Company: NC
Filing Date: 2025-04-07
Form Type: ARS
Source: 0000789933-25-000013
Chunk: 38

Company: NACCO INDUSTRIES INC
Filing Date: 2025-04-07
Form: ARS
Chunk 38
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 the mines servicing these plants, including closure of our coal mines. We cannot predict the full impact of the various GHG and CAA rules on the operations of the coal-fired EGUs operated by our customers and any early closure of our mines could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. The Trump administration is expected to direct the EPA to reconsider and revise or rescind the EPA’s rules regulating emissions from power plants, among other regulatory actions affecting power generation, and has already issued executive orders aimed at this outcome. President Trump issued an Executive Order on January 20, 2025, "Unleashing American Energy," directing all federal executive agency heads to review all agency actions implicating energy reliability and affordability or potentially burdening the development of domestic energy resources. It is not yet clear how existing regulations affecting existing fossil fuel assets will be reconsidered or repealed. Although we anticipate the EPA’s review of such regulations likely will result in less stringent requirements, we cannot predict the outcome of any final EPA actions or court challenges to such final actions. Clean Water Act CWA affects coal mining operations by establishing in-stream water quality standards and treatment standards for wastewater discharge, including from coal mines. In many instances, mining operations require securing CWA authorization or a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for operations in waters of the United States (WOTUS.) On May 25, 2023, the SCOTUS issued its Sackett vs. EPA ruling that defined WOTUS as “a relatively permanent body of water connected to traditional interstate navigable waters” with a “continuous surface connection with that water, making it difficult to determine where the ‘water’ ends and the ‘wetland’ begins.” As a result of the Sackett decision, the EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers authored a revised definition of WOTUS and promulgated a final rule. The new rule does not go into effect in states where a stay had been issued for the previous rule, including North Dakota, Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. In these states, the legal challenges to this rule have resumed. In the meantime, securing CWA permits may be more challenging since the agencies in the states where a stay has been issued have less guidance to rely on to determine whether certain features are considered WOTUS. To the extent the implementation of the final rule, results of the litigation, or any further action expands the scope of jurisdiction, it may impose greater compliance costs or operational requirements on our coal mining operations