EPA moves to eliminate ‘costly’ power plant mandates, acting to secure energy independence and limit regulatory overreach

September 14, 2026 Lillian Mann about four years?, air pollution, carbon dioxide, carbon emissions, carbon pollution, Clean Air Act, climate action, climate change, climate policy, climate pollution, climate regulations, CO2, coal power plants, deregulation, electric grid, electricity costs, electricity prices, emissions regulations, energy costs, energy jobs, energy policy, environmental law, environmental lawsuits, environmental policy, environmental protection, Environmental Protection Agency, environmental regulations, EPA, EPA regulations, federal regulations, fossil fuels, global warming, greenhouse gas emissions, greenhouse gases, legal challenges, lillian mann, natural gas power plants, OAN Newsroom, power plant emissions, power plants, power sector, Public Health, regulatory rollback, Trump Administration, US 0


WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 16: Former Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY), U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to be Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, speaks during his Senate Environment and Public Works confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill on January 16, 2025 in Washington, DC. During the hearing Zeldin was questioned on his environmental record and how he would lead the agency to combat climate change. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC – JANUARY 16: Lee Zeldin, Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

OAN Staff Lillian Mann
6:00 PM – Monday, September 14, 2026

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has moved to eliminate rules that limit greenhouse gas emissions from coal and natural gas power plants, while also taking steps to block future administrations from reinstating such regulations.

When it proposed scrapping the regulations last year, the Trump administration estimated that by 2035, the rollback would release an extra 123 million metric tons of carbon dioxide annually — the equivalent of adding 28.7 million gas-powered cars to the road.

Defending the complete dismantling of the rules, EPA Assistant Administrator Aaron Szabo told legacy media reporters that the move will allow power companies to make operational decisions based on cost savings and grid reliability rather than being forced to close plants.

Ultimately, Szabo said that the moves would allow “American families and businesses experience lower electricity costs, thanks to an increased power supply.”

 

Building on Monday’s rule, the EPA also issued a companion proposal declaring that the Clean Air Act lacks the statutory authority for the agency to regulate power plant emissions linked to alleged climate change — meaning the government will not have the legal power to limit pollution from power plants to fight alleged global warming, even if a future president aims to do so.

Driven by concerns over high electricity demand and soaring power prices, the EPA’s decisions build on previous findings that axing power plant climate rules could lower electricity prices. Citing these benefits, the agency announced that the final rule is projected to save industry over $300 billion.

 

Meanwhile, supporters have also highlighted that the move will make electricity bills much cheaper and create more jobs for Americans. Despite this, efforts by any presidential administration to repeal major environmental regulations, such as limits on power plant greenhouse gas emissions, routinely face an uphill battle in the federal court system.

Environmental coalitions and coalitions of states almost immediately file lawsuits and seek judicial injunctions, arguing that the rollbacks violate federal statutes or “lack adequate scientific justification.”

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