15 states sue over Trump's move to fast-track oil and gas projects
CBSN
Over a dozen largely Democratic states are suing President Trump's administration over his efforts to fast-track energy projects, saying the administration is bypassing environmental protection laws.
Mr. Trump issued an executive order declaring a "national energy emergency" on the first day of his presidency — part of Mr. Trump's push to expand U.S. oil and gas production. The order urges oil and gas expansion through federal use of eminent domain and the Defense Production Act, which allows the government to use private land and resources to produce goods deemed to be a national necessity.
Those kinds of steps are supposed to be reserved for actual emergencies, such as projects needed in the aftermath of disasters like hurricanes, flooding or major oil spills, the attorneys general wrote in the lawsuit filed in Washington state Friday.
