retirement dates" ¹.

According to the analysis, the administration provided $950 million in taxpayer dollars to 24 coal plants and gave Clean Air Act exemptions from toxic pollution limits to 70 coal plants ¹. The Clean Air Act is the federal law that sets limits on air pollution.

The exemptions concern the Environmental Protection Agency's Mercury and Air Toxics Standards, which first took effect in 2015 and were updated in 2024 to further reduce harmful pollution from coal-fired power plants ¹. The 2024 update strengthened the standards in several ways, and its filterable particulate matter standard reduced allowable emissions of nickel, arsenic, lead and other toxic metals from coal plants by two-thirds ¹. The administration repealed the updated standards in February ¹.

Surbhi Sarang, a director and senior attorney at the Environmental Defense Fund, said the support keeps older plants running. "It's extending the life of these coal plants," she said ¹. She added that the administration "has leveraged a multitude of tools to prop up coal plants" and that this harms Americans "by increasing electricity costs, by increasing pollution" ¹.

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It's extending the life of these coal plants.

The analysis names specific plants. The Colstrip plant in Montana, which has operated for more than 40 years, releases mercury, arsenic, lead and nickel and affects nearby communities including the Northern Cheyenne reservation, according to the report ¹. Sarang called it "one of the dirtiest coal plants that's still operating in the nation" ¹.

NorthWestern Energy, which became Colstrip's majority owner earlier this year, asked for an exemption, according to emails the Environmental Defense Fund obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests ¹. In a March 2025 email to the Department of Energy, chief executive Brian Bird wrote that complying would cost $500 million: "It is ludicrous that our customers would have to cover the costs of a $500m investment for such a slight improvement to particulate matter capture" ¹.

NorthWestern said its pollution-control technology at Colstrip is "state of the art" for removing sulphur dioxide and is 99.6% efficient at removing filterable particulate emissions ¹. The company said meeting the 2024 standard would have required 99.8% efficiency by 2028 at a cost of hundreds of millions of dollars, and that its mercury controls meet current state and federal requirements ¹.

The WA Parish plant outside Houston also received an exemption, according to the report ¹. Its owner, NRG, asked the Department of Energy for an exemption for all its coal plants, writing that complying "with razor thin margins" would risk grid affordability and reliability ¹. A 2018 Rice University study found the plant is responsible for as many as 177 premature deaths each year from fine particles, which can enter the bloodstream through the lungs ¹.

Daniel Cohan, a Rice University professor, said the waivers let plants avoid cleanup costs. "Trump is letting them off the hook from the more stringent version of the standard," he said ¹. "It lets them stay open longer," he added ¹.

The White House defended the policy. Spokesperson Taylor Rogers said the administration "has backed and saved more than 100 coal plants this term" and that President Trump "has prevented the retirement of more than 17 gigawatts of power and saved lives during heightened demand periods" ¹. Rogers also said Democratic policies "shuttered American coal plants that provided reliable, affordable power" ¹.

That matters because the report ties taxpayer money and pollution limits to household electricity bills and air quality three days before the midterm election ¹. The administration says the aid protects reliable power, while the analysis says the same aid raises costs and pollution for nearby residents ¹.

The Record

1. Jan 1, 2015The EPA's Mercury and Air Toxics Standards first took effect, driving down dangerous pollution from power plants by more than 90% ¹.
2. Jan 1, 2024The EPA updated the standards to further reduce harmful pollution from coal-fired power plants ¹.
3. Mar 1, 2025NorthWestern chief executive Brian Bird emailed the Department of Energy asking for a 15-minute chat about the standards with administrator Lee Zeldin ¹.
4. Feb 1, 2026The administration repealed the 2024 updated standards ¹.

Sources

1. The Guardian, “Trump boosted half of US coal plants with taxpayer dollars and ‘free passes to pollute’, report says” (2026-10-31). theguardian.com/us-news/2026/oct/31/trump-coal-plants-taxpay
2. WDC NEWS 6, “Trump boosted half of US coal plants with taxpayer dollars and ‘free passes to pollute’, report says | Coal | Environment | WDC NEWS 6” (2026-10-31). wdcnews6.com/trump-boosted-half-of-us-coal-plants-with-taxpa

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