EPA’s rule for mercury and air toxics emissions from power plants will remain in effect pending the outcome of legal challenges against the standards, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday.
In a short order, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit denied stay requests from Republican-led states and industry groups that had argued EPA’s rule will force power plants into early retirement and offers questionable public health benefits.
Opponents of EPA’s Mercury and Air Toxics Standards, or MATS, could now choose to ask the Supreme Court for relief from the regulation, as they have after the D.C. Circuit has declined to stop other Biden administration rules from taking effect.
EPA’s legal foes said they are still deciding on next steps.
