Epa Offers Industrial Polluters A Way To Avoid Rules On Mercury, Arsenic And Other Toxic Chemicals

As part of a push to roll back dozens of environmental regulations , the Trump administration is offering coal-fired power plants and other industrial polluters a chance for exemptions from requirements to reduce emissions of toxic chemicals such as mercury, arsenic and benzene.

The Environmental Protection Agency has set up an electronic mailbox to allow regulated companies to request a presidential exemption under the Clean Air Act to a host of Biden-era rules.

Companies were asked to send an email by Monday seeking permission from President Donald Trump to bypass the new restrictions. The Clean Air Act enables the president to temporarily exempt industrial sites from new rules if the technology required to meet them is not widely available and if the continued activity is in the interest of national security.

Environmental groups denounced the administration's offer, calling the email address a "polluters' portal" that could allow hundreds of companies to evade laws meant to protect the environment and public health. Exemptions would be allowed for nine EPA rules issued by the Biden administration, including limits on mercury, ethylene oxide and other hazardous air pollutants. Mercury exposure can cause brain damage, especially in children. Fetuses are vulnerable to birth defects via exposure in a mother's womb.

Margie Alt, campaign director of the Climate Action Campaign, said the request for exemption applications "is a gift to the fossil fuel industry" and further indication of a "polluters-first agenda" under Trump and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin .