In late June, the court ruled on the EPA’s Mercury and Air Toxics Rule, in a case brought by 21 states, including Arizona, Alaska, Idaho, Utah and Wyoming, as well as by power companies. The 5-4 decision, with the lead opinion written by Justice Antonin Scalia, says the EPA acted irrationally, unreasonably and illegally when it elected to regulate mercury and other toxic air pollution from power plants based entirely on the public health impact, without weighing the costs to industry. “If you were to plot it against time, you would see that the court is gradually developing more co...
