It has long seemed that environmentalist were less enthused about saving critters than in hurting business, the oil business specifically. And a federal bureaucracy shared that same goal.
So the tactic was for an environmental group to sue the government in a friendly jurisdiction, settle on terms friendly to the environmentalists, then inflict the terms of the settlement nationwide. It was a sneaky way to circumvent the legitimate procedures for making rules and regulations.
Finally, someone is trying to do something about it. See Stephen Moore's The Obama Administration's Push for More 'Endangered Species' Is Hurting U.S. Energy:
Oklahoma’s attorney general has filed what could become a landmark lawsuit against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, arguing the so-called “sue and settle” procedure for listing animals and plants on the endangered and threatened list violates the federal Endangered Species Act.
Scott Pruitt filed the complaint late Monday on behalf of the state of Oklahoma and the Domestic Energy Producers Alliance (DEPA), a national network of oil and gas companies.
The attorney general charges that “by entering into private settlements with special interest litigants, (the Fish and Wildlife Service) has attempted to circumvent the legislative and regulatory process and make fundamental changes to its (Endangered Species Act)-imposed obligations.”
It's about time someone tried to stop to these federal bureaucrats gone wild.
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