The Trump administration’s relaxing strict standards for how coal-fired power plants dispose of wastewater is welcome news for the state’s beleaguered coal industry.

The change will allow utilities to use less-expensive technologies and take longer to comply with pollution reduction guidelines that are less stringent than what the U.S. EPA adopted in 2015.

It’s the latest in a string of regulatory rollbacks for coal power under President Donald Trump in an attempt to turn around the industry’s decline.

The latest change covers requirements for cleaning coal ash and toxic heavy metals such as mercury, arsenic and selenium from plant wastewater before it is released into waterways.

Coal plants often use scrubbers to remove the chemicals from smokestacks, which are then released into nearby rivers and streams.

In 2015, the Obama administration required the industry to set deadlines for power plants to invest in state-of-the-art wastewater treatment technology to keep pollution out of our water.

The revised rule gives companies more time to comply with the installation of new technologies and allows any coal plant scheduled to retire or stop burning coal by 2028 to avoid the requirements altogether.

U.S. EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler said the new rule would “reduce pollution and save jobs at the same time” and keep older coal plants alive longer.

The EPA estimates that the new rule would save the electric power industry about $140 million annually and eliminate 1 million additional pounds of toxic pollution each year over and above the original regulation by improving efficiency and through a voluntary incentive program.

Not surprisingly, coal industry executives, who had criticized the original Obama-era restrictions as costly and overly burdensome, praised the changes.

The coal industry is in steep decline. The move will extend the life of aging coal-fired power plants and try to make them more competitive with cheaper natural gas and renewable energy.

The move came days after Trump’s son, Eric, declared his father a champion of coal miners who “will fight for you.”

This certainly is good news for the nation’s coal industry, whose production has steadily dropped in recent years due to our increased reliance on natural gas and some renewable energy to power the nation.

— JGG