January 2009 had the potential to be the dawn of a new era in Washington. The newly-elected President Obama promised that his administration would be “committed to creating an unprecedented level of openness in government” and that it would “work together to ensure the public trust and establish a system of transparency, public participation and collaboration.”[1a] Four years later, however, Obama’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) seems to be doing just the opposite by entering into agreements behind closed doors with environmental litigants.