[Joanna Foster](/meet-our-writers#398) 4 minute read # Trump administration’s power plant pollution repeal goes easy on big polluters, hard on people Published: October 9, 2026 Leroy Wallace, a retired public servant, thought he had found his dream home. Located on the outskirts of Houston, it was close to his big family. Deer wandered between backyards and fish swam in the lake behind his property line. ![Leroy Wallace standing in front of the Parish power plant](/sites/default/files/styles/1440px_width_scale/public/2026-10/Screenshot%202026-10-09%20091605%20%281%29.jpg?itok=XbZxRBhg) Leroy Wallace stands in front of a fossil-fuel power plant near his home in Texas. The Trump administration is removing limits on pollution from power plant smokestacks. (*Nadji Films*) But from his backyard, Wallace could see the four towering smokestacks of the massive coal and natural gas-fired Parish power plant, the largest power plant in Texas. Sometimes, when he went outside in the evening, he became overwhelmed by a bitterness in the air and a burning sensation in his nose and throat. Those smokestacks, Wallace believes, are the source of the air pollution that has tainted what was supposed to be a peaceful retirement. The Parish plant emits more than 13 million tons of [climate pollution](https://www.edf.org/issue/climate-pollution) and more than 24,000 tons of sulfur dioxide every year, along with significant amounts of mercury and other toxic air pollution. In 2024, the Biden Administration finalized power plant pollution standards that would have reduced this pollution by 90%. But now Wallace’s hopes for better air are on hold. On September 14, 2026, the Trump administration announced it would [repeal all limits on climate pollution from power plants](https://www.edf.org/trump-administration-attacks-protections-against-pollution-power-plants) — a move that would make the air dirtier, increase costs to consumers and leave a major source of weather-destabilizing climate pollution unaddressed. Topics - [ Climate and energy ](/all-stories?topic=21&subcategory=21) - [ People and planet ](/all-stories?topic=34&subcategory=34) - [ Clean air ](/all-stories?topic=34&subcategory=35) - [ Climate change ](/all-stories?topic=21&subcategory=26) - [ Energy ](/all-stories?topic=21&subcategory=24) - [ Environmental justice ](/all-stories?topic=34&subcategory=50) - [ Law and policy ](/all-stories?topic=21&subcategory=28) Share - [ LinkedIn ](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https://vitalsigns.edf.org/story/trump-administrations-power-plant-pollution-repeal-goes-easy-big-polluters-hard-people "Share this on LinkedIn") - [ Twitter ](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https://vitalsigns.edf.org/story/trump-administrations-power-plant-pollution-repeal-goes-easy-big-polluters-hard-people&text=The Trump administration announced it will repeal all limits on climate pollution from power plants, without considering the impacts on peoples' health and electric bills. Environmental Defense Fund ran the numbers that the EPA should be counting. 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Environmental Defense Fund ran the numbers that the EPA should be counting. "Share this on Telegram") ## Act now [Stop the Trump EPA from repealing public health and climate protections](https://actnow.edf.org/a/powerplant-pc26) ## Loss of pollution standards will take a heavy toll “The Trump EPA is tearing down our national limits on the extensive and dangerous pollution from power plant smokestacks — just as data centers and other drivers are increasing this harmful pollution,” says Vickie Patton, general counsel for Environmental Defense Fund, a global, science-based nonprofit. “Climate pollution is imposing urgent costs and serious health impacts on people’s lives, from the dangerous heat, fire, smoke and drought we experienced this summer to steeper insurance and health care bills that go with those disasters.” ![Lee Zeldin standing at a podium for G20 Energy Abundance Ministerial ](/sites/default/files/styles/1440px_width_scale/public/2026-10/GettyImages-2294811402%20%281%29.jpg?itok=2EY5IOmj) The EPA under Lee Zeldin no longer measures health impacts as part of its decision making process. (*Getty*) Parish is one of more than 2,500 utility scale fossil-fueled power plants in the country, which are responsible for about one-quarter of the nation’s total climate pollution. These plants are also one of the [largest sources of climate pollution](https://www.edf.org/health/how-are-our-air-and-climate-connected) in the world. If the U.S. power sector were a country, it would be the fifth biggest emitter of greenhouse gases. The EPA traditionally calculates the health impacts of its rulemakings, weighing them against any potential costs. But under the Trump administration, it no longer does so. The Trump EPA’s decisions on health and environmental safeguards look exclusively