In the following statement, National Mining Association (NMA) President and CEO Hal Quinn welcomes today’s decision by the Supreme Court to hear the association’s appeal for a review of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) failure to adequately weigh the costs of its 2012 Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS), a major rulemaking that is expected to force retirement of up to 20 percent of the nation’s coal-generated electricity and that has already weakened the reliability of the nation’s electric power grid:
“NMA was gratified to learn the Supreme Court agreed to hear our argument that appropriate cost consideration is necessary in the promulgation of major federal regulation. This argument is especially relevant for the regulatory issue the court has agreed to hear today. The Mercury and Air Toxics Standards has already had far-reaching and costly impacts not only on our industry but on many states and their citizens whose assurance of reliable electricity supply has been cast in doubt by this rule.
“EPA’s rule reflects a stunningly unbalanced approach to regulation. The agency decided to impose expensive standards for certain emissions that it never found posed a threat to public health. EPA’s decision imposed a cost on electricity consumers of at least $9.6 billion each year while offering at most $6 million in benefits.
“The public should have the assurance that costs as well as benefits are conscientiously considered in all regulations developed in its interest.”