BISMARCK, N.D. – Gov. Kelly Armstrong issued the following statement today after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced it has finalized the repeal of the burdensome Biden-era power plant regulations known as “Clean Power Plan 2.0,” which threatened to destabilize the nation’s power grid by forcing the closure of coal-fired electrical generation plants in North Dakota and beyond.
“Repealing this misguided rule lifts a cloud of uncertainty for our coal-fired power plants and the communities and workers they support, allowing them to continue producing affordable, reliable electricity in an environmentally responsible manner,” Armstrong said. “We’re grateful to EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, Secretary Burgum and the Trump administration for supporting common-sense regulation, reversing these overreaching regulations and unleashing U.S. energy production to keep electricity affordable for consumers while strengthening our national security.”
Armstrong met with Zeldin in May 2025 in Washington, D.C., to discuss the need to roll back Biden-era rules designed to phase out coal-fired power plants like those in North Dakota that provide critical baseload generation.
The EPA said its actions on Monday “would ensure affordable and reliable energy supplies and drive down the costs of transportation, heating, utilities, farming, and manufacturing while boosting our national security.” Former North Dakota governor and current U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, who chairs the National Energy Dominance Council, said the rule reversal “restores efficiency to our energy sector and allows our vital resources to be used for the benefit of the American people.”
Read the full news release from EPA here.