Court blocks EPA rule in last-minute order

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Reuters:

Efforts by U.S. regulators to cut air pollution from coal-fired power plants faced a setback on Friday when a federal appeals court issued a last-minute order delaying their January 1 implementation.

The U.S. District Court of Appeals granted a request to stay the Environmental Protection Agency's Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR) pending further court review.

The EPA finalized the rule in July, setting much stricter limits on sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxide emissions from power plants in 27 states to protect the health of residents in states downwind from the emissions.

"The underlying rule was the subject of hasty process, poor technical support, unequal application, and substantial threat to jobs, power bills and reliability," said Scott Segal, director of the Electric Reliability Coordinating Council.

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Big partial win.