Power Companies Drop New Bid for High Court Stay of Mercury Rule

The EPA is facing a new request to freeze a major air rule at the US Supreme Court, following a barrage of petitions this summer from states and industry to temporarily halt the agency’s new regulations.

Power companies Talen Montana LLC and NorthWestern Corp. asked justices for an emergency stay of Mercury and Air Toxics Standards, insisting that those limits in combination with greenhouse gas rules put operations at risk.

Talen told the court in an application docketed Thursday that Colstrip Power Plant in Montana is uniquely impacted by the mercury standards, and it faces closure when accounting for new ...