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.