April, 28 2021, 12:00am EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Liz Trotter, Earthjustice, (305) 332-5395, etrotter@earthjustice.org
Kristen Monsell, Center for Biological Diversity, (510) 844-7135, kmonsell@biologicaldiversity.org
Anne Hawke, NRDC, (202) 329-1463, ahawke@nrdc.org
Jake Bleich, Defenders of Wildlife, (202) 772-3208, jbleich@defenders.org
Dustin Cranor, Oceana, (954) 348-1314, dcranor@oceana.org
Groups File Third Intervention Defending Pause on Federal Oil, Gas Leasing
Motion responds to 13 states challenging leasing pause.
WASHINGTON
Conservation groups moved today to intervene in a lawsuit defending the Biden administration's decision to pause new federal oil and gas leasing while it reviews the government leasing program.
Earthjustice, Healthy Gulf, Center for Biological Diversity, Cook Inletkeeper, Defenders of Wildlife, Friends of the Earth, Oceana, Sierra Club, The Wilderness Society and the Natural Resources Defense Council filed the motion in response to a lawsuit in Louisiana by 13 states that seeks to end the pause and force the government to immediately offer federal lands and waters for lease.
"It's time to end the federal fossil fuel leasing program. We can't let Big Oil continue to exploit our federal lands and oceans as it pollutes communities and drives climate change," said Kristen Monsell, oceans legal director at the Center for Biological Diversity. "We support the Biden administration's current review, which should show that we need to stop leasing and start phasing out offshore drilling and fracking."
This motion marks the third intervention in defense of the administration's leasing pause after a diverse coalition of stakeholders and a coalition of businesses each filed separate motions last week.
"Big Oil and their politician friends are once again screaming the sky is falling over this leasing pause," said Chris Eaton, oceans attorney at Earthjustice. "But industry is using less than 20% of the 12 million acres they already have locked up in the Gulf of Mexico for offshore drilling. This isn't a jobs issue, it's about handing over our public lands and waters to industry. The Biden administration is one hundred percent within their legal authority to pause leasing while they undertake an overdue and necessary review of the current leasing program."
"There has never been a truly comprehensive review of the offshore leasing program in the Gulf of Mexico from point of lease to point of refining -- a true accounting for all of the negative environmental and human health impacts of the industry cradle to grave," said Cynthia Sarthou, executive director at Healthy Gulf. "We believe that the current pause in leasing is needed to allow such a review. This pause will not stop oil and gas development in the near future because the industry still has an extraordinary amount of existing leases it has yet to develop."
"The oil and gas leasing program on public lands and offshore has been deeply broken since its inception; we fully support the Biden administration's pause on new leasing until a full analysis is complete," said Eric Huber, managing attorney at Sierra Club. "Excessive fossil fuel leasing on lands and waters is damaging millions of acres of nature, creates a quarter of our domestic greenhouse gas emissions, and contributes deeply to the climate crisis. It is time to truly understand the weight of these impacts on communities and the environment, and ultimately phase out this program once and for all."
"Fossil fuel-driven climate change is wreaking havoc on the lives and livelihoods of all Americans, and the leasing pause represents a critical and overdue reckoning," said Diane Hoskins, campaign director at Oceana. "The impacts of dirty and dangerous offshore drilling are clear from disasters like BP's Deepwater Horizon blowout. To avert even worse impacts from climate change, we must accelerate the transition from fossil fuels to clean, renewable energy like offshore wind. The industry has stockpiled offshore oil and gas leases, which continue unchecked. It is no longer in the public interest to continue down this path. The leasing pause is prudent and timely, and we owe this serious evaluation to our kids, grandchildren and all future generations."
"In the singular drive for profits, oil corporations want to expand toxic drilling and dumping in the frontier waters of Alaska's Cook Inlet," said Bob Shavelson, advocacy director for Cook Inletkeeper. "Last year federal managers closed the venerable Pacific cod fishery in these very same waters, and they cited climate change as the culprit for low population numbers. Cook Inlet boasts world-class renewable energy assets -- including tidal, geothermal and wind -- and we need to protect Alaska fisheries and the countless families they support with a modern approach to energy development."
"Offshore drilling lines the pockets of few at the expense of many," said Jane Davenport, senior attorney at Defenders of Wildlife. "Offshore oil development in the Gulf of Mexico has already decimated over a dozen whale and dolphin species and countless imperiled marine species, including sea turtles, polar bears and sea otters. We fully support the Biden administration's decision to pause and study the leasing program before allowing more corporations to endanger marine species, fisheries and coastal communities in pursuit of extreme oil."
"Instead of working with Interior on this review to help ensure a just and equitable transition for their communities away from dependence on climate-destroying fossil fuels, these states have run straight to the courtroom," said Ben Tettlebaum, senior staff attorney at The Wilderness Society. "We will defend this lawful pause on leasing and ensure public lands and offshore waters benefit all of us."
