The Big Story 

President Trump on Tuesday signed a series of executive orders bolstering coal plants and production. 

© Associated Press pool

In the order, Trump will define coal as a “mineral,” allowing it to benefit from a previous executive order bolstering mining that — among other things — used presidential wartime authorities to expedite production.

That order also requires federal agencies to speed up approvals for mines and prioritize mining on federal lands — which may now extend to coal.

Under the new coal-specific order, the administration will also seek to exclude coal projects from environmental reviews. And it will direct the administration to prioritize coal production on federal lands.

In addition, Trump exempted dozens of coal plants from Biden-era limits on toxic substances, including arsenic and mercury. 

And, he pledged to use the Justice Department to go after states whose laws or policies inhibit coal. 

Read more here and here

Welcome to The Hill’s Energy & Environment newsletter, I’m Rachel Frazin  — keeping you up to speed on the policies impacting everything from oil and gas to new supply chains.

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Essential Reads 

How policy will affect the energy and environment sectors now and in the future:

DHS issues waivers for environmental laws to speed border wall construction

NYC congestion pricing to stay in place through summer under deal with Trump administration

What We’re Reading 

News we’ve flagged from other outlets touching on energy issues, the environment and other topics:

• How Trump slowed the fight against ‘forever chemicals’  (Semafor)

   

• Oil prices falling into zone that discourages production growth (Axios)

   

On Tap 

Upcoming news themes and events we’re watching:

What Others are Reading 

Two key stories on The Hill right now:

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GOP mood grows darker on Trump tariffs as markets give up their gains

Glimmers of optimism surrounding President Trump’s tariffs quickly faded on Tuesday as the White House dug in on the threat of new levies, the markets erased their small morning gains and Republican lawmakers grew increasingly frustrated with what they see as mixed messages coming from administration officials. Read more