23 states, multiple coal companies ask Supreme Court to halt Biden rule to restrict pollution

Twenty-three Republican-led states and at least two coal companies are asking the Supreme Court to halt a Biden administration rule that seeks to limit power plants’ emissions of mercury and other toxic metals. 

The rule in question tightens emissions limits for toxic substances such as lead and arsenic by 67 percent. For some coal plants with historically looser mercury controls, the rule tightens mercury limits by 70 percent. 

Exposure to substances regulated under the rule have been linked to developmental delays in children, as well as heart attacks and cancer in the general population.  

In court filings Monday, the states argued that the rule could lead to power grid issues if coal plants decide to shut down in response. If they don’t, the states said that the rule will cause electricity price increases. 

Westmoreland Coal and NACCO Natural Resources invoked the rule’s expected costs to argue it should be halted while litigation against it plays out.

The Environmental Protection Agency declined to comment on the effort to block the rule. The agency finalized the rule earlier this year alongside a series of other regulations aimed at cutting pollution and planet-warming emissions from power plants. 

At the time, it argued that its actions protected public health. 

The states asking the Supreme Court for a stay of the pollution rule are: North Dakota, West Virginia, Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia and Wyoming.