With no consideration of the economic consequences of their decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, DC upheld the Obama EPA in the White Stallion Energy Center v. EPA case related to the mercury and air toxic standards (MATS). In the 2-1 ruling the Court majority said federal law and previous court decisions do not require the federal EPA to consider cost when imposing new regulations on electric utilities. The dissenting judge criticized the EPA for not considering the cost of the rules, which are estimated at $9.6 billion a year to industry. Most companies will have until March 2015 to meet the new standards. States could grant an additional year, and EPA could extend the deadline until 2017, if a specific power plant unit was critical for reliability. The decision can be obtained by clickinghere.
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