From Dr. Roy Spencer, who says he received this via EPA’s email system. It isn’t on the EPA website yet, but I’m guessing their press office is running slow today due to the shock. However, it has been covered by the Washington Times who apparently got the same email. It was an “oral directive” since July.
Administrator Pruitt Issues Directive to End EPA “Sue & Settle”
“The days of regulation through litigation are over,” – EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt
WASHINGTON (October 16, 2017) – In fulfilling his promise to end the practice of regulation through litigation that has harmed the American public, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt issued an Agency-wide directive today designed to end “sue and settle” practices within the Agency, providing an unprecedented level of public participation and transparency in EPA consent decrees and settlement agreements.
“The days of regulation through litigation are over,” said EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt. “We will no longer go behind closed doors and use consent decrees and settlement agreements to resolve lawsuits filed against the Agency by special interest groups where doing so would circumvent the regulatory process set forth by Congress. Additionally, gone are the days of routinely paying tens of thousands of dollars in attorney’s fees to these groups with which we swiftly settle.”
Over the years, outside the regulatory process, special interest groups have used lawsuits that seek to force federal agencies – especially EPA – to issue regulations that advance their interests and priorities, on their specified timeframe. EPA gets sued by an outside party that is asking the court to compel the Agency to take certain steps, either through change in a statutory duty or enforcing timelines set by the law, and then EPA will acquiesce through a consent decree or settlement agreement, affecting the Agency’s obligations under the statute.
More specifically, EPA either commits to taking an action that is not a mandatory requirement under its governing statutes or agrees to a specific, unreasonable timeline to act. Oftentimes, these agreements are reached with little to no public input or transparency. That is regulation through litigation, and it is inconsistent with the authority that Congress has granted and the responsibility to operate in an open and fair manner.
“Sue and settle” cases establish Agency obligations without participation by states and/or the regulated community; foreclose meaningful public participation in rulemaking; effectively force the Agency to reach certain regulatory outcomes; and, cost the American taxpayer millions of dollars.
With today’s directive, Administrator Pruitt is ensuring the Agency increase transparency, improve public engagement, and provide accountability to the American public when considering a settlement agreement or consent decree by:
Publishing any notices of intent to sue the Agency within 15 days of receiving the notice;
Publishing any complaints or petitions for review in regard to an environmental law, regulation, or rule in which the Agency is a defendant or respondent in federal court within 15 days of receipt;
Reaching out to and including any states and/or regulated entities affected by potential settlements or consent decrees;
Publishing a list of consent decrees and settlement agreements that govern Agency actions within 30 days, along with any attorney fees paid, and update it within 15 days of any new consent decree or settlement agreement;
Expressly forbidding the practice of entering into any consent decrees that exceed the authority of the courts;
Excluding attorney’s fees and litigation costs when settling with those suing the Agency;
Providing sufficient time to issue or modify proposed and final rules, take and consider public comment; and
Publishing any proposed or modified consent decrees and settlements for 30-day public comment, and providing a public hearing on a proposed consent decree or settlement when requested.
Sounds like democracy (finally). Good for Pruitt.
Outstanding , at last some concrete changes.
Now he just needs to shut down the Federal EPA all together. It is beyond reform.
So what is to stop the next Democrat POTUS bringing it back in? can this be enshrined in law so it takes Congress to repeal?
“So what is to stop the next Democrat POTUS bringing it back in?”
I am surprised to see you asking that here, Mr Pruitt! 😉
What is needed in addition is to file RICO suits for past Sue & Settle instances – against the EPA people involved, against the people suing, against lawyers on both sides, and against the judges. Exceeding statutory limits is a crime, and it should be treated as such!
I looked at all the currently active Notices to Sue to EPA at this link:
https://www.epa.gov/noi/notices-intent-sue-us-environmental-protection-agency-documents-2016-2017
It is worth a look.
I found this one from the Sierra Club quite interesting:
https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2017-08/documents/sc_noi_07142017.pdf
Its contains a very detailed analysis (after all the legal mumbo jumbo) of the environmental damage done to the MidWest of the US, due the excessive amounts of corn we are growing for Ethanol to burn in our gasoline tanks.
It demands action from the EPA to protect open grasslands (undeveloped, not farmed) from conversion to more corn ethanol crops. Seems to fail to mention how wasteful of energy, completely pointless and expensive it is to produce ethanol from food stocks like corn.
Heads are exploding at the Sierra Club and the WWF. I love it!
It’s on their website now. Home page on the right under social media.
https://www.epa.gov/
Great news – I love the smell of swamp monsters heads exploding in the morning -LOL -The Swamp draining continues!!!
