06.11.25

Hoeven: EPA Repeals Two Overreaching Biden-Era Regulations that Threatened Coal Industry, Grid Reliability

Senator Worked to Block, Roll Back Clean Power Plan & MATS Rules, Supporting Access to Affordable Baseload Power

WASHINGTON – Senator John Hoeven today released the following statement after the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued proposed rules repealing two overreaching Biden-era regulations that threatened the reliability of the electrical grid and sought to force the premature closure of the nation’s coal-fired power plants, including:

  • The Clean Power Plan 2.0, burdensome regulations that would have forced states to change their fuel sources for electricity generation.
    • The Biden administration advanced this overreaching rule despite a Supreme Court ruling in 2022, which found the EPA overstepped its authority in imposing such sector-wide regulation.
    • Hoeven pressed the Biden EPA to act in accordance with the court’s decision and withdraw the rule.
  • The Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) rule, which imposed costly and overly-stringent regulations on coal-fired electric power plants.
    • When first advanced in 2012, this rule contributed to the closure of numerous power plants before being blocked by the Supreme Court in 2015.
    • The regulations replaced the existing cost-effective standards, which had already been found to protect human health and safety.
    • Accordingly, Hoeven, along with then-Congressman Kelly Armstrong, led bicameral legislation to block the EPA from implementing its new MATS rule.

Earlier this year, Hoeven joined President Trump as he signed executive orders to initiate the process of repealing these and other harmful regulations imposed by the Biden administration. The senator also recently advanced these priorities with EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin at a hearing of the Senate Interior Appropriations Committee.

“Today’s action by the EPA is a win for U.S. energy dominance and supports continued access to the affordable and reliable baseload power provided by coal,” said Hoeven. “When imposing the Clean Power Plan 2.0 and MATS rules, the Biden administration acted in defiance of prior decisions from the Supreme Court, which outlined that such regulations fall far outside of the legal authority provided to the EPA by Congress. That’s why we continually pushed back on these federal overreaches, and we appreciate the Trump administration and EPA Administrator Zeldin for working with us to repeal these harmful rules.”

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