Supreme Court rejects challenge to Obama mercury air pollution rule

By Lawrence Hurley WASHINGTON (Reuters) – 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. 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. Opponents of the regulations, which went into effect in April 2015 and affect mainly coal-fired power plants, have estimated they would cost $9.6 billion a year and raise electricity bills.

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Supreme Court rejects challenge to Obama mercury air pollution rule