AG Reyes Leads Amicus Defending Cooperative Federalism

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH-Attorney General Sean D. Reyes led an amicus brief in Center for Biological Diversity v. EPA at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The filing, which urges the federal appeals court to reverse a lower court ruling against the State of Florida's permitting system, was joined by 18 additional States to defend cooperative federalism.

The State of Florida adopted a permitting system under the Clean Water Act (CWA) to allow collaboration by federal and state agencies to increase efficiency in administration of the CWA and better protect species listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). This system was approved and overseen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The district court ignored the extensive cooperative processes required to develop and implement such a system, finding instead that the ESA requires outright guesswork as to the location and effect of dredging and filling on endangered species. The coalition of attorneys general contend that these findings by the lower court are inconsistent with the ESA and seriously damage America's system of cooperative federalism, where state and federal governments coordinate actions and policies in a shared partnership for the benefit of their constituents.

In their brief, the attorneys general argue that the process between the State of Florida and the EPA "exemplifies the utility and value of cooperative federalism to a functioning system of environmental law. Indeed it mirrors multiple other programs designed to effectively and efficiently address environmental issues throughout the nation." The coalition adds that "the district court ignored this critical concept and deprived Florida of the ability to conduct state-run wetlands permit programs. In the process, it severely constrains ESA consultation and questions federal and state agencies' ability to rely on settled science. Cooperative federalism and its value to environmental regulation cannot survive such decisions."

Joining Utah on this brief were the States of Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

Read the brief here.