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The delist-relist ping-pong is frustrating enough . But here ’ s one more especially galling detail : you ’ re paying for it .
Citing the Equal Access to Justice Act ( EAJA ) in that most recent round of litigation , environmental groups filed requests to be reimbursed for “ reasonable ” attorney fees up to $ 460 an hour . A few of those groups include the Alliance for Wild Rockies , Center for Biological Diversity , Humane Society of the United States , Sierra Club and WildEarth Guardians . The total combined ask amounted to more than $ 1.4 million in taxpayer money .
LOOTING AGENCY FUNDING Imagine discovering someone has been picking your pocket without you knowing about it . That scenario has played out time and time again in federal courts across the United States . It ’ s a ploy successfully utilized by environmental groups that take advantage of the Equal Access to Justice Act . A measure created four decades ago to serve and benefit everyday Americans has been transformed into something far different .
Wealthy environmental groups use federal funding to pay for attorney fees in lawsuits against governmental agencies then direct the “ reimbursements ” into marketing campaigns and fundraising efforts .
To gain a better understanding of the EAJA , we must examine its roots , which date to the 1950s when Americans demanded governmental action for better stewardship of our nation ’ s air , land and water . The Air Pollution Control Act ( 1955 ), Clean Air Act ( 1963 ) and Motor Vehicle Air Pollution Control Act ( 1965 ) were the first forays into environmentalprotection policy . The 1970s saw the creation of the National Environmental Policy Act ( 1970 ) under President Richard Nixon , as well as the Environmental Protection Agency ( EPA ), Clean Water Act ( 1972 ) and Endangered Species Act ( 1973 ).
Those actions helped set the table for Congress to enact the Equal Access to Justice Act in 1980 . It authorized the payment of “ reasonable expenses of expert witnesses , the reasonable cost of any study , analysis , engineering report , test or project which is found by the agency to be necessary for the preparation of the party ’ s case , and reasonable attorney or
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