And if you want to watch their heads explode, there’s this:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/war-on-the-epa/
I guess we will never know the full extent of the deliberate damage the Obama Administration did to this country. Occupy Wall Street for 2012 election, Black Lives Matter for the 2016 election (both radical Communist fronts), Sue and Settle, $billions to Iran, and on and on. Millions of evil acts by millions in the government. I can’t think of a single agency that wasn’t corrupted to some degree, and all to the detriment of the US and its citizens.
Len,
We are of like mind.
Part Deux: Review all the old “Sue and Settle” cases and reverse those that should never have seen the light of day. Then ask for the money back. I am sure th Tides Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, the Packard Foundation – ad infinitum – would be happy to come out from behind their trust funds to fund such a noble undertaking. Yeah right. Like any of the other Champagne Socialist, they never want to get their hands dirty. Might leave prints om the champagne glasses doncha know. Take a lesson fro Canada’s Hair Boy. Look at him sitting all curled up like a puppy dog while talking to Trump about NAFTA. 💕💕. That is what a Champagne Socialist looks like
Watch the series of the Outlander with Bonnie Prince Charlie- the great Champagne Socialist of his time. Well, ok. Canada’s Trust Fund Boy would never have survived back then. My apologies to Scots and Sasanacks everywhere. Canada’s Trust Fund Boy’ wouldn’t last a week back then.
Sorry for the rant. So many things need fixing.
Bit this is a start. Thanks Scott Pruitt.
Vacuums IMplode.
With enough explosives you can make vacuums explode.:))
The most dangerous part of any implosion is that is is always followed by a reversal in the form of a violent explosion.
This is more like a black hole. All the green’s gray matter sucked into the black hole causing a purple haze in a blaze of glory for the Red, White and Blue! Whew! That’s all the colors I could get into this piece of great news!
It was impressive, Braf. I’m Green with envy.
(just not watermelon green)
^¿^
George soreA$$ and Steyer are crying in their lattes!!
The Sierra Club and other environmental groups make a lot of money off the taxpayer by suing the EPA and then getting a huge settlement offer from them because they are sympathetic to their cause. The EPA was also in the habit of going after businesses for violating their rules and then offering to settle the matter if they donated money to certain environmental groups.
Leftists in government have become experts at redistributing public money to the unions and private groups they support, such as the Sierra Club and Planned Parenthood. They, in turn, receive a portion of that money back in the form of donations. It’s a great money laundering scheme, as long as the party in power allows it to continue.
Now watch as many self-hating Republican politicians come out in opposition to what Pruitt and Trump are trying to do and in defense of Democrats using the treasury as their personal piggy bank. It is baffling. But I think these GOP politicians have become so used to being held captive by liberal policies, they have developed Stockholm syndrome. Either that, or they simply hate Trump so much that they oppose everything he does, even if it helps the opposition.
When your snout is planted firmly in the trough you hate anyone who would cut off the endless swill, even if they are ‘on your team’.
And make no mistake, those Republican who are so opposed to Trump are lifetime Troughers.
Seems entirely pragmatic.
It’ll be interesting to see the number of cased falling when the greens realise they’re not going to get their legal costs paid as a matter of course.
Of the cases that aren’t withdrawn and actually go to court, I wonder how many the NGO’s will lose. How many cases against the EPA are currently pending?
I found a link, https://www.epa.gov/noi/notices-intent-sue-us-environmental-protection-agency-documents-2016-2017
I counted 139 Notices of Intent to Sue the EPA since 2016…
For those who didn’t know, the EPA indeed governs the ESA
https://www.epa.gov/laws-regulations/summary-endangered-species-act
Pacific walrus law suit was threatened last week. It will be interesting to see if it goes ahead:
“Group files notice it will sue Trump administration over walrus protection: ‘There’s no question Pacific walruses are endangered, so denying them protection is absurd and dangerous’
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/pacific-walrus-endangered-list-trump-1.4352656
The Center for Biological Diversity is the main abuser of this sue-and-settle practice to get species listed as threatened or endangered under the ESA (they were behind the polar bear listing, of course).
“(they were behind the polar bear listing, of course)”
You’d have thought they’d have learned by now.
This brings up a question – how many such lawsuits have resulted in settlements {in the past 10myrs) which would NOT have been possible or occurred had such lawsuits not been filed? Why should these regulatory actions be considered valid and in effect? [since the standard bureaucratic procedures had been shortcut]
How ironic is it that polar bears are one of the biggest threats to walruses?
The Time Has Come The Walrus Said, To Speak With Truth and Honesty about Wildlife and Climate.
The Endangered Species Act is fertile ground for the Center for Biological Diversity and they used it to great effect when disseminating false claims about the status of the Polar Bear in the Arctic.
2005, the Centre for Biological Diversity petitioned the federal government to list polar bears as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act.
