BATON ROUGE, LA – Attorney
General Jeff Landry today announced that a lawsuit filed by Louisiana and 19
other states has resulted in the federal government agreeing to reconsider
rules restricting property owners use of land.
The suit concerned a revision of the definitions of
“critical habitat” under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). General Landry
and the other States asserted the revised ESA regulations unlawfully expanded
the government's authority to designate areas as critical habitat.
“As these rules intrude on the private property rights
of Louisiana citizens, I am proud of our team's work to reach this conclusion,”
said General Landry. “Our office will continue to do all we can to fight
federal overreach.”
In 2016, federal agencies adopted two new rules that
allowed the federal government to designate land as “critical habitat” for an
endangered species - even if that species did not presently live on that land
and even if the land did not possess the biological features necessary for the
survival of the species.
In November 2016, States filed a lawsuit in the Southern
District of Alabama, U.S. District Court challenging the two rules as an
unlawful federal overreach. Today, that suit resulted in a settlement requiring
the federal agencies to submit revised rules for public review within 60 days
and retains the States ability to file another lawsuit should the new rules
perpetuate the federal overreach.
States joining Louisiana in the settlement are Alabama,
Alaska, Arkansas, Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri,
Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Nevada, North Dakota, South Carolina, Texas,
West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
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