EPA Change to Mercury Emissions Rules a Win For North Dakota Lignite Coal Industry

(Photo by Jeff Beach/North Dakota Monitor)

(North Dakota Monitor) – The Environmental Protection Agency recently finalized the repeal of a 2024 regulation that one North Dakota official had called a “death penalty” to the state’s lignite coal industry.

The repeal reverts federal regulations of emissions from coal-fired power plants to the rule implemented in 2012 under the Obama administration.

“This is a really big deal for the state of North Dakota,” said Cyrus Western, administrator of EPA Region 8, which includes North Dakota. “The takeaway is that folks can continue to have clean air while simultaneously allowing for these utilities to burn this fuel source to generate really affordable and reliable power.”

The 2024 rule would have required coal-fired power plants to continuously monitor emissions instead of conducting periodic checks. It also would have eliminated a subcategory of more lenient mercury emission standards for power plants that burn lignite coal, like those in North Dakota, requiring those plants to adhere to stricter limits in place for other types of coal.