SAN FRANCISCO — A coalition of 15 US states is filing a new lawsuit challenging
President Donald Trump's executive order declaring a "national energy
emergency," which aims to accelerate fossil fuel development.
Washington State Attorney General Nick Brown announced
the legal action on Friday during a press briefing. The 61-page complaint was
submitted to the US District Court for the Western District of Washington.
According to the lawsuit, Trump's order violates the
National Emergencies Act of 1976, which was designed to ensure that presidents
use their emergency powers "only when actual emergencies exist" and
not for "frivolous or partisan matters."
"Prodded onto the shakiest of limbs by the
President's unsupported and unlawful Executive Order, multiple federal agencies
now seek to broadly employ these emergency procedures in non-emergency
situations," the lawsuit said.
Brown criticised Trump's emergency declaration as
"fake," as US energy production is at an all-time high level, reports
Xinhua news agency.
"This is not a serious or lawful effort by the
president. It is all about eliminating competition and shackling America to
dirty fossil fuels forever," Brown said at a news conference held in
Seattle.
Trump issued the executive order on his first day back in
office earlier this year. It promotes the expansion of oil, gas, coal, and
other fossil fuel sources, while explicitly excluding wind, solar, and
battery-based energy initiatives.
"Our Nation's current inadequate development of
domestic energy resources leaves us vulnerable to hostile foreign actors and
poses an imminent and growing threat to the United States' prosperity and
national security," Trump declared in the executive order.
Federal agencies have since begun to bypass or reduce
environmental review requirements under laws such as the Clean Water Act, the
Endangered Species Act, and the National Historic Preservation Act, the lawsuit
alleges.
The legal filing seeks a court ruling to invalidate the
executive order and to prohibit federal agencies from issuing fast-tracked
permits based on the order.
States joining the suit include California, Arizona,
Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New
Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin.
