House Republicans Accuse EPA, Enviros of Collusion

The New York Times reports:

Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.) believes that U.S. EPA has worked out a nifty way to make an end run around both Congress and the federal regulatory process when it wants to implement a new rule that may be politically sensitive.

All the agency has to do is get some green group to sue over some aspect of the desired rule, he said. Then EPA can roll over in the ensuing legal battle and head right to settlement proceedings, claiming it was "forced" by the court system and consent decrees to initiate the new rulemaking. It is a path devoid of both messy public comment periods and political accusations over whether EPA is moving unilaterally.

And if that wasn't enough, the group that sues EPA can even get its legal expenses covered for its trouble, Whitfield said. Their attorney's fees can be paid for out of federal government's Judgment Fund, which is set aside to pay for settlements in lawsuits against the government.

"We have reason to believe ... that EPA is out there encouraging these lawsuits," Whitfield said at a hearing yesterday before the House Energy and Commerce Committee on the impacts of government regulations on the business and manufacturing sectors.

It's time to re-introduce property rights and get rid of the EPA.