EPA out of control

By: Herald Staff, Sunday, May 26, 2013

The Competitive Enterprise Institute, a conservative advocacy group, has sued the Environmental Protection Agency seeking an explanation of why it has been denied waivers of fees for provision of documents while environmental groups almost always got waivers. Just more evidence EPA is becoming a law unto itself.

Christopher Horner of CEI used a Freedom of Information Act request to examine document requests over about 15 months. His own requests for waivers were denied 14 out of 15 times; requests from environmental groups were granted 75 of 82 times…..It’s the favoritism, not the fees themselves, that’s important. It’s not the only impropriety at EPA.

The Oklahoma attorney general…….. [is] warning EPA not to cooperate in a “sue and settle” strategy of seven Northeastern states (including Massachusetts) who have gone to court seeking to force EPA to directly regulate natural gas emissions to the atmosphere in “fracking” exploration and production. Pruitt fears that a “friendly” settlement in court would bind all other states, yet cut them out of the decision-making.

The Pittsburgh-based law firm K&L Gates, in a newsletter for clients and others, noted an “increasing trend” of sue-and-settle litigation that evades statutory requirements for producing regulations.  Only Congress can force EPA to behave — which will make it harder for President Obama to use EPA to bypass Congress....To Read More.....