The U.S. Supreme Court threw out the Obama administration’s limits on mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants, ruling 5-4 that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency should have considered costs before deciding if the rules were appropriate.

MidAmerican Energy Co., whose service area includes Central Iowa, was one of the utilities that testified against the rule, arguing that the related expenses would be excessive. However, like many other utilities heavily dependent on coal, MidAmerican has spent years moving to close older coal facilities or convert them to natural gas, and has sharply increased its wind-energy production. MidAmerican even proposed a nuclear plant, but shelved the idea after it ran into opposition at the Statehouse.

The rules ended up locked in a flurry of lawsuits before the Supreme Court sent them back to the lower court and the EPA.

“Based on our initial review of the Supreme Court’s ruling in Michigan vs. EPA, the court’s decision does not have an immediate impact on our existing compliance obligations and therefore will not have an impact on our operations,” MidAmerican said in a statement. “The compliance obligations imposed by the mercury and air toxics standards remain in effect until the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals determines whether to grant relief from these legal requirements.”

The rule had split Iowa’s leadership during months of nationwide bickering over the limits. Gov. Terry Branstad opposed the rule because the EPA hadn’t considered costs of nearly $10 billion. Attorney General Tom Miller had supported the EPA’s efforts to protect public health by limiting emissions of mercury and other toxic gases.

Major coal suppliers saw double-digit jumps in their stock prices Monday, Bloomberg reported. On the other hand, companies specializing in removing mercury from emissions saw drops in the single digits.

MidAmerican parent company Berkshire Hathaway Inc. was down 1.3 percent at midday.

MidAmerican wasn’t the only industry voice against the proposal, which was widely supported by environmental groups.

“Elitist ideas usually carry lofty price tags,” Mike Duncan, chief executive officer of the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity, said in a statement Monday. “When EPA rewrites this regulation, we can only hope it uses real costs and benefit figures rather than those pulled out of its magic bag of tricks.”

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