Sue-Settle-and-Circumvent the American Public

Posting below an NRO article in its entirety by Jillian Melchior, a Fellow over at the Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity, on the phenomena of sue-and-settle by some environmental groups.  The terms of sue-and-settle agreements are decided upon solely between a judge, the government, and the plaintiffs, to the exclusion of the American public and otherwise straightforward administrative procedures.  Some environmental groups have found this tactic an effective way of circumventing and speeding up the normal course of rulemaking involving APA’s public notice and comment provision, which can take on average three years from the time a regulation is first proposed until it is finally promulgated.  Although sue-and-settle certainly isn’t confined to the Obama Administration, as the practice has been occurring with increasing frequency, a new report by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce claims that more than 100 EPA rules have been adopted using this strategy since 2008.