MADISON, Wis. – Attorney General Josh Kaul today announced that he joined 14 other attorneys general in filing a lawsuit to stop the Trump Administration from unlawfully bypassing critical environmental reviews that protect clean water, natural resources, and public health.
“This Trump administration attempt to cut corners would put clean water and other natural resources at risk,” said AG Kaul. “The administration’s weak effort to justify the tossing aside of environmental protections should be rejected.”
The lawsuit challenges the administration’s executive order declaring a “national energy emergency,” which is being used to fast-track energy projects without following federal laws that safeguard the nation’s water and natural resources. The order weakens protections under the Clean Water Act and multiple other federal laws protecting natural and historic resources, at the expense of communities and shared waterways, such as the Great Lakes.
Since taking office, AG Kaul has made clean water enforcement a priority. The Wisconsin Department of Justice has represented the State of Wisconsin in multiple actions against polluters, including lawsuits over PFAS contamination and enforcement cases that secured penalties and required steps to prevent further environmental harm.
At the direction of the president, federal agencies are bypassing or shortening critical reviews under the Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act, and the National Historic Preservation Act for energy projects. These laws play a critical role protecting the environment and human health.
Until now, federal agencies have only used emergency procedures during actual emergencies such as hurricanes and catastrophic oil spills. Now agencies are acting 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, as well as 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 are asking the court to declare the president’s directive, and the agencies’ implementation of it, illegal and to stop them from issuing emergency permits under the executive order.
Joining AG Kaul in this lawsuit, which is being led by California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Washington Attorney General Nicholas Brown, are the attorneys general of Arizona, Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Vermont.
A copy of the complaint is available here.
View this press release on the DOJ website here.
