Kansas Counties Can’t Force Interior to Send Rule to Congress

An organization of Kansas county governments didn’t show how it is harmed by the Department of Interior’s failure to send a rule to Congress, the Tenth Circuit said Monday in affirming a lower court’s dismissal.

The rule at the center of the dispute established a policy for evaluating conservation efforts when making decisions on whether to list a species under the Endangered Species Act. The rule went into effect in April 2003, but it was never sent to Congress for approval under the Congressional Review Act.

Because the rule was never sent, it has no lawful affect, according to the ...