Trump’s energy emergency is ‘internally inconsistent,’ Dem AGs say in new lawsuit
"The United States also already produces more oil and gas than it uses," the lawsuit claims.
Fifteen Democrat-led states told a U.S. judge on Friday the so-called energy emergency President Donald Trump declared earlier this year is “internally inconsistent,” and that bypassing environmental reviews to spur energy production would be unlawful.
In a lawsuit filed in a Seattle federal court, attorneys general from states including California, Washington and Massachusetts said the federal agencies can’t fast track oil and gas facilities using emergency authorities since domestic energy production is already at an all-time high.
“The invocation of the nation’s emergency authorities, however, is reserved for actual emergencies—not changes in presidential policy,” the state said, seeking an order blocking the fast-track permitting.
They said the president’s invocation of emergency powers goes beyond his statutory powers, violates the Administrative Procedure Act and threatens the rights of states to protect their resources like rivers under the Clean Water Act.
Fast tracking the projects threatens the states’ environmental resources, endangered species, historic and cultural resources, wildlife and more, the states said.
The White House didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
The lawsuit was the latest in a series of challenges filed by a group of Democratic state attorneys general this week over environmental and climate change issues.
Earlier in the week, a similar group of states filed a different lawsuit in the Seattle federal courthouse, seeking to force the Trump administration to unfreeze funds that were supposed to help build out electric vehicle charging infrastructure. That funding freeze had been initiated through an executive order.
Prior to that, states sued over an executive order that froze permitting for wind energy programs, too.
Great issue. I restacked and sent to BlueSky.