WASHINGTON— The Center for Biological Diversity sued the Trump Environmental Protection Agency over its final rule to weaken, and extend until 2035, national standards that limit or eliminate toxic water pollution from coal-fired power plants, including mercury, selenium, and arsenic.

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, also contests the EPA’s decision to take no enforcement actions against coal-fired power plants that fail to come into compliance with deadlines set in the agency’s 2020 and 2024 Rules.

“This grotesque action by Administrator Zeldin and the Trump EPA will make polluting corporations richer and Americans sicker,” said Hannah Connor, a senior attorney at the Center. “It’s disgusting that coal power plants have the technology and money needed to clean up their act, but their quarterly profits are more important to them than children’s health. We won’t stand for this immoral and illegal maneuver.”

Beyond delaying compliance with pollution-elimination deadlines, the EPA rule allows power plants that had previously committed to closing down to remain operational without updating their pollution-control standards until the later compliance dates. During that time the coal plants will not be required to take additional action to reduce discharges of heavy metal water pollution into the nation’s waters. The EPA has halso signaled that the postponed deadline for updating the pollution limits could be extended further in the future or eliminated entirely.

Coal-fired power plants are the largest industrial source of toxic water pollution in the United States, releasing heavy metals like arsenic, lead, mercury, and selenium. These plants also discharge high levels of nutrients, bromide and other harmful pollutants.

Toxic heavy metals from coal-fired power plant wastewater cause severe human health problems, including cancer, reproductive impacts and lowered IQ among children.

Power-plant wastewater discharges have also damaged aquatic ecosystems, made it unsafe to eat fish from many rivers and streams, contaminated the lakes and rivers where people swim, and increased treatment costs for drinking-water systems.

Dozens of endangered species, including Atlantic sturgeon, hellbender salamanders, sea turtles, and freshwater mussels will also be harmed by increased heavy metal pollution.

“Trump and Zeldin’s outrageous push to turn our nation’s waterways into industrial sewers will poison thousands of miles of rivers with toxic heavy metals for another decade or more,” said Connor. “This blatant violation of the Endangered Species Act will be a disaster for bald eagles, hellbender salamanders, tiny crayfish, and countless other plants and animals.”

Under the Clean Water Act, coal plants are supposed to be required to use the most modern and effective pollution control technology available before discharging toxic wastewater. The Trump action delays a 2024 Biden-era rule that would have brought nearly all power plants into full compliance with the Act no later than 2029 or required retirement of coal plants that could not meet the standards of the Act.

The Center is represented by Claire Tonry with Smith & Lowney PLLC and in-house counsel.