Mercury emissions hotspots persist despite national progress.
Mercury emissions from US power plants have decreased by 90% since the implementation of the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) in 2011. However, Texas and North Dakota remain hotspots for mercury emissions due to power plants burning locally mined lignite coal. The sociodemographic characteristics of people living near power plants that continue to operate in 2020 tend to be poor, less educated, and from limited-English households. The EPA has proposed changes to MATS that would compel operators of lignite coal-burning power plants to adopt technologies that would significantly reduce their toxic emissions.