2006 –In December the Administration declared that the polar bear should be added to the endangered species list “because of the drastic melting of its habitat”. “This is a victory for the polar bear, and all wildlife threatened by global warming,” said Kassie Siegel, a lawyer for the Centre for Biological Diversity. “There is still time to save polar bears, but we must reduce greenhouse gas pollution immediately
For Polar Bears, read Penguins:
2006 – “These penguin species will march right into extinction unless greenhouse gas pollution is controlled,” said the center’s Kassie Siegel. “It is not too late to save them, but we must seize the available solutions to global warming immediately.”
Then the Walrus:
2008 – Formal scientific petition with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, requesting protection of the Pacific walrus under the Endangered Species Act.
2010 – Unless we dramatically reduce our greenhouse emissions, the walrus is on a trajectory toward extinction,” said Rebecca Noblin, the Center’s Alaska director.
Who are they?
http://www.utne.com/Environment/Suing-to-Save-the-Planet
From 2010:
“Twenty years ago, they were Earth Firsters, living in tepees, trying to save spotted owls, and grafting together a shoestring budget from their unemployment checks. Today, the Center for Biological Diversity has a budget of $7 million, 62 full-time staffers, and 15 offices nationally.”
Loads of money:
February 13, 2009 (ENS) – “To fight climate change, the non-profit Center for Biological Diversity Thursday opened a new law institute in San Francisco and announced the dedication of an initial $17 million to the project.
Initial funding of $6.3 million for the Climate Law Institute has been provided by the California Community Foundation, The Sandler Foundation, The Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund, and others.”
What, JUST in the last 10 million years?
I’m glad we are narrowing it down a bit.
^¿^
This was a huge, and underreported, scam in the Obama years. It was so much worse than you know, or even what is reported here.
The sue and settle scam was perpetrated by EPA EMPLOYEES working with environmental groups. Minor EPA flunkies would identify actions they would like to take, and powers they would like to have, then talk behind closed doors with environmental groups and arrange for the lawsuit, giving the environmental groups everything they need to file.
Huge numbers of the suits could never have been won in court, since they ask for damages that did not occur, to parties not impacted, and involving actions EPA had no authority to govern. But who cares? They would settle with the environmental groups, giving them huge amounts of money, and being “forced” to do things they wanted to do anyway. It was really an abuse by federal employees who wanted to do whatever they thought necessary.
Whatever you feelings about the environment, it was a disgusting abuse of power by unelected officials.
The EPA is a Commie rat nest.
If they left an email trail and have not yet bleach-bitted it, the EPA could now contest the settlements and DOJ should pursue both the employees and the greenies for conspiracy to subvert the Administrative Procedures Act of 1946, which established the process for creating new regulations. But that’s probably too much to ask for.
Pruitt is being very bad boy, actually following the law. It is an example of the lack of proper concern for the expressed goals of NGO’s, and interfering with a major source of those groups funding./sarc
More winning! This puts the boot on the throat of crony socialism… Excellent!
Crony socialism is when a gang of thieves promises to help the poor, but merely enrich themselves. Crony socialism is a kleptocracy. When it is croney-capitalists that are trying impose an authoritarian regime, as the crony-capitalists are determined to keep their positions of wealth and power, they crony-fascists. Reagan said that fascism will come to America under the guise of liberalism and he is much more likely to be right than those claiming fascism will come to America wrapped in a flag and bearing a cross.
“Crony Socialism is a Kleptocracy.”
Agree! That quite adequately describes the entire Obama regime, including the Clinton State Department!
> Providing sufficient time to issue or modify proposed and final rules, take and consider public comment;
This is a sea change (sorry). Prior to this public comments were merely accepted, not considered.
Good catch.
The best part of backroom Sue & Settle deals; settlements between the plaintiff and EPA were agreed upon before the suits were ever filed. https://www.uschamber.com/sites/default/files/doj_enrd_foia_on_caa_cwa_esa_settlements_database.pdf
https://www.epa.gov/noi
“Specifically, the Administrator has failed to promulgate federal
Case 1:17-cv-02002 Document 1 Filed 09/28/17 implementation plans to ensure that Mississippi and Alabama address conflicts of interest for
those who approve air pollution permits or enforce air pollution protective measures. Mississippi and Alabama are almost forty years late in having these conflict of interest avoidance and disclosure requirements in place. ”
Sierra Club lawyers in Oakland are suing in this case. Most of the filings do not seem to be citizens protecting the environment.
I looked for a real problem that needs to be solved. Regulating ammonia under the CAA is one example. The suit is targeting nuisance agricultural odors from from things like dairy farms.
I have been on many large well managed dairy farms that do not create an odor problem for their neighbors. However, I think the level of ammonia that is an odor issue is much below that related to occupation level regulated OSHA.
However, this is an issue that should be resolve based on the comment process and not settled behind closed by big city lawyers.
