Sierra Club: Trump Administration Can’t Pick and Choose which Laws to Follow

WASHINGTON, D.C. - This week, the Department of the Interior announced it would not applya bedrock environmental protection law to offshore oil and gas lease sales mandated by Donald Trump's reconciliation budget law.

A spokesperson for the department said the National Environmental Policy Act was "not applicable" to new offshore lease sales, claiming application of the law would run afoul of the sprawling budget law, passed over the summer on a party-line vote. The Trump administration has also indicated it does not intend to apply environmental reviews to onshore oil and gas lease sales, which would require a formal rule repeal process.

NEPA was signed into law in 1970 by Republican President Richard Nixon. The critical law requires the federal government to assess the environmental impacts of agency decision-making processes. This has historically applied to major federal actions, including oil and gas leases.

Trump's budget law mandates 36 offshore oil and gas lease sales, six in Alaska's Cook Inlet and 30 in the Gulf of Mexico. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has announced it will hold the first mandated offshore sale for the Gulf on Dec. 10.

In response, Athan Manuel, director of Sierra Club's Lands Protection Program, released the following statement:

"Donald Trump doesn't get to pick and choose which laws he follows and which he ignores. Environmental reviews keep communities safe and lands and waters free from pollution. Thorough environmental review reveals hazards before they happen - ignoring those reviews keeps them hidden until the worst happens. Time and time again, the Trump administration has shown it's willing to put people at risk if it boosts corporate bottom lines."

About the Sierra Club

The Sierra Club is America's largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit https://www.sierraclub.org.