New York, New York - The Trump administration finalized a rule on Friday repealing stricter environmental standards on coal- and oil-fired power plants enacted by his predecessor, Joe Biden, saying the move restores "American energy dominance."

The Environmental Protection Agency said its reversal of a 2024 policy on mercury and air toxics standards (MATS) would protect public health without compromising prosperity.

But environmental groups said the change – part of a broader rollback of environmental policy championed by the White House – raises risks to the public of heart and lung disease, cancer, and premature death.

At issue were measures enacted by Biden's EPA in April 2024 aimed at protecting public health and mitigating climate change.

The EPA at that time said the standards required coal-fired plants to control 90% of their carbon pollution.

The rules also demanded more than two-thirds reductions in emissions of toxic metals and mercury, a policy that could only be met with significant upgrades to older coal-fired power plants.

On Friday, Trump's EPA said the Biden rule "imposed massive costs and red tape" on the coal industry, according to a press release.

"The Biden-Harris Administration's anti-coal regulations sought to regulate out of existence this vital sector of our energy economy," said EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin.

"The Trump EPA knows that we can grow the economy, enhance baseload power, and protect human health and the environment all at the same time."

But the Natural Resources Defense Council called the move "part of a larger Trump administration push to weaken or eliminate bedrock environmental and public health protections," the environmental group said in a press release.

"The coal industry is in decline, and dismantling clean air protections won’t bring it back," said NRDC senior attorney John Walke.

"It will only lead to more asthma attacks, more heart problems, and more premature deaths, especially in communities living in the shadow of coal plants."