Environmental Issues

Ron Arnold: Are backroom sue-and-settle deals actually sweetheart lawsuits?  

An important new report from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce entitled "Sue-and-Settle: Regulating Behind Closed Doors," shines a light on the backroom manipulations now common between Big Green activists and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency -- among others -- to impose regulations unlikely to gain approval in Congress. The report found that between 2009 and 2012, the Sierra Club was in first place, with 34 cases filed; the Natural Resources Defense Council had nine and the Environmental Defense Fund had five in a long list of plaintiffs.  Sue and settle allows lawyers for Big Green groups to walk into any EPA office and say, "We want this exact rule in place within 90 days," and get a response something like, "Sure, pal. Anything else?".....

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