Monday, September 12, 2011
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was sued an average of more than 100 times a year over the past two decades, according to a review of the agency’s legal history by the Government Accountability Office (GAO).
GAO found that about 2,500 legal cases were filed against EPA from 1995 to 2011. The U.S. Department of Justice, which defends all federal offices in court, spent $43 million on EPA cases from 1998 to 2010, or about $3.3 million a year.
Nearly 60% of the cases involved the Clean Air Act, and another 20% had to do with the Clean Water Act. Local and national environmental groups filed 30% of the cases, trade associations 25%, private companies 23%, and various government entities 12%.
About $14.2 million went just to cover attorney fees for plaintiffs.
-Noel Brinkerhoff
Suing EPA Pays Well (by John Vogel, American Agriculturist)
Environmental Litigation: Cases against EPA and Associated Costs over Time (Government Accountability Office) (pdf)
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