Curbs on environmental suits considered
House Republicans want to reduce delays such legal actions can cause for drilling
WASHINGTON — When it comes to expanding U.S. oil and gas production, President Donald Trump has few greater hurdles than lawsuits from environmental groups that can tie up companies and federal agencies for years.
Republicans in Congress are examining ways to reduce the delays such legal actions can cause for drilling and mining projects on federal lands.
“In reality, a legal sub-industry has thrived from endless environmental litigation,” Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La., said at a hearing in the House Committee on Natural Resources last week. “Our legal system is an important avenue for citizens seeking redress of wrongs perpetuated by the federal government. However, special interests repeatedly exploit our legal system to further their own agendas.”
So far, House Republicans have not introduced legislation or made specific recommendations on how the Department of Interior might go about speeding up the legal process. But members of the House Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations heard testimony last week from an attorney who has frequently represented the oil and gas industry and Caroline Lobdell, head of the Western Resources Legal Center, which trains law students for careers representing mining, timber, oil and gas, and ranching interests.
Lobdell recommended a series of administrative changes at the Department of Interior, including moves to reduce environmental groups’ ability to recover attorneys’ fees and reducing the practice of putting strict requirements on companies operating on federal lands.
“Plaintiffs love to plumb the depths of voluminous Management Plans to find inflexible standards and required procedures to serve as a foundation
“However, special interests repeatedly exploit our legal system to further their own agendas.” Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La.
for lawsuits to stop agency projects,” she testified. “Every use of the word ‘shall’ in a management plan lifts a plaintiff lawyer’s heart.”
As the Trump administration moves to allow more oil and gas drilling across federal lands, House Republicans have been reviewing regulations across the board. During another House Natural Resources hearing Thursday, Democrats questioned whether Republicans planned to let “the oil and gas industry call all the shots as to how to manage these lands.”
“It’s only taken five months, and nearly every move on energy that this administration has made could have come right out of the executive boardrooms of the American Petroleum Institute or the National Mining Association,” said Rep. Alan Lowenthal, DCalif., ranking member on the Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee, referring to the trade groups of those industries.
Environmental groups, meanwhile, are adamant they plan to use the court system to block or at least slow any action Trump takes to expand drilling on federal lands. But so far, the moves by House Republicans are not setting off alarms at the offices of environmental attorneys, said Rebecca Riley, a senior attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council.
“The oil and gas industry routinely files lawsuits under environmental statutes,” she said, adding that she doesn’t think Congress “would be looking at cutting the avenue off. It’s such an important means to keeping government accountable.”