Oklahoma AG leads multi-state lawsuit against EPA

By TIM TALLEY, Associated Press, Tuesday, 07.16.13

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt and the attorneys general of 11 other states sued the Environmental Protection Agency Tuesday demanding that the agency turn over documents the states allege will show a pattern of cooperation and collaboration with environmental organizations.

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Oklahoma City, alleges that binding consent decrees between the EPA and environmental groups that have sued the agency over the years have led to new rules and regulations for states without allowing their attorneys general to defend their interests and those of its businesses and consumers.

"It's a regulation-through-litigation type of initiative," Pruitt said after his office filed the 21-page petition. “……. Besides Oklahoma, the attorney generals of Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Kansas, Michigan, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Carolina, Texas, Utah and Wyoming are parties to the lawsuit.

Pruitt said as many as 40 lawsuits have been filed against EPA over the years by such environmental groups as Greenpeace, Defenders of Wildlife, WildEarth Guardians and the Sierra Club that have led to consent decrees, "sometimes on the same day the lawsuit is filed," that include terms and conditions that go beyond statutory guidelines approved by Congress….To Read More…..