Supreme Court rejects state's bid to block Obama's regulations on toxic air emissions

"The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday turned aside the latest effort by a group of states led by Michigan to block Obama administration environmental regulations limiting power plant emissions of mercury and other toxic pollutants," Lawrence Hurley reports for Reuters. "The justices opted not to hear the states' appeal of a December U.S. appeals court decision allowing the mercury rules to remain intact while the administration responded to last year's Supreme Court ruling that the government should have considered the compliance costs when crafting the regulations."

In March Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. refused to block an Environmental Protection Agency regulation limiting emissions of mercury and other toxic pollutants from coal-fired power plant. In June 2015 the Supreme Court ruled that EPA violated the Clean Air Act by not considering the compliance costs to electric utilities. In December 2015 an appeals court upheld the rule.

"The Environmental Protection Agency has 'blatantly refused' to follow the 2015 high court ruling, prompting the states to ask the Supreme Court to intervene again, said Andrea Bitely, a spokeswoman for Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette, a Republican," Hurley writes. EPA "the rule applies to about 1,400 electricity-generating units at 600 power plants." (Read more)