November 8, 2023 11:10 a.m. 

2nd District Congressman Cliff Bentz and Kentucky Congressman Thomas Massie have sent a letter to the Council on Environmental Quality Chair Brenda Mallory requesting documents related to the CEQ’s role in mediation and settlement discussions regarding the Lower Snake River Dams.

Bentz chairs the Water, Wildlife and Fisheries Subcommittee while Massie chairs the Administrative State, Regulatory Reform and Antitrust Committee on the Judiciary.

The letter expresses concern that the CEQ has exceeded its authority by actively participating in these discussions, favoring certain policies, and potentially violating the Administrative Procedure Act.

Bentz said, “The Council on Environmental Quality appears to have dramatically overstepped its authority by interfering in ongoing litigation concerning operation of the Snake River Dams”. Bentz said, “The CEQ is supposed to act as an advisory board to Federal agencies concerning process and not policy. Instead, it has become the environmental arm of the Biden Administration. This interference is a misuse of the CEQ’s time and resources, extending far beyond its original mandate”,

The full letter is linked: https://twitter.com/RepBentz/status/1722307245570949368?s=20

Parts of Douglas County are included in House District 2.