On Friday, February 20, 2026, the Trump administration announced it is rolling back clean air regulations that limit mercury and other hazardous pollutants from power plants. The rollback will lead to greater emissions of mercury, heavy metals, and increase the risk of cancer, lung, and heart disease for communities living near coal power plants.
Under Section 112 of the Clean Air Act, the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) limit mercury and other toxic emissions from coal- and oil-fired power plants. In 2024, the Biden EPA updated these standards by (i) tightening the filterable particulate matter (fPM) emissions limits; (ii) mandating the use of continuous particulate matter monitoring systems, and (iii) requiring lignite-fired power plants to meet the same mercury emission limits as other coal-fired plants. In February 2026, the Trump Administration rolled back the 2024 revisions and reinstated the standards to the 2012 version, citing reliability and cost.
The Platform for a Just Climate put together this MATS Fact Sheet where you can find additional information like a timeline and what this means for you and your community. You can access our MATS Fact Sheet here for additional background information: