The Arizona Attorney General has taken to task the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over its “sue and settle” practice. Arizona and 11 other states have filed a lawsuit against EPA seeking documents from non-governmental organizations that have resulted in expensive new regulations through closed door negotiations that do not involve the states.
The EPA previously denied the states’ Freedom of Information Act request filed on the matter.
EPA records are being requested that concern discussions with groups including the Sierra Club, National Parks Conservation Association, Grand Canyon Trust, Environmental Defense and Dine’ Citizens Against Ruining our Environment, all of whom are engaged with the EPA to force unnecessary controls for Arizona’s Navajo Generating Station relating to regional haze. Each of these groups is named in the “sue and settle” filing.
The EPA’s proposed $1.1 billion rule, which is under a public review process, would offer no perceptible visibility benefit at the Grand Canyon based on the government’s own study.
“The EPA has not thoroughly evaluated the direct and indirect impacts of its proposed regional haze rule for the Navajo Station, yet is attempting to force a regulation that could shut down the plant and bring dire consequences to the state and its tribes,” said Richard Hubbard, the President and CEO of the Valley Partnership, a member of the Arizona Coalition for Water, Energy and Jobs. “The rule would drive up water and energy costs, and put at risk the state’s essential water supply along with thousands of jobs and $20 billion in economic activity over the next three decades for no visibility benefit at the Grand Canyon. The EPA must be held accountable for maintaining a transparent regulatory process in Arizona that gives all stakeholders a seat at the table and a voice in the discussion.”
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce in a recent study found that the “sue and settle” process resulted in development of more than 100 new government regulations from 2009 to 2012, with regulatory requirements representing as much as $488 billion in new costs. The study also found that when EPA was asked by Congress to provide information about the notices of intent to sue received by the agency, EPA could not or would not provide the information, instead choosing not to disclose the lawsuit until a settlement agreement had been worked out.