Trump administration rollbacks of key state anti-pollution policies continued this week, with the EPA telling Colorado it can’t set deadlines for coal power plant closures under Clean Air Act rules.
Colorado Springs Utilities is already using the ruling to consider extending its Nixon 1 unit in Fountain past a planned December 2029 closure, and environmental groups decried the EPA ruling as a “shocking” warning of looming assaults on anti-pollution laws.
“There’s every reason to be concerned that this proposal could be the opening salvo of a broader attack on Colorado’s efforts to move away from costly and dirty coal,” said Jeremy Nichols of the Center for Biological Diversity. “This is a major slap in the face to the state’s ability to protect clean air on its terms.”
Colorado Springs Utilities said it has not officially changed the date of closing Nixon 1, which is one of six remaining coal-fired power plants in Colorado scheduled to shut down entirely by 2031. But the EPA’s decision notice in the Federal Register said CSU wants flexibility on Nixon because it can no longer assure the opening of cleaner alternatives by 2029.
“The EPA notes that at least one of the sources slated for closure in the SIP — Nixon Unit 1 — has expressly stated that it does not consent to closing by the enforceable deadline,” the EPA’s Federal Register notice says.
“Moving forward with the 2029 date poses serious reliability challenges and we are in discussions with the state on how best to address this,” a CSU spokesperson said in written responses to questions about Nixon. “ We are seeking a smart energy transition at a pace that makes sense given the current challenges around cost and reliability … choosing to include Nixon could present serious reliability challenges for Colorado Springs Utilities. Our goal is to maintain system reliability and affordability, while finding a suitable retirement date for Nixon.”
Xcel Energy, the largest power generator in Colorado, said, “Nothing in this action from the Environmental Protection Agency directly changes our Colorado resource plans.
“We continue to make significant progress towards our emission reduction goals approved by the state which would require us to retire our coal units by 2030. We’re working with the administration and our states to continue delivering customers safe, clean, reliable energy while keeping our customers’ bills as low as possible.”
The Western Region 8 of the EPA filed notice this week it was partially approving and partially disapproving Colorado’s “state implementation plan” or SIP to meet federal rules requiring reduction of pollutants that lead to humanmade haze in national parks and other open spaces. Closing coal- and natural gas-fired power plants in favor of clean solar and wind energy has been an important part of those state haze-reduction plans.
The EPA ruling said Colorado could not include the dates of the remaining six coal plant closures as part of its latest SIP.
Regional administrator Cyrus Western, a former Wyoming state representative, said in a phone interview Thursday, “So at a high level, what we’re saying is that there are not going to be any coal-fired units shut down because of federal regulations breathing down their necks.”
Colorado has also said in policy directions and state law that coal plant closures are needed to meet its mandated greenhouse gas cuts, and to bring the Front Range under EPA ozone limits. Asked if the federal government would intervene further and challenge all state laws discouraging coal power, Western said this week’s decision is limited to the haze rule.
“Whatever the conversations that go on between the state of Colorado and those utilities, that’s their business,” Western said. “But we’ve made it really clear that these shutdowns are not going to happen on our watch, and the Clean Air Act does not allow for these federal steps, to be shut down against the will of the power generation owner.”
Colorado can meet the federal haze regulations without the remaining scheduled coal plant shutdowns, Western said. Federal energy and environment regulators under Trump have said coal power can be cheaper and more reliable as baseline power than intermittent clean energy sources. The Federal Register notice includes a discussion reflecting Trump administration claims that surging electricity demand from artificial intelligence data centers and other heavy users requires growth of fossil fuels for baseline power generation.
“There are a lot of conversations that should have happened under previous governments, previous Democratic administrators, to really continue to work with coal, versus just telling them, ’Hey, you’re going to shut down,’” Western said.
Environmental groups noted in response that the Trump administration has ordered fossil fuel power plants to stay open rather than close as scheduled, in Michigan and Pennsylvania, and could do the same in Colorado. Trump also issued executive orders promoting coal mining and coal power, and warned states the Department of Justice could go after state-level environmental laws that federal agencies now say are an overreach.
The Region 8 haze decision promoting coal appears to be “part of a broader attack on state sovereignty and states’ ability to make their own environmental policies,” said Surbhi Sarang, a clean power attorney with the Environmental Defense Fund.
A spokesperson for the Colorado health department’s Air Pollution Control Division said under state regulations, retirement dates for coal plants “remain enforceable.”
“We’re not impacted by the EPA’s proposed partial disapproval of Colorado’s ambitious and protective regional haze plan — and the decision won’t change Colorado’s direction or delay the transition already underway,” Division director Michael Ogletree said in an emailed statement.
“Utilities are moving away from coal because it’s no longer the most affordable or reliable option. Many coal plants have already shut down or are on track to retire — driven by economics and cost savings for consumers, not federal mandates. That transition is locked in through utility planning, and will continue regardless of this federal decision,” Ogletree said.
Colorado Springs Utilities, environmental groups and others have noted, however, that Trump administration decisions have made future solar and wind power farms more expensive to develop, while lowered federal severance taxes and lease costs could make coal cheaper. The recent budget policy passed by Congress eliminates most clean energy development credits and consumer rebates, while spiking tariffs make cheap Asian solar panels far more expensive.
“Unless the state steps up to defend its rules and transition from coal, we’re going to get rolled by fossil fuel zealots,” Nichols said.
Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, who is also running for the Democratic nomination for governor in 2026, has said his office will defend Colorado’s aggressive climate change and clean energy legislation.
Gov. Jared Polis’ office also said the regional EPA decision on haze would have “no meaningful impact” on utility plans.
“Colorado utilities have their own ambitious plans to reduce costs, including retiring costly coal plants to transition to more stable clean energy, and lower costs,” a governor’s spokesperson said.