Environmental groups issued the first legal challenge Wednesday to President Trump’s most recent executive order to expand offshore oil and natural gas drilling in the Arctic and Atlantic oceans.
The groups argue that former President Barack Obama used his authority under the law to ban drilling in the Atlantic and parts of the Arctic permanently, and Trump does not have the legal authority to reverse it.
“We believe that Trump’s executive order asserts authority that Congress did not give him,” said Defenders of Wildlife attorney Jason Rylander, claiming the executive action taken last Friday is unprecedented.
“No president before has every attempted to withdraw waters that have been reserved under that provision of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act,” Rylander said. “We don’t believe that authority exists, and we believe it’s a bad idea.” The law gives the president exclusive authority to ban certain offshore activities, which the law makes nearly impossible to undo once the ban is imposed.
Trump’s order directs Secretary of Interior Ryan Zinke to redo the previous administration’s five-year offshore energy leasing plan, and replace it with one that includes drilling off the Atlantic, Arctic and Pacific oceans while increasing energy development in the Gulf of Mexico.
Zinke said earlier this week that he has already initiated development of a new 2017-2022 offshore drilling plan.
The order also calls for a review of marine monuments that President Barack Obama put in place to assess if they impede offshore energy development and mining.
Wednesday’s lawsuit was the first to be leveled against the Trump executive action less than a week after it was signed by the president at the White House.
A coalition of groups signed onto the lawsuit, with environmental lawyers from Earthjustice and the Natural Resources Defense Council leading the litigation charge with representing attorneys.
“President Trump’s April 28 executive order exceeds his constitutional and statutory authority and violates federal law,” a joint statement read.
“Responding to a national groundswell of opposition to expanded offshore drilling, President Obama permanently ended oil and gas leasing in most of the Arctic Ocean and key parts of the Atlantic Ocean in December, using his authority under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act,” the statement added. “Until Trump, no president has ever tried to reverse a permanent withdrawal made under OCSLA, which does not authorize such a reversal.”
