Environmental Protection Agency Suffers a Setback
EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt has had considerable success in helping his Big Oil clients run roughshod over the environment in their desperate quest to maintain their energy monopolies as far into the 21st Century as possible. But though the Trump administration has, in many ways, been a dream come true, it’s run into legal trouble here and there.
On Monday, for instance, everyone with lungs celebrated a minor victory when a U.S. federal court ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to implement protections against smog set that had been set in 2015 under the Obama administration, a significant defeat as the agency continues its ferocious attack on environmental regulations.
Per Reuters, The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California ruled that the agency led by Administrator Scott Pruitt needs to move ahead to carry out the 2015 Ozone Standards and designate areas in the country that do not meet them. Pruitt “has failed to perform a non-discretionary duty imposed” to designate areas of the country that do not meet the standards set for levels of ozone, the main component in smog, the court order said. The EPA has until April 30 to comply.
Whether the arc of the moral universe bends in the direction of justice is yet to be seen, but those of us who care about the people and the world around us are not walking away without a fight–and neither, thank God, is the judicial branch of the U.S. government.
Craig,
The court ruling is quite correct. The EPA is a government agency, as such must obey the law or petition to have the legislature revoke or modify the terms and conditions deemed within the act.
The discretionary powers of administration for government agency should be clearly defined within each item of legislation and the agency careful to adhere to the will of the legislature.
There’s no ‘moral’ issue, or even political issue involved, simply the importance of implementing the administration without fear or favour to reflect the objectives of legislation within the Constitution, which is the duty of all government agencies.