November 27, 2025 - The Trump administration is proposing to extend the life of some coal plants and their controversial waste-disposal practices.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed Tuesday to allow as many as 11 coal plants to keep operating for three extra years.

In 2020, the last Trump administration issued a rule that exempted coal plants from requirements to stop disposing of toxic waste in unlined ponds if they planned to shutter by Oct. 17, 2028.

Now, it is proposing to extend that deadline to Oct. 17, 2031 — meaning that the plants in question can both keep operating and continue to dump their toxic waste in these controversial coal ash ponds.

The waste in question, called coal ash, can contain pollutants including mercury and arsenic. According to the EPA, if not properly managed, this waste can leak and contaminate nearby water.

The administration described its latest proposal as helping to keep power on the electric grid at a time when power prices are rising.

“President Trump understands that maintaining baseload capacity is critical to providing affordable and reliable energy for all Americans,” Steven Cook, the EPA principal deputy assistant administrator for the Office of Land and Emergency Management, said in a written statement. 

“Today’s proposal offers flexibility for coal-fired power plants, so they have the time needed to meet requirements and can continue to help secure prosperity and energy independence of our nation,” he said. 

However, environmental advocates argue that the move could result in more pollution — from both extending coal plant operations and the disposal sites.

“The burning of the coal, of course, harms the health of nearby communities as well as producing greenhouse gases and operating the leaking impoundments further contaminates groundwater and threatens water resources,” said Lisa Evans, senior counsel at Earthjustice.

As of 2024, the U.S. had 219 operating coal plants. The Trump administration has embraced coal as a fuel source despite its contributions to pollution and climate change, arguing that it’s a reliable source of energy and important to the nation’s economy.

The Trump administration has repeatedly moved to exempt coal plants from pollution rules and has indicated that it intends to roll back regulations on the fuel source. The president’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act also included a subsidy for coal mining. 

Separately, the Trump administration could also undermine restrictions on legacy coal ash ponds — those that are at coal plants that are now closed.

The Trump administration told environmental groups earlier this year that it planned to revise a Biden-era rule that cracked down on legacy coal ash pollution.