Trump EPA Administrator to coal executives: “Many of the items that were on your wish list are now done.”

Dear Journalist, 

Today, at a recorded National Coal Council meeting, Trump EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said the quiet part out loud to executives from coal and mining companies in the room: 

“Many of the items that were on your wish list are now done.”  

While it’s been obvious that the Trump administration has been prioritizing the coal industry’s profits over the American people’s health and wallets for some time, it’s never been stated this directly and blatantly. 

Administrator Zeldin also said his agency is "proud to do this work to protect, advance beautiful clean coal across the United States."  

Here are many of the checked-off items on the “wish list.” 

Pollution protection rollbacks: 

• The Trump EPA repealed the 2024 Mercury and Air Toxics Standards updates, allowing coal- and oil-fired power plants to pollute more brain-damaging mercury, dangerous heavy metals and soot. 
• They’ve handed out expansive, illegal Clean Air Act exemptions to allow 71 coal-fired power plants across 24 states to ignore pollution limits – even though, when asking for these free passes to pollute, many coal plants admitted that they already had the technologies to lower their pollution for mercury and other toxic metals. 
• The administration is also moving to repeal limits on climate pollution from power plants, leaving Americans without protections from the largest stationary source of planet-warming pollution. 

Taxpayer-funded giveaways: 

• The Trump administration is giving out over $1 billion in subsidies to the coal industry to prop up existing uneconomic plants and build new ones (for the first time in over a decade). There’s a reason why many coal plants have retired or are scheduled to retire soon – 99% of coal plants cost more to run than it would cost to replace them with clean energy. 
• The administration has even ordered the Department of Defense to buy electricity from coal plants. 
• The Department of Interior has also opened up 13 million acres of federal lands to coal mining, even though barely anyone is bidding. 

Forcing ancient coal plants to stay open: 

• The Trump administration is illegally mandating six coal plants to remain open past their retirement dates, despite local and state plans to replace them with cleaner and cheaper energy resources.  
• The forced operation of these coal plants amounts to nearly $1.5 million per day, with families and businesses left footing the bill. 
• At the same time, the administration has been blocking, delaying and canceling clean energy projects that can provide low-cost power. 

The picture is clear: The coal industry continues to get its “wish list” from the Trump administration, while American families are stuck paying for it with higher bills and more dangerous air pollution.

I’d be happy to talk about these issues further.  Please feel free to contact me.  

Sincerely,

Ted Kelly 
Director and Lead Counsel for U.S. Clean Energy 
Environmental Defense Fund