Historically, fossil fuel-fired power plants have been allowed to spew unlimited amounts of carbon pollution into the air without federal regulation. This has threatened our climate goals and communities’ health. 

In April 2024, EPA finalized its first-ever standards for new gas power plants. New baseload plants, or those running 40 percent or more of the year, would be required to reduce their emissions by 90 percent by 2032. EPA took heed of the demands of Evergreen and other climate advocates and strengthened this rule since it was proposed last year—by lowering the cutoff from 50 percent to 40 percent and moving up the requirements from 2035 to 2032.

Thanks to these changes, more plants will be covered by this rule on a faster timeline, and as a result, EPA received an A on this standard. These rules, in tandem with the new pollution standards for existing coal plants (explained below) will result in curbing 123 million metric tons of carbon pollution per year, saving 1,200 lives annually, and creating $20 billion in net benefits each year, once fully implemented.

Until now, carbon pollution from coal-fired power plants has never been federally regulated. These plants are the largest source of greenhouse gas pollution from the power sector, as well as a major source of the pollution that contributes to acid rain, nitrogen oxides, and smog, all linked to lung disease, neurological problems, and asthma. In other words, coal is deadly—for people and our climate. 

In April 2024, EPA released historic standards, requiring existing coal plants to reduce their pollution by 90 percent by 2032 if they aren’t set to retire. EPA lengthened the compliance timeline by two years (from 2030 to 2032) since its original proposal. Though this timeline is less stringent than what Evergreen and advocates had called for, states and utilities now have no excuse not to reach this standard on time. 

Because EPA created a standard that is durable, attainable, and ambitious, this rule received an A. These rules, in conjunction with the new pollution standards for new gas plants (explained above) will result in curbing 123 million metric tons of carbon pollution per year, saving 1,200 lives annually, and creating $20 billion in net benefits each year, once fully implemented.

Loopholes have allowed pollution violations during power plant startup, shutdown, and malfunction (SSM). In July 2023, EPA closed loopholes in operating permits that previously allowed power plants to violate pollution rules and create unlimited amounts during periods of malfunction, “emergency” situations, and during periods of starting or stopping a plant. The final rule gives EPA and states a year to eliminate the affirmative defense loophole, which previously allowed companies to skirt liability. EPA’s updated regulation closes these loopholes at last, so the agency received an A for this rule.

EPA has the authority to regulate pollution from plants that flows into surface waters and wastewater treatment plants (called “Effluent Limitation Guidelines”). Trump’s EPA introduced new loopholes to this rule in 2020 to make it easier for companies to discharge toxic wastewater from coal plants into the same waterways we rely on for drinking water and activities like fishing and swimming. President Biden’s EPA finalized a new rule in April 2024 that reverses those exemptions, strengthens water pollution standards, and protects the public from pollutants, eliminating 660 million pounds of toxic wastewater pollution from our waterways.

EPA met the mark by updating this rule, earning an A. As a result, we will prevent 16 million tons of carbon pollution from entering the air per year, save $3.2 billion annually, and prevent 210 deaths each year.

The Regional Haze Rule under the Clean Air Act requires states and federal agencies to collaborate to improve visibility in public lands by reducing particulate matter pollution.

We called on EPA to use the regional haze rule to drive further pollution reduction from power plants and to hold states accountable if they do not submit adequate implementation plans.

In March, EPA at last committed to act on 33 state implementation plans that have not yet been reviewed by the agency. In this review, the agency has pledged to issue a federal implementation plan where the state plan is inadequate. EPA also agreed to a legally enforceable timeline to act by 2026. We will continue to watch and ensure that EPA does in fact reject inadequate state plans as promised over the next two years. But this commitment is a major step forward—and one that answers a call advocates have been making for over a decade. By legally committing to address all state plans on an enforceable timeline, EPA has made massive progress on haze since the last version of this report card, so this rule receives an A.

The thing about dangerous pollution is that it doesn’t just hover near its source. While pollution disproportionately affects communities near the source, it also spreads beyond man-made borders. 

EPA’s Good Neighbor Rule addresses this by targeting dangerous smog-forming pollution created in an “upwind” state that threatens communities beyond state borders. In March 2023, EPA strengthened this rule, which protects 23 neighboring states from air pollution from out-of-state power plants and industrial sources, specifically addressing ozone pollution that crosses state borders. This rule serves to implement the 2015 national smog standard, ensuring that out-of-state ozone doesn’t make states non-compliant with the health-based smog standard, as many states were previously being docked for pollution coming in from beyond state lines. 

