Colorado gov wants to stop state’s EPA lawsuits

Colorado’s governor is trying to stop its attorney general from challenging Obama administration environmental regulations.

Gov. John Hickenlooper, a Democrat, wants Colorado’s highest court to rule that Cynthia Coffman, the Republican attorney general, cannot challenge federal rules without his consent, The Denver Post reports.

{mosads}At issue is a trio of lawsuits that Coffman joined in recent months to challenge EPA rules on hydraulic fracturing on public lands, redefining federal jurisdiction over waterways and carbon dioxide limits for power plants.

“The attorney general has filed an unprecedented number of lawsuits without support of or collaboration with her clients,” Jacki Cooper Melmed, chief legal counsel to the governor, told the Denver Business Journal following the Wednesday petition with the state’s Supreme Court.

“This raises serious questions about the use of state dollars and the attorney-client relationship between the governor, state agencies and the attorney general.”

Hickenlooper supports the regulations, but Coffman argues that the Obama administration overstepped its authority with each one.

The lawsuit against the climate rule for power plants is the most recent to create a rift between Hickenlooper and Coffman. It was filed late last month with 23 other states, along with three that filed separate challenges.