February 20, 2026 - The National Mining Association (NMA) has applauded the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) decision to repeal the prior administration's Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS).

Not only were these revisions far too costly to justify the minimal emission reductions they would achieve, EPA also previously failed to demonstrate the new standards would be achievable in the real world. The 2012 MATS rule resulted in historic and massive premature retirements of coal power plants, and the 2024 amendments would have led to even more.  EPA's action today ensures that this does not happen again. As has been demonstrated multiple times during the last year when electricity demand has surged and grids across the country have been pushed to their limits, coal generation has provided a grid reliability backstop. With power demand growing rapidly from the AI revolution, coal generation will be a critical part of the comprehensive energy strategy required to affordably and reliably meet it.