Thanks to this rule, the U.S. will curb 16 million metric tons of carbon pollution per year, prevent 1,300 deaths annually, and create $4.3 billion in public benefits each year. EPA received an A on the final version of this rule because it robustly implements national ozone pollution standards, saving thousands of lives in the process.

Coal ash is a dirty byproduct of burning coal, and when not properly addressed, it can pollute the water we drink, lakes, rivers, and the air. In 2015, EPA issued a rule regulating the storage of harmful coal ash to avoid spills and contamination, but the rule was riddled with loopholes and exemptions, leaving over half of the coal ash in the U.S. unregulated. 

In April 2024, EPA updated its coal ash standards, mandating the clean-up and monitoring of nearly 200 sites that have either legacy coal ash ponds or old, unregulated landfills. This rule will protect groundwater and communities near coal plants from old, dangerous coal ash landfills and ash ponds that leak toxic pollutants into our waterways. This rule finishes the job started by the EPA’s initial 2015 coal ash rule once and for all, so EPA received an A on this rule. 

The extraction and burning of fossil fuels create an especially harmful cocktail of pollution, including mercury, heavy metals, and other toxics. The primary offenders are coal-fired power plants, which burn and release the mercury found in fossil fuels into the atmosphere and are able to spread thousands of miles away from their original source. There is no safe level of these dangerous substances, which can easily enter the brains of young children and irreversibly harm cognitive development. 

EPA’s Mercury and Air Toxics Standards limit the amount of these toxic chemicals, including mercury and arsenic, that power plants can release. And the agency’s final rule in April 2024 strengthened the requirements set under the Obama administration, incorporating new technologies that could further reduce pollution of toxic heavy metals. It also lowered the mercury limits for plants that burn lignite, a form of low-grade coal, and it’s anticipated we’ll see a 70 percent reduction in this type of pollution.  

Moreover, the rule requires the installation of continuous emissions monitoring on coal plants, which would track the amount of pollution that these plants are releasing into communities in real time—a check to ensure plants are not violating the standard. 

This rule is expected to cut 65,000 tons of carbon pollution from the air annually, create at least $49 million in public benefits and savings, and prevent at least 7 deaths per year. 

While this rule brings lignite standards into alignment with requirements for other coal plants, the mercury standard for most coal plants was not strengthened, as Evergreen and other climate advocates called for. This decision leaves health and environmental benefits on the table. So, while EPA did finalize the MATS standard within the necessary timeline, this rule received a B grade, given that calls to strengthen the rule were left unanswered.

Soot, also known as fine particle pollution, causes up to 200,000 excess deaths in the U.S. per year and disproportionately harms communities of color. Children are particularly vulnerable to the harms of soot pollution, and exposure can lead to asthma, heart attacks, strokes, and lung disease. 

EPA’s updated national soot standard represents the first improvement in over a decade, reducing the annual limit of fine particulate matter deemed acceptable. In February 2024, EPA released a final rule that lowers the soot standard by 25 percent, to a level 9 micrograms per cubic meter. Research shows this change will prevent 4,500 deaths per year and hundreds of thousands of other medically related events. 

EPA’s final standard will yield $46 billion in net health benefits each year, and for every $1 spent implementing this standard, there could be as much as $77 in human health benefits.

Evergreen and other health and environmental advocates had long called for a more stringent annual standard of 8 micrograms and a lower daily standard. While EPA’s final standard does represent significant progress, substantial research shows that a lower standard would be more protective of public health. Therefore, this rule is awarded a B.

EPA is planning to re-propose its standard covering existing gas plants in an effort to strengthen the carbon and local pollution impacts. Because the final rule is forthcoming, EPA received an Incomplete grade. While those plants will remain unregulated for the time being, we remain optimistic EPA will fulfill its commitments and propose a strong rule that cuts climate pollution, covers the entire gas fleet, and includes strong environmental justice protections. This rule represents a major opportunity to cover the last federally unregulated source of climate pollution from power plants, and we look forward to working with EPA to finalize a strong rule that covers all forms of dangerous pollution.

EPA is currently considering strengthening the National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for ground-level ozone, commonly known as smog. Over 137 million people in the U.S. live in communities with high levels of ozone; this pollutant is linked to shortness of breath, coughing, and asthma. 

In 2020, the Trump EPA conducted a rushed review of the ozone standard and decided to keep the standard at 70 parts per billion (ppb), which EPA had previously reconsidered. Last year, however, EPA announced it would delay consideration of a stronger ozone standard. This rule will likely not be strengthened until a second Biden term and, therefore, received an Incomplete grade.