This makes the case for serious tort reform where if the plaintiff looses, they pay the legal costs of the other side. This will definitely put a stop to frivolous lawsuits like those pursued by green groups as well as frivolous malpractice suits which will bring down health care costs.
More swamp draining.
Send most of the EPA workforce out to clean up legacy sites by hand. Some of them could have been cleaned up a long time ago by proactive teams working out of work camps.
That’s an outstanding idea!!
john h
Agree – massively.
Auto
Fire the EPA work force and let those who draw on SNAP cards and other public assistance do the work. Like the old WPA where folks had a chance to earn their own way and gain some pride along with new skills.
Environmental idiots often create a circular firing squad.
They demanded that their views be heard. Then they are surprised when others want to express other views.
This is the most significant change in Federal rule making in ages — absolutely brilliant!
It should be the GOLD STANDARD for all government agencies.
MAGA
Is there any way to unwind some of the previous settled suits?
The general answer is no.
New congressional legislation. So no.
That’s too bad. Because this comes closer to a pattern of collusion than Meuller ever dreamt about the Russians. And I say that as a victim. An employee of a company that was sued, virtually forced to settle and diminished as a result.
Thank you Scott Pruitt.
100+
“Excluding attorney’s fees and litigation costs when settling with those suing the Agency;…”
Well, at least there goes one gravy train…
Good!. No, great! Working for the Bureau of Land Management I saw this all the time. Hopefully the other Federal agencies that are favorite targets of the rent seekers will follow suit.
Note to EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt:
Environmental extremism has been a used as a blunt weapon to harm the economy of the USA and other countries in the developed world.
Global warming alarmism has been the most destructive and costly of these assaults on free nations, resulting in increased energy costs, reduced manufacturing competitiveness, lost jobs, reduced electric grid reliability, increased winter mortality, and the misallocation and waste of trillions of dollars of scarce global resources.
There should be serious consequences for those who overstepped their authority and used their government job as a bully pulpit to pursue their extremist agenda. Those who chose to “just go along” with illegal conduct because it was “the path of least resistance” have also betrayed their oath of office, their country and its people.
I suggest the next suitable step would be to give notice to all those in the EPA and environs who participated in this illegal “Sue and Settle” practice that there will be an investigation and those who fully participated and caused significant harm to the interests of the USA will be dismissed for cause, lose their pensions and might be charged with a criminal offence. Those miscreants who choose to resign within 30 days will not be prosecuted.
Law firms and consultants that earned large fees for collaborating in this illegal practice should be required to return all fees to the government or face similar punitive action. Alternatively, private citizens could initiate Civil RICO lawsuits in the USA to recover triple damages from those who have raided the public purse through environmental alarmist schemes.
It is time to bring proper accountability to those who have deliberately sabotaged the interests of the USA.
More BS from Allen!
First off Scott Priutt is only in the USA. What stupid policies other countries have, are not subject to our legal system.
Second, American politicians are 99% talk when it comes to ghg. POTUS Bush establish incentives for renewable energy at a time the US was building facilities to import natural gas. Developing new sources of natural was the major factor increasing supply but the 4% from wind also helped.
POTUS Obama talked a lot but only took credit for things accomplished for other reason.
The US grid is more reliable than it has ever been. There has been no increase in morality, summer or winter, related to US power generation.
Working in the nuclear industry I know that we have been the target of every environmental extremist group around. They may win some lower court battles but lose in the long run. We stay in business because we do a good job producing power. Cheap fossil fuel is a challenge. Fossil fuel will not stay cheap without the 20% nuke contribution.
Kit – you clearly are challenged when it comes to reading ability.
None of your points have relevance to my post.
.
Kit, where is the “morality” in power generation? Most people I know in the power business appear to be moral beings.
‘Bout time. Should never have been done in the first place. The EPA lawyers must be gnashing teeth now.
Now all he has to do is get the lawyers involved to actually follow his directive.
Unnecessary. Without blood in the water (plaintiff fee awards) the sharks won’t circle.
Sue and Settle, sounds like a bad brother in law deal.
will any liberanos working for the EPA now quit??
Of all the Trump appointees Mr. Pruitt is one of a few that are making progress but there is a long way to go . Congratulations Mr. Pruitt the American people are better off as a result .
Sue and settle is white collar theft designed to rip off unknowing tax payers by hundreds of millions .
If some guy steals groceries he will be in jail if caught while lawyers , lobbyist’s and EPA insiders walk around free floating around on their bags of cash .
“when did they know ” Time to investigate the sue / settle con game orchestrated with EPA oversight and blessing .
Lets start with a list of “settlements ” and the con artists involved .
Except that those benefiting from Sue and Settle will now sue the EPA to try to reverse the directive. Probably tomorrow, and in the 9th District.
So much Winning!
How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.