Chamber's NCLC Challenges Unfair Treatment of Alaska in Polar Bear Regulation

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The National Chamber Litigation Center, the public policy law firm of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, today challenged a decision by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Interior that would single out all greenhouse gas activities in Alaska to be regulated under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), threatening economic development and jobs in the state. The Secretary already exempted all other states from these regulations under the ESA in May.

"Environmental activists are trying to use the Endangered Species Act as a back door to set national climate policy – and they're starting with Alaska," said Robin Conrad, executive vice president of the National Chamber Litigation Center (NCLC). "Climate change is a global issue and requires a global solution. Singling out Alaska to impose burdensome and onerous regulation is bad policy and violates the law."

In its filing before the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the Chamber was joined by the American Petroleum Institute, the National Mining Association, the National Association of Manufacturers, and the American Iron & Steel Institute.

The Endangered Species Act (ESA) prohibits any activity that could adversely impact the habitat of a threatened or endangered species. The Secretary recently listed the polar bear as a threatened species, and now environmental activists claim that all greenhouse gas producing activities should be regulated under the ESA because they potentially threaten the polar bear's Arctic habitat. However, the Secretary disagreed that the ESA was the appropriate vehicle to regulate greenhouse gas emissions, based in part on scientific conclusions provided by the U.S. Geological Survey. The Secretary exercised his discretion under Section 4(d) of the ESA to issue a "special rule" exempting all states except Alaska from complying with a burdensome and expensive permit process for engaging in lawful activities that produce carbon dioxide emissions. This lawsuit challenges the Secretary's failure to include Alaska among the exemptions from the ESA regulatory process.

"It is arbitrary and capricious for the Secretary to single out Alaska for regulation, given the Secretary's own scientific judgment that no causal link can be established between a particular emissions source and any harm to Arctic ice," said Conrad. "The only sensible solution is to extend the 4(d) ruling to exempt all 50 states, including Alaska, from regulations under the ESA. If this goes unchallenged, Alaskans' jobs and economic growth are on the line."

NCLC is the public policy law firm of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce that advocates fair treatment of business in the courts and before regulatory agencies.

The U.S. Chamber is the world's largest business federation representing more than 3 million businesses and organizations of every size, sector, and region.

www.uschamber.com/assets/nclc/api_v_kempthorne.pdf

http://www.uschamber.com/

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