Lindsay Mader, lindsay.mader@sierraclub.org
Texas – Yesterday, the Trump Administration gave six coal-burning power plants in Texas an extra two years to reduce their emissions of mercury and other toxic pollutants that contaminate our air, water, and soil. Several of the nation’s top mercury-polluting power plants are in Texas and are included in the exemption, including: Luminant’s Oak Grove plant southeast of Waco (No. 1 in the nation) and Martin Lake coal plant in East Texas (No. 3 in the nation), the lignite-burning San Miguel power plant south of San Antonio, and NRG Energy’s Limestone coal plant east of Waco. Other plants included in the exemption are the Coleto Creek plant in Goliad County and the Parish coal plant in Fort Bend County.
Texas coal plants release more mercury than any other state. Trump’s decision will result in more Texans ingesting mercury, whether from breathing in polluted air, consuming contaminated fish from lakes near power plants, eating food grown in mercury-heavy soil, or swimming and recreating in waterways polluted with mercury. Mercury is a dangerous neurotoxin that is especially harmful to children and pregnant mothers and can cause developmental delays, seizures, blindness, and other significant symptoms.
“The Trump Administration can no longer pretend to care about the health and wellbeing of children, mothers, or any other person hoping to build a prosperous life in this country,” said Emma Pabst, Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Campaign Regional Manager and Texas resident. “Allowing the biggest polluters – especially mega polluters Martin Lake and Oak Grove – to continue dumping mercury into our air and water is wrong. More Texans will suffer as a result of this federal government working for wealthy corporate interests instead of the people. Texans must open their eyes to the bait and switch they’re being fed.”
Released in 2024, the updated Mercury and Air Toxics Standards are expected to prevent 11,000 premature deaths, 4,700 heart attacks, and 130,000 asthma attacks if all coal plants comply. The rule – for the first time – required lignite-burning coal plants to follow the same mercury standards as other coal plants. Texas and North Dakota are the two main states that still burn lignite, a soft, brown rock that pollutes far more than black coal. Over one million people submitted public comments on proposals to strengthen the MATS and three other federal pollution standards.
Last month, the Trump Administration invited coal companies to request an exemption from these standards despite the equipment and processes needed to reduce mercury, like installing a baghouse or using carbon filters, being affordable and feasible. All of the exempted plants announced yesterday will now have two additional years to lower their levels of mercury pollution due to one of Trump’s executive orders released last week to prop up coal industry CEOs.
Texas Plants Receiving Extension on Mercury Reduction Deadline:
- Martin Lake coal plant, Beckville (East Texas). This massive coal plant owned by Luminant once burned just Texas-mined lignite but now burns more Wyoming coal. Nonetheless, 2023 EPA data shows that it is still the second biggest mercury-polluting power plant in Texas and the third biggest in the entire nation. One reason Martin Lake’s mercury pollution is so large is that the facility has not installed a baghouse – an affordable modern pollution control that can significantly reduce several pollutants including mercury and harmful particulate matter.
- Oak Grove coal plant, Robertson County (southeast of Waco). According to 2023 EPA data, this is the largest mercury polluter of all power plants in the United States. Also owned by Luminant, this 15-year-old plant burns primarily lignite.
- San Miguel coal plant, Atascosa County (South of San Antonio). According to 2023 EPA data, this is the fifth largest mercury polluter of all power plants in Texas and one of the top in the United States. It will have to improve its rate of mercury pollution reduction by approximately 92 percent. Despite the plant’s being awarded a USDA grant to transition away from coal under the Biden administration, the Trump administration has yet to release that funding, meaning the transition remains stalled, and the South Texas Electric Cooperative and its nine member co-ops across South Texas still purchase 20 percent of their power from San Miguel.
- Limestone coal plant, Jewett (east of Waco). Also owned by NRG Energy, this 30-year old coal plant once burned only lignite mined nearby and eight years ago transitioned to coal, yet remains a top polluter. Limestone also lacks modern particulate matter controls, like a baghouse, which helps reduce mercury emissions. According to 2023 EPA data, this is the fourth largest mercury polluter of all power plants in Texas.
- Parish coal plant, Fort Bend County (near Houston). The Parish coal plant, owned by NRG Energy.
- Coleto Creek coal plant, Goliad County. Also owned by Luminant, this plant is scheduled to retire and convert to gas in 2027. It burns primarily Wyoming coal.
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.