Last week, federal Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt issued a directive aimed at reducing “sue-and-settle” lawsuits. For those who like voters to have input in the creation of environmental regulation, this is a great move. For decades, environmental advocacy groups have exerted outsized influence—and profited financially—from “friendly” lawsuits against the EPA. These lawsuits have been a conduit for activists inside and outside the EPA to get new regulations in … [Read more...]
Pruitt Sounds Death Knell for Scandalous “Sue-and-Settle” at EPA
One of the reasons the Cornwall Alliance supported President Donald Trump's nomination of Scott Pruitt, at the time Oklahoma Attorney General, as Administrator of the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was that Pruitt "publicly opposed the abuse of the court system by use of 'sue-and-settle' to reach sweetheart deals between the EPA and environmental advocacy groups." That was sweet news to anyone familiar with the way Green advocacy groups had abused the legal system, with full … [Read more...]
Senate Committee Issues Damning Report on EPA’s “Sue and Settle” Practices
The Senate Environment & Public Works Committee last month issued a damning 73-page report, by the Committee's Majority Staff, exposing the widespread and corrupting use of "sue and settle" practices by the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), under the Obama Administration, to form and promote its policies. It's not pleasant reading, and citizens who favor transparency, accountability, and equal access and oppose secrecy, autocracy, and favoritism in government agencies need to be … [Read more...]
