Attorney General Neronha joins coalition to challenge Trump’s fake “energy emergency”
Donald Trump declared a “national
energy emergency” under the National Emergencies Act on
Inauguration Day. Congress passed the National Emergencies Act in 1976 to
prevent presidents from declaring national emergencies for frivolous or
partisan matters — exactly what the President has done here.
“We know that this President has a very tenuous relationship with the truth, so it should come as no surprise that he fabricated an ‘emergency’ to get his way,” said Attorney General Neronha.
“Here’s the truth:
if we don’t do everything within our power to address climate change, including
spearheading the transition to clean and renewable energy sources, future
generations will suffer the irreparable consequences. Under this executive
order, fossil fuel producers would be allowed to extract from anywhere they see
fit while bypassing important environmental and historical reviews, thereby
disrupting and destroying the land and habitats of Americans and wildlife
alike. We must stop the illegal, unnecessary actions of this President before
it’s too late.”
At the direction of the President, federal agencies are
bypassing or shortening critical reviews under the Clean Water Act, Endangered
Species Act, and the Historic
National Preservation Act for energy projects. These laws play a
critical role in protecting the environment and human health.
Energy production in the United States is at an all-time high. The country produces so much oil and natural gas that energy companies do not plan to increase output in response to the President’s order. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, the President is simultaneously seeking to increase exports, which will increase prices for American consumers.
Here, the only emergency is the declaration of an
“emergency.” The President is illegally using emergency authorities to keep the
nation reliant on energy sources like coal, oil, and gas. The order excludes
wind, solar, and batteries, among the cheapest and cleanest modern energy
sources that exist today. The end goal is clear: eliminate the competition so
his oil and gas donors can keep gouging Rhode Islanders and polluting the state
in the process.
Until now, federal agencies have only used emergency
procedures during actual emergencies such as hurricanes and catastrophic oil
spills — for example, the Deepwater
Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, where lives were at risk.
Now, agencies act under emergency procedures only due to the President’s order.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the
Western District of Washington, names as defendants President Donald Trump,
the head of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the Advisory
Council on Historic Preservation. Both agencies have taken illegal action
to implement the President’s directive.
The attorneys general ask the court to declare the
President’s directive and the agencies’ implementation illegal and stop them
from issuing emergency permits under the executive order.
In filing this lawsuit, Attorney General Neronha joins
attorneys general of Arizona, California, Connecticut, Illinois, Maine,
Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, Oregon, Vermont,
Washington, and Wisconsin.
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