Vermont Business Magazine Attorney General Charity Clark joined a coalition of 21 states and local governments in filing a lawsuit challenging the Trump Administration’s repeal of the 2024 Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) Rule and reversion to outdated standards that harm the environment and public health.
The MATS Rule implements nationwide standards that limit emissions of toxic air pollutants from coal- and oil-fired power plants, including mercury, arsenic, lead and other toxic metals, in addition to acid gases, such as hydrogen chloride and formaldehyde. In 2024, following significant developments in the technologies used to control pollution, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) updated the standards for emissions of these hazardous air pollutants from power plants.
Last month, the Trump Administration rolled back the updated standard, allowing for more of these dangerous emissions to be released into the air.
“Vermonters deserve to be protected from toxic pollutants, but the Trump Administration has abdicated the EPA’s responsibility to provide this protection,” said Attorney General Clark. “With today’s lawsuit, I’m standing up for human health, our environment, and the rule of law.”
While mercury and other hazardous air pollutants disproportionately harm people who live near coal- and oil-fired power plants, the emissions can also travel great distances and be deposited into other states. Mercury is a potent neurotoxin that poses serious dangers to public health, especially for pregnant women and children. For example, a pregnant person’s consumption of mercury exposes their child to mercury and can cause lifelong developmental harms and neurological disorders such as seizures, vision and hearing loss, or delayed development. Exposure to mercury also increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes and autoimmune dysfunction in adults.
Mercury emissions from power plants are also a major contributor to mercury contamination in U.S. waterways, including waterways in Vermont. Mercury pollution in the nation’s lakes and rivers can harm local commercial and recreation fishing economies, as well as tribal nations and indigenous peoples that rely on fishing for subsistence.
Attorney General Clark and the coalition argue that the repeal is unlawful because the EPA has failed to provide a reasoned basis for it and failed to adequately consider developments in practices, processes, and control technologies in its attempt to revert to outdated standards. The attorneys general are asking the court to determine that the rule is unlawful and must be reversed.
Joining Attorney General Clark in filing the lawsuit are the attorneys general of Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington, and Wisconsin, along with the city of Chicago, the city of New York and Harris County, Texas.
A copy of the complaint is available on our website.
This lawsuit is the 47th case Attorney General Clark has brought against the Trump Administration since President Trump took office in January 2025. For more information on actions taken by the Attorney General on behalf of Vermonters, visit our website.
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Vermont Business Magazine