In 2023, the Cumberland Fossil Plant in Tennessee faced closure due to years of pollution and violations, only for its fate to change. The plant, part of a multibillion-dollar settlement in 2011, was set to shut down by 2028 but now has a $46 million federal pledge to extend its life.

This move is part of the Trump administration’s nationwide push to keep older coal plants running despite repeated violations. Cumberland joins other plants like Grand River Energy Center in Oklahoma and Roxboro Steam Electric Plant in North Carolina, which have also been cited for environmental breaches under the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act.

Locals are not pleased. Angie Mummaw, a local organizer from Appalachian Voices, sees it as a step backward: “It’s like a slap in the face when we should be investing in clean energy.”

The extension of these plants’ lives is seen by climate experts as counterproductive. Maggie Shober, research director at the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, argues that retiring coal plants remains critical for combating pollution and climate change.

Multiple studies link coal-plant air pollution to premature deaths, with impacts stretching hundreds of miles from their source. One study estimates that toxic fine particles from Cumberland alone contributed to 1,000 deaths in distant states between 1999 and 2020.