WASHINGTON (NEWSnet/AP) — Coal-fired power plants would be forced to restrict smokestack emissions — or shut down operations — under a rule issued Thursday by the Environmental Protection Agency.

The new limits on greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel-fired electric plants are a part of President Joe Biden's pledge to reduce carbon pollution from the electricity sector by 2035 and economy-wide by 2050.

The rule was among four measures targeting coal and natural gas plants that the EPA said would provide “regulatory certainty” to the power industry and encourage them to make investments to transition “to a clean energy economy.” They also include requirements to reduce toxic wastewater pollutants from coal-fired plants and to safely manage coal ash in unlined storage ponds.

EPA Administrator Michael Regan said the new rules will reduce pollution and improve public health while supporting a reliable, long-term supply of electricity.

“One of the biggest environmental challenges facing our nation is man-made pollution that damages our air, our water and our land," Regan said in prepared remarks obtained by The Associated Press ahead of a speech he was giving at Howard University. “Not only is this pollution a major threat to public health — it’s pushing our planet to the brink.''

The power plant rule marks the first time the federal government has restricted carbon dioxide emissions from existing coal-fired power plants. The rule also would force future electric plants fueled by coal or gas to control up to 90% of their carbon pollution.

Rich Nolan, president and CEO of the National Mining Association, said that through the latest rules, “the EPA is systematically dismantling the reliability of the U.S. electric grid.'

He accused Biden, Regan and other officials of “ignoring our energy reality and forcing the closure of well-operating coal plants that repeatedly come to the rescue during times of peak demand.”

The EPA also tightened rules aimed at reducing wastewater pollution from coal-fired power plants and preventing harm from toxic pits of coal ash, a waste byproduct of burning coal.

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