Cramer Applauds EPA Repeal of MATS Amendments, Reinstatement of Lignite Subcategory

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BISMARCK, N.D. - Following through on a promise made in the opening months of President Donald Trump's second term, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the repeal of the Biden-era 2024 Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) amendments. These amendments dramatically increased restrictions on emissions limits, which was especially impactful on North Dakota's lignite coal power plants.

U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND), a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, released the following statement celebrating the repeal of the MATS amendments:

"The final MATS rule is not simply just a victory for ratepayers around the country or even just for the coal industry in general. It's really a victory for the rule of law and the administrative process, which of course is so important. Instead of this charade that's been dominated by climate zealots who simply want to end fossil fuels or the coal industry at all costs, President Trump and Administrator Zeldin actually followed the science, the law, and the constitutional principles of cooperative federalism, which I've been talking about since my first day in office. This final rule maintains that balance and harmony between the environment and the lignite industry, which produces the all-important dispatchable power, 24 hours and 7 days a week baseload power, for the entire Midwest. We've got the cleanest air in the country and we produce its most affordable electricity. Thank you President Trump for not imposing federal mediocrity upon North Dakota's excellence."

Jonathan Fortner, President and CEO of the Lignite Energy Council, joined Cramer in celebrating the repeal, saying "This is a significant and welcome step toward restoring balance in federal energy policy. The existing MATS standards are effective. They protect public health and have driven real emissions reductions, while allowing coal plants to continue delivering affordable, around-the-clock power. This is a major victory for reliable energy, grid stability, and the communities that depend on coal generation. The Lignite Energy Council has pushing for the repeal of this ruling since it was first announced. Implementing the 2024 version would have threatened the livelihood of our power plants and our workforce, raised electricity prices for North Dakotans, and threatened the 12,000 direct and indirect jobs related to the industry."

North Dakota lignite coal is a significant driver of the state's low consumer energy prices, and the state enjoys the lowest-cost energy in the nation. The EPA's final rule repeals the 2024 amendments to MATS and reverts to standards set by the Obama administration in 2012. The Biden administration admitted the 2012 standards protected public health. Yet it then issued new amendments to require installation and adoption of continuous monitoring technology, which was initially used for detection of particulate matter rather than mercury. The Biden amendments required costly mitigation methods unproven at the scale needed for lignite plants like those in North Dakota. Cramer and then-Congressman Kelly Armstrong expressed these concerns in a letter to the Biden EPA, and requested the reversal of the amendments.

This final rule also restores the regulatory subcategory for lignite coal. Once again ignoring the EPA's findings, the Biden rule eliminated the subcategory previously created to align its regulatory approach with the physical and chemical characteristics of lignite coal. North Dakota's Lignite Research Program meticulously researched the characteristics of lignite coal to lay the foundation for the reimplementation of the subcategory, which EPA had originally adopted in 2012.