# Plain Language Summary: Congressional Disapproval of EPA Steam Power Plant Pollution Rules

Congress is voting on whether to reject new pollution control rules that the Environmental Protection Agency created for coal and natural gas power plants. These rules are designed to limit certain types of waste that power plants discharge into rivers and streams. If Congress votes to disapprove the rules, they would be canceled and power plants would not have to follow these new pollution limits.

The EPA's rules focus on what's called "effluent limitations"—basically, the standards for what power plants can release into waterways. Power plants produce wastewater as part of their cooling and cleaning processes, and this wastewater can contain various pollutants. The new EPA rules would set stricter limits on how much of certain pollutants power plants can dump into rivers, lakes, and other water sources. This is a supplemental rule, meaning it's an update or addition to existing pollution standards that have been in place for years.

If this bill passes and Congress disapproves the EPA rules, power plants would face fewer restrictions on their water pollution. This could mean more pollutants end up in the waterways that communities rely on for drinking water, fishing, and recreation. On the flip side, power plants would save money they would have spent on equipment and processes to meet the stricter pollution standards. The practical question comes down to whether you prioritize stricter environmental protections for water quality or prefer to keep regulations lighter on power plant operations and costs.

Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Environmental Protection Agency relating to "Supplemental Effluent Limitations Guidelines and Standards for the Steam Electric Power Generating Point Source Category".