Edward Smith, edward.smith@sierraclub.org
RALEIGH, NC - Today, Donald Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency dismantled a bedrock environmental and public health standard that protects Americans from mercury and dangerous toxic air pollutants, such as arsenic, lead, and chromium. Rolling back the new and more protective Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) will allow coal- and oil-fired power plants to emit more damaging pollution that puts the public at greater risk of heart and lung disease, developmental delays and learning disabilities, cancer, and even premature death.
The MATS rule would have applied to Duke Energy’s Mayo and Roxboro coal plants, but under this repeal, communities will continue being exposed to dangerous mercury air pollution. Mercury released into the atmosphere from coal plants falls back down onto farm fields and waterways. The NC Department of Health & Human Services has a statewide fish consumption warning for mercury, especially for “individuals who are pregnant or breastfeeding and children because of its potential effect on developing brains,” and notes a pathway for mercury entering our environment is from burning fossil fuels.
According to the Sierra Club’s Trump Coal Pollution Dashboard, reversing the 2024 improvements and reverting to the 2012 standards will allow the dirtiest coal-fired power plants to emit 50 percent more mercury pollution. In May 2025, the Trump administration exempted 68 power plants—including some of the biggest polluters in the nation—from MATS after soliciting exemption requests from big polluters over email.
The Sierra Club sued the administration for these unlawful exemptions.
In response, Sierra Club North Carolina Chapter Director Chris Herndon issued the following statement:
“Even though the Trump administration is trying to legalize harmful pollution, there is no requirement that utilities must release extra mercury. Duke Energy would voluntarily commit to reducing the mercury it is releasing into North Carolina if it actually cares about the vitality of our communities. Duke Energy has shown it can meet the mercury standard at five of its seven coal plants, so there's nothing stopping the utility from doing the same at Roxboro and Mayo. North Carolinians, regardless of politics, love fishing and care about clean air and water, and Duke Energy’s coal plants will continue to endanger both until the monopoly utility walks their talk about the communities it is charged with serving.”
In response, Sierra Club Beyond Coal Campaign Director Laurie Williams issued the following statement:
“Donald Trump’s senseless decision to repeal the mercury standards is a direct attack on the health of Americans. For years, these lifesaving protections have slashed the amount of toxic pollution coal plants dump in our air and water, keeping millions of Americans safe from heart attacks, asthma and premature deaths, and protecting our babies from permanent neurological damage. Now, the president that promised to make Americans healthy again is deliberately weakening those safeguards, and families will suffer preventable illnesses simply because he wants to give the coal industry another handout.
“Americans deserve public health standards that are designed to protect people, not pad the profits of a polluting industry that can’t compete with cheaper, reliable, renewable energy. But Donald Trump and Lee Zeldin have made their choice: help their buddies in the coal industry cut corners rather than prioritize the health and safety of our communities. The Sierra Club will fight this decision with everything we have to defend our communities from this dangerous and deadly rollback.”
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.