Media Advisory: EPA cutting protections on toxic mercury and air pollutants is shortsighted and runs counter to admin’s claims about 'making America healthy again'

On Feb. 20, 2026, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency repealed protective regulations on the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS), enabling power plants to pollute more freely.

The decision removes safeguards implemented in 2024 that strengthened mercury limits for lignite-burning plants, reduced other toxic metals like arsenic and lead, and improved emissions monitoring.

According to the previous EPA’s findings, the 2024 MATS rule would have resulted in the following emissions reductions in 2028: 

• 1,000 pounds of mercury emissions

• 770 tons of fine particulate matter (PM2.5)

• 280 tons of nitrogen oxides (NOₓ)

• 65,000 tons of carbon dioxide (CO₂)

• At least 7 tons of non-mercury hazardous air pollutants, including arsenic, lead, and chromium

Now, MATS is reverted back to the less effective and less protective 2012 version of the rule. 

Michigan Clinicians for Climate Action (MiCCA) issued the following statement:

We are incredibly disappointed by the EPA’s decision to remove common-sense safeguards against known toxins. Unlike the 2024 standards, which were rooted in evidence-based, scientific decision-making, this repeal is strictly to appease industry polluters with little regard to the public’s wellbeing and our shared environmental quality.

We also find these environmental rollbacks to “unleash” industry and contaminants are in direct contradiction to the administration’s language around “making America healthy again.”

The current EPA is minimizing the public health implications of these rollbacks in favor of shortsighted economic industry gains - which runs counter to the EPA’s slated mission of environmental protection. Even from an economic standpoint, the former EPA estimated the MATS rules would create $300 million in total health benefits and $130 million in climate benefits between 2028 and 2037. 

However, even if the health benefits of tighter MATS rules are marginal as the current administration claims, it is an incredibly backwards move to remove safeguards that limit the public’s exposure to any and all toxic chemicals.

The risks from mercury accumulation in humans are well-documented. Mercury is a potent neurotoxin that can affect fetuses and children, resulting in permanent brain damage in infants, learning disabilities, developmental delays, and birth defects. Other pollutants regulated by this rule, including lead and arsenic, can also be dangerous and are linked to various cancers and harm to the kidneys, lungs, and nervous system, among other impacts.

Additionally, we are concerned about the latest extension on a federal order to keep the JH Campbell coal plant in West Olive, MI operating in light of these rollbacks. The plant was planned for closure earlier this year by Consumers Energy, but was kept operational following a misguided federal decision at a cost to ratepayers. If the federal government is going to interfere with state decisions and we have to live with the pollution, the bare minimum is that these facilities’ toxic pollution should be regulated, so that we can breathe, fish, eat, and live safely in our communities. 

In addition to the reduction of contaminants, the MATS rule was projected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Health professionals join our organization because of their concern regarding current and future health impacts of climate change and because of the incredible health benefits of phasing out fossil fuels.

In its announcement, the EPA describes the regulatory decision as part of a campaign to "reverse Democrats’ War on Beautiful Clean Coal." This framing is categorically false and inaccurate, as it's well-documented that "clean coal" is a myth borne out of marketing and green-washing. This decision is a huge step backward at a time when clean energy is increasingly reliable and cheaper than fossil fuels, the EPA must regulate pollution and protect public health.