The Supreme Court ruled on Monday that the Obama administration "failed to consider costs when deciding to regulate mercury pollution from power plants," Reuters reports.
In a 5-4 ruling, the court ruled that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency must consider costs before deciding whether regulation is "appropriate and necessary." Justice Antonin Scalia wrote the majority decision. Justices Elena Kagan, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, and Sonia Sotomayor dissented.
Coal stocks, including Consol Energy and Peabody Energy, were trading up after the ruling was released. Utility stocks, however, were mostly unchanged on the news.
The court sent the case back to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, which will then ask the EPA to reconsider its rule-making.
