Paxton Sues Biden Admin Over Lizard Rule

AUSTIN, TX - Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration, accusing it of misusing environmental law to harm Texas’ oil and gas industries.

According to a release from Paxton's office, The Wildlife Service failed to rely on the best scientific and commercial data available when making its designation as required by law and therefore made inaccurate and arbitrary assumptions about the current and future status of the species.

Further, the regulation classifying the dunes sagebrush lizard as endangered did not take into consideration the ongoing voluntary conservation efforts already in place at a local and state level, the release stated.

"Because of this, the federal government’s action would unduly undermine vital economic development in the Permian Basin, subjecting Texas industries and private landowners to regulatory uncertainty and ambiguity about what they can do with their own land," information from Paxton's office read. 

On July 25, Attorney General Paxton notified the Biden Administration that the listing violated the ESA and that he would sue if the error was not reversed. As the improper classification has not been retracted, the Office of the Attorney General filed suit, asking the court to find that the agencies acted arbitrarily and capriciously in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act and the 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.”

To read the filing, click here.

Congressman August Pfluger (TX-11) has also taken action, introducing a Congressional Review Act (CRA) to nullify the Biden administration’s rule. Pfluger has been vocal in opposing the federal listing, claiming it threatens jobs and energy production in the Permian Basin. Last year, he introduced the Limiting Incredulous Zealots Against Restricting Drilling (LIZARD) Act to prevent the dunes sagebrush lizard from being listed as endangered.

“Listing the dunes sagebrush lizard as an endangered species is another effort by the Biden Administration to shut down drilling in the Permian Basin,” Pfluger said. “My Congressional Review Act nullifies President Biden’s attempt to use a lizard as a weapon against the oil and gas industry.”

Support for Pfluger’s efforts has come from industry leaders who see the rule as government overreach. Ben Shepperd, president of the Permian Basin Petroleum Association, criticized the decision, pointing to conservation work already in place. He noted that millions of dollars and hundreds of thousands of acres have been committed to conservation in Texas and New Mexico without the need for federal intervention.

“The Service’s arbitrary decision is not supported by the available science and flies in the face of state-sponsored conservation efforts,” Shepperd said.

Tim Tarpley, president of the Energy Workforce & Technology Council, warned the federal rule could threaten over 88,000 direct jobs and nearly half a million indirect jobs in the Permian Basin. He called the decision politically motivated and harmful to American energy security.

“The men and women of the Energy Workforce appreciate Rep. Pfluger’s introduction of a CRA to overturn this reckless decision and protect American energy security,” Tarpley said.

The fight over the dunes sagebrush lizard’s status continues as Texas officials and industry leaders push back against what they see as a threat to jobs and economic stability in the Permian Basin.