California sues federal government over Endangered Species Act
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New rules regarding the Endangered Species Act, announced by the Bush administration earlier this month, are illegal -- or so says California Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown, who filed suit on behalf of the state against the federal government yesterday. The Times’ Julie Cart explains:
Ken Alex, senior assistant attorney general, said the state took the action because it has both the legal right and the moral responsibility to protect California’s environment and resources. The new federal rules, he said, could put California’s threatened and endangered wildlife in greater jeopardy and could ultimately cost the state more to protect plants and animals on California’s Endangered Species List. The federal rules, made final on Dec. 16, eliminated mandated independent scientific review of federal agency plans if the agency determined the projects pose no threat to protected species. Further, the new rules removed the requirement to consider the effects of greenhouse gases on protected species and their habitat. Critics argued that agencies such as the Bureau of Land Management do not have sufficient scientific expertise to properly evaluate threats to wildlife.
This is far from the first time California has sued the federal government -- past cases have involved forestry, auto emissions, and clean air and water policies.
--Lindsay Barnett