Analysis finds energy industry ties to AGs

The letter to the Environmental Protection Agency from Attorney General Scott Pruitt of Oklahoma carried a blunt accusation: Federal regulators were grossly overestimating the amount of air pollution caused by energy companies drilling new natural gas wells in his state.

But Pruitt left out one critical point. The three-page letter was written by lawyers for Devon Energy, one of Oklahoma’s biggest oil and gas companies, and was delivered to him by Devon’s chief lobbyist.

“Outstanding!” William Whitsitt, who at the time directed government relations at the company, said in a note to Pruitt’s office. The attorney general’s staff had taken Devon’s draft, copied it onto state government stationery with only a few changes, and sent it to Washington with the attorney general’s signature. “The timing of the letter is great, given our meeting this Friday with both EPA and the White House.”

Whitsitt then added, “Please pass along Devon’s thanks to Attorney General Pruitt.”

The email exchange from October 2011, obtained through an open-records request, offers a hint of the alliance that Pruitt and other Republican attorneys general have formed with some of the nation’s top energy producers to push back against President Barack Obama’s regulatory agenda, an investigation by The New York Times has found.

Attorneys general in at least a dozen states are working with energy companies and other corporate interests, which in turn are providing them with record amounts of money for their campaigns, including at least $16 million this year.

The Times reported previously how individual attorneys general have shut down investigations, changed policies or agreed to more corporate-friendly settlement terms after intervention by lobbyists and lawyers.

But the attorneys general are also working collectively.

Out of public view, corporate representatives and attorneys general are coordinating legal strategy and other efforts to fight federal regulations, according to a review of thousands of emails and court documents and dozens of interviews.

For Pruitt, the benefits have been clear. Lobbyists and company officials have been solicitous, helping him raise his profile as president for two years of the Republican Attorneys General Association.

Pruitt has responded aggressively, and with a lot of helping hands. Energy industry lobbyists drafted letters for him to send to the EPA, the Interior Department, the Office of Management and Budget and even Obama, The Times found.

Industries he regulates have also joined him as plaintiffs in court challenges.

Energy industry lobbyists have also distributed draft legislation to attorneys general and asked them to help push it through state legislatures to give the attorneys general clearer authority to challenge the Obama agenda, the documents show.

It is an emerging practice that several former attorneys general say threatens the integrity of the office.

Pruitt dismissed this criticism as misinformed.

Pruitt’s office, in a statement to The Times, rejected any suggestion that the attorney general has been wrong to send to Washington comment letters written by industry lobbyists, or to take up their side in litigation.

“The AG’s office seeks input from the energy industry to determine real-life harm stemming from proposed federal regulations or actions,” the statement said. “It is the content of the request not the source of the request that is relevant.”