The Supreme Court today said the EPA should have considered compliance costs when it issued new standards for emissions of mercury and other pollutants from power plants in 2012. Via Reuters, the rule will remain in place while the case is sent back to an appeals court, which will decide whether or not to strike it down. The U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington upheld the rule in April 2014.
The EPA has said that while the rule would cost $9.6 billion per year to implement, it would reap benefits worth as much as $90 billion. The National Mining Association pegged the rule’s monetary benefit as low as $4 million — a calculation disputed by the EPA. The Energy Information Administration said in February the rule would result in the retirement of 60 gigawatts of coal-fired power in the U.S. by 2020.
Analysts believe today’s ruling will have no effect on other carbon dioxide emissions rules proposed by the EPA.
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