Environmentalists turn out in force to oppose Trump coal ash rollbacks

coal a$# Environmentalists turn out in force to oppose Trump coal ash rollbacks Trump admin wants to rely on states for coal ash monitoring, enforcement, allow them to bypass national standards. Arcelia Martin – May 30, 2026 6:00 am | 2 Credit: Lee Hedgepeth/Inside Climate News Credit: Lee Hedgepeth/Inside Climate News Text settings Story text Size Small Standard Large Width * Standard Wide Links Standard Orange * Subscribers only    Learn more Minimize to nav At a virtual public comment hearing hosted by the US Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday, a long line of environmental advocates voiced strong opposition to proposed new regulations weakening requirements that utilities must follow in cleaning up toxic coal ash residue at hundreds of sites across the country at which coal was burned to produce electricity. “The Trump administration has jeopardized the nation’s drinking water supplies as a favor to polluters,” Lisa Evans, senior counsel at Earthjustice and a former EPA attorney, said in a statement. “It’s just not right.” The Trump administration announced in April that it would repeal a rule put in place in 2024 by the Biden administration’s EPA that required utilities to monitor coal ash sites at inactive coal plants. The Trump EPA also said it would loosen requirements for protecting groundwater near those sites. Now the Trump administration wants to rely on states for coal ash monitoring and enforcement and enable them to bypass national standards in some cases. In announcing the new proposed regulations in April, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin called them “commonsense changes” and said they “reflect EPA’s commitment to restoring American energy dominance, strengthening cooperative federalism, and accommodating unique circumstances at certain [coal ash] facilities.” The proposed rule would exempt sites where coal ash is stored from regulation and permit coal-fired power plant owners to minimize, delay, or avoid dealing with the coal ash at t