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Amicus Efforts
Friends of the Earth v. Haaland (U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia)
Washington led a multistate amicus brief arguing that the National Environmental Policy Act required a thorough greenhouse gas emissions analysis for a major oil and gas lease sale.
Minnesota v. American Petroleum Institute, et al (U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit)
Washington led a multistate amicus brief arguing that state-law claims brought by a state in state court against fossil fuel producers and a trade association may not be removed by defendants to Federal Court.
Oceana v. Ross (U.S. District Court for the Central District of California)
Washington filed an amicus brief in support of a lawsuit challenging the Trump Administration’s refusal to adopt the Pacific Regional Fishery Council’s proposed rule, which would establish a hard cap on endangered bycatch in the drift-gillnet-based Pacific swordfish fishery. The Court ruled favorably to the State’s brief. On appeal, the State was granted Appellee-Intervenor status, after which the federal government dismissed its appeal.
Click here to read the briefs.
Click here to read the briefs.
The Wilderness Society, et al. v. Trump, et al.; Grand Staircase Escalante Partners, et al. v. Trump, et al. (U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia)
Washington led a multi-state amicus effort in support of a lawsuit challenging President Trump’s proclamations to drastically reduce the size of Grand Staircase-Escalante and Bears Ears National Monuments in Utah. Washington and 10 other states assert that the monument reductions overstep presidential authority and upend the purpose of the Antiquities Act of 1906, which delegated authority to the President to preserve the nation’s archeological, historic and scientific resources as national monuments. They also argue President Trump’s rescissions upset the relationship between the states and the federal government regarding managing federal lands within states’ borders.
Click here to read the briefs.
Click here to read the briefs.
California v. Office of Natural Resource Revenue; California v. Bureau of Land Management (U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California)
Washington led a multi-state amicus effort in support of a lawsuit challenging two illegal rule repeal efforts by the United States Department of Interior. Both cases involved illegal use of the Administrative Procedures Act to roll back a rule related to coal extraction on federal land and a rule promulgated to reduce methane gas releases from oil and gas extraction. In both cases, the court invalidated the challenged actions.
Comment Letters
Trump Administration's proposed rule to undercut implementation of the National Environmental Policy Act (March 10, 2020)
Washington, along with California, New York, and D.C., led a multi-state comment letter criticizing the Trump Administration’s unlawful and unsupported proposal to drastically reduce environmental protections by amending longstanding National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations. NEPA is a bedrock environmental law that ensures federal agencies make well-informed decisions based on input from the public and careful consideration of public health and environmental impacts.
Click here to read the letter.
Click here to read the letter.
BLM's Oil and Gas Leasing Program for the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (March 13, 2019)
Washington led a multistate coalition submitting comments on the draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Trump Administration’s plan to allow oil and gas development on the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
Click here to read the letter.
Click here to read the letter.
EPA's Proposal to Weaken the Role of States in Clean Water Act Section 401 Certifications (October 21, 2019)
Washington led a 22-state coalition submitting comments on the EPA’s proposed rules weakening the role that the Clean Water Act assigns to states to help them protect their waters.
Click here to read the letter.
Click here to read the letter.