EPA to End Controversial "Sue and Settle" Practice

Following his confirmation as the new Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Scott Pruitt has announced his first potential significant change at EPA. Last week, Administrator Pruitt stated that he intends to end EPA’s previous capitulation to the practice known as "sue and settle." The practice is whereby advocacy groups initiate litigation against EPA to force EPA into promulgating certain new rulemakings, knowing EPA would settle on the litigation to make it go away and then start with new a rulemaking. This process over the last eight years has led to a number of detrimental regulations, not to mention states and companies being forced to comply with onerous requirements by groups that never had to prove that any harm or injury had occurred, thus calling into question the necessity of such regulations and requirements.

NRMCA welcomes this latest development from Administrator Pruitt, encourages the agency’s follow through on this practice and we look forward to working with the EPA on this any many other issues in our industry’s pursuit for a balanced regulatory environment and its equitable enforcement.