China needs to manage its coal-dominated power system to curb carbon emissions, as well as to address local environmental priorities such as air pollution and water stress.  Here we examine three 2030 scenarios that represent various electricity demand and infrastructure development pathways, and optimize coal strategies under current environmental regulations and varying prices for air pollutant emissions and water.  Comparing 2030 to 2015, we find lower CO2 emissions only in the scenarios with substantial renewable generation or low projected electricity demand.  Meanwhile, in all three 2030 scenarios, we observe lower air pollution and water impacts than 2015 when current regulations and prices are imposed on coal power plants.  However, increasing the price of air pollutant emissions or water alone can lead to a trade-off between these two objectives, mainly driven by differences between air-pollution and water-oriented transmission system designs which influence where coal power plants will be built and retired.  Our analysis thus highlights the importance of integrating carbon, air pollution and water objectives into power sector strategies to address local and global sustainability challenges simultaneously.