23 STATES AND SEVERAL ENERGY INDUSTRY GROUPS CHALLENGE THE EPA’S RULE LIMITING MERCURY AND OTHER TOXIC EMISSIONS FROM POWER PLANTS

By TONI ELLINGTON

A group of 23 states and several energy industry groups filed a Petition for Certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court on July 14, 2014, asking the Court to review a D.C. Circuit decision upholding regulations implemented by the Environmental Protection Agency on mercury and other toxic emissions from coal –fired and oil-fired power plants.  The states are led by Michigan and joined by interveners North Carolina, Maryland, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Delaware, Illinois, and Iowa, along with the City of New York.   The industry groups involved in the suit include the American Academy of Pediatrics, Sierra Club, National Mining Association and the Utility Air Regulatory Group.

The petitioners say that a ruling from the U.S. District Court, D.C. Circuit, which upheld the regulations should be overturned, because the EPA erred in determining that its decision to regulate emissions from these plants could be based solely on health or environmental risks, with no consideration of costs.  The petitioners argue that Section 112 of the Clean Air Act requires a study of the risks along with a separate study or consideration of the costs.  They claim the Court should grant certiorari and consider their appeal because significant amount of money – estimated at $9.6 billion annually – is at stake.

For more information, contact Toni Ellington at 504-599-8500.