State sues feds over repeal of fracking rules
Becerra’s 25th legal challenge of Trump administration alleges violation of U.S. law.
SACRAMENTO — California Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra on Wednesday marked his one-year anniversary in the post by filing his 25th legal challenge to Trump administration policies, this time over the federal decision to repeal restrictions on the oil-extraction method known as fracking.
The latest lawsuit says the Trump administration violated federal law when it decided to repeal regulations on hydraulic fracturing, in which water and chemicals are injected under pressure into the ground to break rock and release oil and gas.
“Once again, President Trump and Interior Secretary [Ryan] Zinke didn’t let the law or facts get in their way in their zeal to repeal the 2015 Fracking Rule,” Becerra said in a statement. “The Interior Department’s own factual record shows that the risks to our health and environment are real. So, once again, the California Department of Justice will get in the way of another reckless Trump violation of our laws.”
The lawsuit seeks an injunction to block the repeal of the rules as they apply to federal and Native American tribal lands.
Federal officials, according to the lawsuit, “have tossed aside the public interest in ensuring that fossil fuel development is conducted in an environmentally sound and safe manner in service of what their own data shows is a negligible increase in oil and gas operators’ profits.”
“Their action is devoid of any reasoned analysis, contravenes [the Bureau of Land Management’s] statutory mandates, and ignores significant environmental consequences, in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act, several federal land management statutes and the National Environmental Policy Act,” the lawsuit adds.
Becerra, who was appointed by Gov. Jerry Brown, has become a major litigator against Trump administration policies and decisions. His 25 legal challenges have targeted federal moves on immigration, healthcare, the environment and education.
In summarizing his first year, Becerra told reporters at his Sacramento office Wednesday that he has also taken on street gangs and human trafficking rings, as well as banks and oil companies accused of overcharging for services.
“When I took office, I made it very clear that it was my job to protect our state’s gains and to continue leaning forward for the 40 million people of our state,” Becerra said.