A group of 15 states has initiated a lawsuit against President Donald Trump’s administration, challenging his attempts to expedite energy-related projects by allegedly sidestepping environmental protection laws, thus posing a risk to endangered species, critical habitats, and cultural sites.
President Trump, on his first day in office, issued an executive order calling a “national energy emergency,” which seeks to expand oil and gas production by leveraging federal powers such as eminent domain and the Defense Production Act. This act enables the government to utilize private lands and resources for goods considered nationally essential.
These measures, according to the lawsuit filed on Friday in Washington state, should be employed only in real emergencies, typically after events like hurricanes, floods, or significant oil spills. However, Washington state Attorney General Nick Brown and his fellow plaintiffs argue that agencies like the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Department of Interior are bypassing essential reviews enforced by federal regulations, including the Clean Water Act and the Endangered Species Act.
White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers stated in an email, “The President of the United States has the authority to determine what is a national emergency, not state attorneys or the courts,” defending Trump’s position by emphasizing the importance of American energy independence for economic and national security.
The attorneys general acknowledge the necessity of reliable and affordable electricity, yet they point out that the country’s energy production already stands at unprecedented levels. They argue that the executive order is illegitimate, claiming it instructs federal agencies to ignore laws and, at times, their regulations to quicken various activities, which they believe will harm water bodies, wetlands, critical habitats, as well as historic and cultural resources, alongside endangered species and the communities depending on them.
Furthermore, the attorneys general assert that hastily enacted emergency procedures erode states’ rights, noting that the federal Clean Water Act empowers states to safeguard their water quality. They seek a federal court ruling to declare the executive order unlawful and to prevent agencies from issuing emergency permits for projects lacking legitimate emergency status.
The lawsuit is spearheaded by Attorney General Brown and California Attorney General Rob Bonta, with support from their colleagues in Arizona, Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin.