Supreme Court Rejects Request To Block Mercury Air Pollution Rule

CORRECTS TO REPLACE 3RD SENTENCE WITH INFO RELATED TO POWER PLANT SHOWN - FILE - In this Sept. 4, 2011 file photo shows the main plant facility at the Navajo Generating Station, from Lake Powell, in Page, Ariz. The ... CORRECTS TO REPLACE 3RD SENTENCE WITH INFO RELATED TO POWER PLANT SHOWN - FILE - In this Sept. 4, 2011 file photo shows the main plant facility at the Navajo Generating Station, from Lake Powell, in Page, Ariz. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is slated to release rules aimed at reducing mercury pollution from large coal-fired power plants. The operator of Navajo Generating Station said the 2,250-megawatt plant will run as long as the owners are convinced there isn't a better alternative. But spokesman Scott Harelson said the plant is facing some challenges, the most pressing of which are EPA regulations, and negotiating coal supply agreements and a site lease — "any of which could put the plant at risk of closure." (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, Fle) MORE LESS
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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has rejected an appeal from 20 states seeking to block a federal rule targeting mercury pollution from taking effect while the government revises the rule to account for compliance costs.

The justices on Monday left in place a federal appeals court ruling that said the rule could remain in place while the Environmental Protection Agency fixes legal problems and comes out with a revision. The EPA revised its cost analysis in April.

The high court ruled last year that the EPA should have considered costs and benefits before imposing limits on mercury and other air pollutants from coal- and oil-fired power plants. But the justices let the rule stay in effect while the lower court decided how a cost-benefits analysis should be conducted.

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