On April 9, 2025, the proposed a major rollback of regulations governing , the residue from burning coal that contains heavy metals such as arsenic, lead, and mercury.
Then on May 14, the moved to gut rules requiring toxins to be removed from wastewater seeping out of repositories. Both proposals undo Biden-era protections adopted in 2024 that would have forced plants to clean up or retire.
The two proposals work together: one removes oversight of old ash already in the ground, the other lets new contamination flow into waterways untreated.
Under the proposed change to the , only water intentionally pumped out of repositories would need treatment. Fluid that — which often contains mercury, arsenic, and lead — would go unaddressed. About a dozen sites in Indiana would be affected.
At least half the units in Indiana would face no federal regulation at all, according to the . found more than 70 specific sites at 22 closed or operating power plants in Indiana that hold — material dumped before federal rules existed. The state is believed to have millions of tons of ash scattered on or near plant sites with little recordkeeping.
The proposal also weakens requirements for newer repositories. It allows companies to leave ash in contact with groundwater, loosens monitoring requirements, and removes restrictions on using ash as fill material.
The Town of Pines, on Indiana's Lake Michigan shore, was declared a after the 2002 discovery that ash was causing dangerous pollution in drinking water wells. A few miles away, about 2 million tons of are held back by aging metal seawalls at the Michigan City coal plant, owned by
The 2024 rule would have forced to monitor and clean up that ash. The revamped rule relieves the utility of that responsibility, leaving the toxic material — and Lake Michigan, the drinking water source for millions in the Chicago area — unprotected.
Indiana did not join an eight-state effort led by neighboring Illinois to oppose the rule changes. Instead, the state asked the for permission to run its own permitting program.
With the stepping back and Indiana unlikely to impose stricter standards given its history of favoring industry, the state's sites would face no meaningful oversight.
More than 100 environmental and consumer groups opposed the proposals during public comment periods. Leaders say they expect both rules to be finalized without substantial changes in coming weeks or months.
The proposals undercut protections that industry sources had asked the Trump administration to address in January 2025. In 2024, the issued emergency orders to keep two Indiana coal plants open, despite the grid operator saying it had an adequate supply of power. The administrator said the AI and data center revolution is creating electricity demand that cannot be met under past policies.
Ashley Williams, executive director of the community organization Just Transition Northwest Indiana and a resident of Michigan City, said the proposal "opens the floodgates for more Town of Pines situations across the country."