After Trump’s EPA reverses landmark climate change ruling, what does it mean for Illinois?

As Illinois officials remain strongly committed to closing coal-fired power plants, federal policies under the Trump administration are creating uncertainty, spurring legal action and a push by some to keep the plants open.

Earlier this year, President Donald Trump and Lee Zeldin, head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, announced the repeal of what is known as the “endangerment finding,” which provides the backbone for federal government environmental regulations on greenhouse gas emissions. The move means the federal EPA will no longer regulate dangerous emissions from various sources, including cars, trucks and power plants.

Environmental organizations now fear these policy shifts could change the calculus for plant operators and potentially slow planned closings. According to the National Institutes of Health, coal-burning plants are a major source of air pollution, emitting toxins like sulfur dioxide, black carbon and metals into the air.

Cate Caldwell, senior policy manager at the Illinois Environmental Council, said that while the state’s Clean and Equitable Jobs Act puts the state on a strong path to limiting pollution — the act calls for closing the plants by 2030 — it can’t provide enough incentives for clean energy without support from federal action. She said the ruling could create temporary economic incentives for the continued operation of coal-powered plants.

“CEJA is a strong policy foundation for Illinois, but it works best when federal policy supports, rather than diminishes, state climate progress,” Caldwell said. “The big picture is this: federal policy and state-level policy can enhance one another and deliver incredible progress when working in tandem.”

Illinois has joined a coalition of 24 states suing the EPA over its decision to renounce its fight against climate change.

“Rescinding this EPA determination will undo progress we have made to address climate change by eliminating existing EPA greenhouse gas emission standards for vehicles and undermining the EPA’s mandate to regulate harmful air pollution that causes climate change,” Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul said in a statement.

Gov. JB Pritzker also has spoken out forcefully in opposition to the repeal announced in February.

State Rep. Charlie Meier, an Okawville Republican, said he supports the administration’s decision to repeal the endangerment finding.

“Illinois is facing serious energy grid challenges because of Springfield’s push to shut down coal and natural gas plants irresponsibly,” Meier said. “The repeal removes a federal barrier that was driving energy policy in the wrong direction.”

At the same time, officials at a local utility union that represents workers from the Powerton Generating Station in Pekin and the Kincaid Generating Station — IBEW Local 15 — are hoping the new federal policies prevail.

Ben Busser, vice president for the local, said that he supports the federal government’s attempts to extend generating stations beyond their scheduled retirement dates through executive orders.

Since last May, the U.S. Department of Energy has issued a series of emergency orders requiring multiple coal-fired power plants in the Midwestern, Southern and Western United States, and in Puerto Rico, to remain operational beyond their planned retirement dates.

“It seems like the extensions are for 60 to 90 days at a time, but there have been multiple extensions in some cases,” Busser said.

Busser said, typically, the jobs offered by coal stations are in rural locations without many other career opportunities.

The state, however, is also suing the federal administration for moving to allow coal-fired plants to continue operating beyond their retirement dates. Raoul joined Minnesota’s attorney general Keith Ellison in saying the decision would increase “the amount of pollution emitted in the region, harming the public’s health and welfare.”

Without the support from the federal government, Jack Darin, director of the Illinois chapter of the Sierra Club, said state departments like the Illinois EPA and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources will have to step up and do more, provided they have the budget. The Sierra Club also sued the federal EPA over the repeal of those protections.

“It’s what we need to do to not follow the federal government in taking us backwards to dirtier air and blocking clean energy jobs,” Darin said.

Caldwell said that federal policies shifting to favor fossil fuel generation could slow the pace of clean energy deployment and complicate Illinois’ transition. “Federal rollbacks could create market uncertainty, slow investment and misrepresent regional power markets, making it harder and more expensive for Illinois to meet its climate and clean energy targets,” she said.