Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of the Interior, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Biden Administration officials. The lawsuit challenges the classification of the dunes sagebrush lizard as an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
According to Paxton, the Wildlife Service did not use the best scientific and commercial data available when making its designation. This failure allegedly led to inaccurate assumptions about the status of the species. Additionally, Paxton argues that existing voluntary conservation efforts at local and state levels were not considered in this federal regulation.
Paxton claims that this classification will negatively impact economic development in the Permian Basin by creating regulatory uncertainty for Texas industries and private landowners.
On July 25, Paxton informed the Biden Administration that he would sue if the listing was not reversed. With no retraction forthcoming, his office has now filed suit. The suit requests that the court find these actions by federal agencies to be arbitrary and capricious, violating both the Administrative Procedure Act and ESA.
"The Biden-Harris Administration’s unlawful misuse of environmental law is a backdoor attempt to undermine Texas’s oil and gas industries which help keep the lights on for America," said Attorney General Paxton. "I warned that we would sue over this illegal move, and now we will see them in court."