As the Trump administration fast-tracks fossil fuel projects through wetlands and federal waters, it is withholding information about how projects are being evaluated and whether environmental reviews are being done, according to a new lawsuit.
The Center for Biological Diversity hopes to force the Army Corps of Engineers to release records about a new emergency permitting process that the group says could allow pipelines and other projects to sidestep environmental laws.
The process — which the group contends is illegal in and of itself — was established following President Donald Trump’s Jan. 20 declaration of an “energy emergency.”
The environmental nonprofit submitted a Freedom of Information Request to the Army Corps on March 4 seeking information on permits applying for fast approval, the lawsuit states.
