EPA considers multi-pronged approach to persistent coal industry issues

Coal was clearly on EPA Administrator Michael Regan’s mind when he offered up remarks to Reuters about how his agency plans to tackle the industry’s worst infractions, from ozone pollution to coal ash disposal, in hopes of getting those coal facilities to finally shutter. Regan spoke with the outlet last week while on the latest segment of his environmental justice tour in Puerto Rico, visiting sites like the Caño Martín Peña tidal channel and the community of Guayama—an area plagued by what EarthJustice notes is two decades of coal ash contamination thanks to AES Corp’s coal-powered generator.

Regan knows AES Corp’s bad actions constitute a major environmental justice issue and vowed to address plants like the one in Guayama and beyond without running afoul of the Supreme Court’s ruling in West Virginia v. EPA. “Will [the Supreme Court decision] constrain what we could do and the flexibilities that we could allow the power sector to have? Absolutely, but are we deterred? Absolutely not,” Regan told Reuters. “EPA is still in the game… We knew that with the makeup of this court, we weren't going to get a favorable decision, and so from day one, the Biden administration has been working on solutions for designing regulations for power plants.”