Court Battle Seen After EPA Rescinds Mercury Limit Rationale (1)

The EPA’s decision to ax the legal basis for setting limits on the amount of mercury air pollution allowable from power plants is likely to get tied up in lawsuits, according to interviews with multiple attorneys.

The Environmental Protection Agency’s rule, released Thursday, will maintain Obama-era limits on mercury and other toxic air pollutants—also known as MATS—but rescind the legal basis for the 2012 rule (RIN 2060–AP52; RIN 2060–AR31).

The actual mercury limits affect mostly coal-fired power plants, nearly all of which have met the standards after spending millions of dollars to install controls.

But President Barack Obama’s ...