Washington attorney general, state ecology director and tribal leader announce federal lawsuit over energy emergency order

Washington Attorney General Richard announced at a press conference that Washington state, joined by 14 other states and tribal and state officials, has filed a lawsuit in the Western District of Washington challenging President Trump’s executive order declaring a national energy emergency. The lawsuit, the attorney general said, targets provisions of the order that ‘‘bypass[] or weaken[] critical reviews under the Clean Water Act, the Endangered Species Act, and the National Historic Preservation Act.’’

The lawsuit, described in the transcript as totaling about 62–63 pages, seeks relief from parts of the order that the state says improperly shortcut established statutory permitting and review requirements. ‘‘The executive order . . . essentially bypasses the normal procedures for permitting projects,’’ the attorney general said, adding that the administration had excluded wind, solar and battery projects from the order while favoring fossil fuel interests.

Casey Sixkiller, director of the Washington State Department of Ecology, framed the filing as a defense of longstanding state protections and cautioned that emergency powers are meant for true emergencies. ‘‘There is no such emergency here,’’ Sixkiller said, and warned that cutting corners in review processes risks environmental harm and regulatory uncertainty for developers.

Bill Eyal, identified in the transcript as a tribal chairman representing people on the Lower Columbia, said tribes rely on federal permitting and consultation and that truncated review windows can undermine tribal input. ‘‘There will be treaty implications, no doubt, on this,’’ Eyal said, and described the difficulty of meaningful consultation when review windows are shortened to seven or 14 days.

In a question-and-answer session, reporters pressed officials for specifics about which statutes or projects would be affected and what remedies the state seeks. The attorney general said the order directs multiple cabinet agencies to review permitting practices and that the legal effect varies by statute. He also said Washington had joined or filed 16 lawsuits overall challenging related actions and that the state was not immediately seeking emergency injunctive relief but planned further filings after the complaint filed in federal court.

Officials said the state will use its legal tools to protect air, water and cultural resources and to preserve what Sixkiller called ‘‘regulatory clarity, certainty, and accountability.’’ The press conference ended after officials said they would provide additional details and follow up with reporters.

Next steps: the complaint was filed in federal court in the Western District of Washington; officials said they may pursue additional filings but did not announce a request for immediate temporary relief at the press conference.