EDMOND —
Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt and 12 other attorneys general are seeking documents related to the EPA’s purported “sue and settle” strategy with environmental groups.
The request, sent under the Freedom of Information Act, is in response to multiple lawsuits filed by environmental organizations against the federal government during the past three years, according to the attorneys general.
The FOIA letter requests electronic and print documents involving organizations that include Greenpeace, Defenders of Wildlife, WildEarth Guardians, Sierra Club and the AFL-CIO.
In some instances, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency entered a consent decree the same day the lawsuit was filed, demonstrating prior knowledge, Pruitt said.
The agreements have led to new rules and regulations for states without allowing attorneys general to enter the process to defend the interest of states, businesses and consumers, Pruitt said.
Pruitt said his office is investigating the pervasiveness of the purported tactic and requested documents to help in that effort.
“If the EPA is making backdoor deals with environmental groups to push their agenda on the American people while bypassing the states and Congress we need to know,” Pruitt said. “This appears to be a blatant strategy by the EPA to go around the process and bend the rules to create environmental regulations that have failed in Congress.”
Out of the 45 settlements made public the EPA has paid nearly $1 million in attorneys’ fees to the environmental groups, while also committing to develop sweeping new regulations, Pruitt said. One EPA consent decree led to the EPA’s costliest regulation ever — the Mercury Air Toxics Standards, Pruitt said.
“Not only does EPA’s action harm and jeopardize the states’ role as a partner with EPA, but it harms the interests of the citizens of the requesting states,” the attorneys general wrote in the request letter.
Attorneys general said a written justification from the EPA may help avoid litigation.
Once the documents are received the requesting states will analyze the data and produce a report as part of the ongoing review of the EPA’s operations, Pruitt said. The report will be disseminated to each state as well as to the news media and Congress as a component of the AGs’ active involvement in state efforts to address environmental issues, he said.
OPPOSING VIEW
During a June 28 House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform hearing on the issue, University of Maryland law professor Robert Percival testified that the ability of citizen groups and businesses to go to court to hold agencies accountable is one of the most important features of the U.S. legal system that makes it an envy of the world.
Percival said it has been critical to ensuring that federal environmental laws are implemented and enforced in a manner consistent with statutory directives. Settlements are expressly encouraged by public policy because of the substantial benefits they provide, he said.
“The notion that collusive settlements are being used by agencies to expand their powers beyond existing legal authorities or to bypass procedures for promulgating rules is a fantasy,” Percival said.
Percival said existing legal safeguards preclude collusive litigation and settlements cannot be used to make commitments concerning the substance of future regulations.
“Congress should not further burden federal courts and agencies with new obstacles to settlements that will result in more protracted litigation and less efficient implementation of the law,” he said.
During the same hearing Pruitt testified that Oklahoma leadership is concerned about the arbitrary and capricious nature of the EPA’s pre-emption and disapproval of the Oklahoma state implementation plan.
The state is also concerned about the EPA’s abrogation of notice and comment requirements when it imposes federal implementation plans under the regional haze regulations, Pruitt said.
Oklahoma is impacted due to its natural resources, which provide sustenance to its citizens and fuel its economic development, Pruitt said. The state’s responsibility to protect these natural assets requires a delicate balance between environmental and economic interests, he said.
The U.S. Chamber has also accused the EPA of using the “sue and settle” tactic.
marks@edmondsun.com | 341-2121, ext. 108
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