Black lung rule on ice ‘indefinitely’ amid legal brawl

By: Hannah Northey

 04/06/2026 01:14 PM EDT

GREENWIRE | Federal regulators are officially delaying implementation of Biden-era black lung protections that U.S. coal miners have lobbied federal agencies to enforce — and was supposed to take effect this week — as debilitating and deadly diseases climb.

The Department of Labor in a Federal Register announcement said the long-awaited rule won’t take effect until a legal fight is decided before a federal appeals court. The rule, completed under the Biden administration, would have reduced miners' exposure limits to 50 micrograms for airborne silica, which contains crystals that can reach deep into the lungs when inhaled. The rule for metal and nonmetal mines was slated to take effect Wednesday, but the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last year granted the National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association’s request for an emergency stay of the rule.

The association at the time argued the rule was “deeply flawed” and faulted the Mine Safety and Health Administration for not allowing companies to include personal respirators toward compliance. The group also argued the pending deadline was “generating extreme costs for coal mining operators.” The Trump administration later asked the court for more time to work through arguments, citing the government shutdown.

The rule is now “delayed indefinitely, pending judicial review,” the agency wrote. “MSHA will publish a document in the Federal Register announcing further action once the court-ordered stay is terminated.”

Dozens of miners, their supporters and medical experts rallied outside the Department of Labor's headquarters in Washington last year to call for the rule to be saved, warning that younger miners are contracting deadly diseases. The Biden administration estimated the rule would prevent more than 1,000 deaths and 3,700 cases of black lung.

Across the U.S., miners and those working in mines are contracting black lung at younger ages. The highest rates — 1 in 5 miners — are occurring in areas like coal-rich Appalachia that have seen decades of heavy extraction, according to federal data.

Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer late last year said her agency plans to “reconsider and seek comments” on parts of the rule. “The Secretary will engage in limited rulemaking to reconsider and seek comments on portions of the Silica Rule impacted by this appeal,” Brad Mantel, an attorney representing the secretary and MSHA told the court.