at the costs of regulation to industry and sideline any consideration of health costs or benefits. (Although the EPA’s mission is to protect human health and the environment, Trump EPA Chief Lee Zeldin recently boasted of having accomplished nearly everything on the [coal industry’s wish list](https://www.edf.org/trump-epa-chief-coal-execs-many-items-were-your-wish-list-are-now-done).) - [**Trump administration’s “emergency” order to extend coal power plant operation is illegal, court says**](/story/trump-administrations-emergency-order-extend-coal-power-plant-operation-illegal-court-says "Trump administration’s “emergency” order to extend coal power plant operation is illegal, court says") In the absence of EPA analysis, Environmental Defense Fund researchers calculated the toll that abolishing these safeguards would take on health and the economy. The numbers are staggering. Removing limits on climate pollution from power plants, EDF found, will result in up to 84,000 early deaths and 28 million asthma attacks by 2047. In all, the move will cost up to $1.2 trillion in health harms and an additional $1.8 trillion in damages from more powerful droughts, storms and other climate disasters. Even the EPA’s own limited analysis suggests the damage of the repeal will be significant. The agency states that repealing the power plant rule will significantly increase levels of ground-level ozone, or smog, which exacerbates asthma and other respiratory and cardiovascular diseases across about 75% of the country. Soot pollution — tiny particles that can travel deep into the lungs and enter the bloodstream increasing the risk of heart attack and stroke — will also increase, especially across large parts of the Midwest, the mid-Atlantic and South. ## Health coalition sues Trump administration over power plant pollution repeal At the same time that the administration announced the repeal of climate pollution standards for power plants, it also released a draft rule designed to hamstring future administrations from reinstating these limits. This proposal is undergoing a public comment period and is expected to face extensive legal challenges. Earlier this year, the Trump administration eliminated greenhouse gas standards for tailpipe pollution from cars and trucks, while simultaneously undermining its own authority to regulate climate pollution more broadly by repealing the [Endangerment Finding](https://www.edf.org/overview-epa-endangerment-finding) — the scientific determination that greenhouse gases threaten human health. ![A natural gas power plant in Texas](/sites/default/files/styles/1440px_width_scale/public/2026-10/GettyImages-2202879174%20%282%29.jpg?itok=I5HgNLZX) The Parish power plant emits 13 million tons of climate and air pollution every year. (*Getty*) The administration has also weakened safeguards on mercury and other toxic air pollution from power plants and ordered seven fossil fuel power plants on the brink of retirement to stay online, racking up over $500 million in costs to consumers. With ever more pollution from power plants on the horizon, Wallace says it’s time to cut his losses. “When my youngest grandchildren graduate from high school in a few years, my wife and I plan to sell our dream home and move in search of cleaner air,” he says. Environmental Defense Fund and allies have filed lawsuits contesting the power plant repeal and dozens of other Trump EPA actions that will result in more pollution, higher bills and worse health. “We are taking action to ensure EPA carries out its responsibilities under our nation’s clean air laws,” says Patton, “to protect the American people from this harmful pollution and to address the health risks and financial costs for people across the country.” ### Stop the Trump EPA from repealing public health and climate protections ## Environmental news that matters, straight to your inbox Topics - [ Climate and energy ](/all-stories?topic=21&subcategory=21) - [ People and planet ](/all-stories?topic=34&subcategory=34) - [ Clean air ](/all-stories?topic=34&subcategory=35) - [ Climate change ](/all-stories?topic=21&subcategory=26) - [ Energy ](/all-stories?topic=21&subcategory=24) - [ Environmental justice ](/all-stories?topic=34&subcategory=50) - [ Law and policy ](/all-stories?topic=21&subcategory=28) - [ LinkedIn ](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https://vitalsigns.edf.org/story/trump-administrations-power-plant-pollution-repeal-goes-easy-big-polluters-hard-people "Share this on LinkedIn") - [ Twitter ](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https://vitalsigns.edf.org/story/trump-administrations-power-plant-pollution-repeal-goes-easy-big-polluters-hard-people&text=The Trump administration announced it will repeal all limits on climate pollution from power plants, without considering the impacts on peoples' health and electric bills. 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