President Trump on July 17 issued the proclamation “Regulatory Relief for Certain Stationary Sources to Further Promote American Energy,” identifying three additional facilities in Annex I that have received Clean Air Act (CAA) section 112 Presidential Exemptions.
These exemptions mirror those granted in April 2025 and temporarily pause compliance with the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Coal- and Oil-Fired Electric Utility Steam Generating Units Review of the Residual Risk and Technology Review (2024 MATS RTR Rule) for a two-year period.
The compliance extension lasts for two years beyond the MATS Rule compliance date, which is July 8, 2027, and ends on July 8, 2029.
This means that, in the interim, the facilities receiving extensions must comply with the requirements in place prior to the promulgation of the 2024 MATS Rule. These facilities will have the opportunity to extend the exemption for two additional years and can be renewed; however, further details on this process were not provided.
The July 17 proclamation is available on the White House website.
On April 8, 2025, the White House released a similar proclamation, citing to section 112 of the CAA, 42 U.S.C. 7412(i)(4), and later the White House released a lengthy list of coal-fired power plants to which the Presidential exemption applies.
This second round of exemptions comes amid ongoing litigation surrounding the Administration’s first round of exemptions.
On June 12, 2025, a coalition of environmental nongovernmental organizations filed a challenge in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Alliance Houston v. Trump et. al.(1:15-cv-01852), seeking to invalidate and enjoin implementation of the presidential exemptions.
While the outcome of this litigation remains unclear, it raises questions about the feasibility of any exemptions issued under CAA section 112(i)(4), APPA said.