"The Biden administration's pause on new leasing is a sensible approach that recognizes the urgency of transitioning to a clean energy economy and protecting vulnerable communities," said Irene Guttierez, senior attorney for the Nature program at the Natural Resources Defense Council. "The Department of the Interior -- not the fossil fuel industry -- has the right to determine when and whether to issue offshore oil and gas leases. We are in a climate and biodiversity crisis, and those decisions are more critical now than ever."
"Big Oil has spent decades harming the Gulf of Mexico and surrounding communities, extracting corporate profit at the expense of people and our climate," said Hallie Templeton, deputy legal director for Friends of the Earth. "We fully support President Biden's pause on oil and gas leasing, a commendable first step by the administration. For too long fossil fuel companies have controlled the fate of the Gulf in reckless pursuit of money. This leasing pause wrestles that control away from Big Oil and says to the world that people and the planet come before corporate profits."
Background
On January 27, 2021, President Biden issued an executive order on tackling the climate crisis at home and abroad, to help align the management of America's public lands and waters with the nation's climate, conservation, and clean energy goals. The executive order directs the Secretary of the Interior, "[t]o the extent consistent with applicable law," to pause new oil and gas leasing on federal lands and waters "pending completion of a comprehensive review and reconsideration of Federal oil and gas permitting and leasing practices in light of the Secretary of the Interior's broad stewardship responsibilities over the public lands and in offshore waters, including potential climate and other impacts."
The pause provides a chance for the Department of the Interior to ensure the federal oil and gas program serves the public interest and restores balance on America's public lands to benefit current and future generations.
At the Center for Biological Diversity, we believe that the welfare of human beings is deeply linked to nature — to the existence in our world of a vast diversity of wild animals and plants. Because diversity has intrinsic value, and because its loss impoverishes society, we work to secure a future for all species, great and small, hovering on the brink of extinction. We do so through science, law and creative media, with a focus on protecting the lands, waters and climate that species need to survive.
(520) 623-5252LATEST NEWS
Watchdog Urges FEC to Investigate Trump Campaign Over Scheme for Legal Fees
"By not disclosing the vendors that actually provided legal services, the Trump-affiliated committees effectively blocked the public from knowing which attorneys and firms are being paid—and how much."
Apr 24, 2024
A campaign finance watchdog on Wednesday filed a Federal Election Commission complaint accusing former President Donald Trump's 2024 campaign, affiliated political groups, and an accounting firm of violating U.S. law in a scheme "seemingly designed to obscure the true recipients of a noteworthy portion of Trump's legal bills."
The Washington, D.C.-based Campaign Legal Center (CLC) said that "evidence appears to show an illegal arrangement between several Trump-affiliated committees and a compliance firm named Red Curve Solutions that is designed to obscure the identities of those providing legal services and how much they are being paid."
"Voters have a right to know how the presidential campaigns and other committees supporting presidential candidates spend their money."
CLC alleges that the Trump campaign, Trump's political action committee (PAC) Save America, and three affiliated organizations "violated federal reporting requirements based on a scheme in which the committees reportedly paid over $7.2 million—described as 'reimbursement for legal' costs or expenses"—to Red Curve.
The watchdog also said that Red Curve appears to be "making or facilitating illegal contributions that violate either federal contribution limits or the prohibition on corporate contributions."
According to CLC:
Red Curve is a domestic limited liability company that offers compliance and FEC reporting services but does not appear to offer any legal services. It is managed by Bradley Crate, who also serves as the treasurer for each of the five Trump-affiliated committees concerned in this complaint, as well as over 200 other federal committees.
According to filings with the FEC, Red Curve appears to have been fronting legal costs for Trump since at least December 2022, with Trump-affiliated committees repaying the company later. This arrangement appears to violate FEC rules that require campaigns to disclose not only the entity being reimbursed (here, Red Curve) but also the underlying vendor. By not disclosing the vendors that actually provided legal services, the Trump-affiliated committees effectively blocked the public from knowing which attorneys and firms are being paid—and how much they are being paid—through this arrangement.
"Voters have a right to know how the presidential campaigns and other committees supporting presidential candidates spend their money," CLC senior director of campaign finance Erin Chlopak said in a statement. "When campaigns and committees obscure that information from the public, not only do they make it difficult to determine if the law has been violated, but they deny voters the ability to make an informed choice when casting a ballot."
"The steps taken by the Trump campaign, its affiliated committees, and Red Curve Solutions concealed information about how campaign funds were used to pay former President Trump's legal expenditures, including the amounts and ultimate recipients of these expenditures—and the FEC must investigate immediately," Chlopak added.
Trump—who is the presumptive 2024 GOP presidential nominee—faces 91 federal and state felony charges related to his role in the January 6 insurrection and his organization's business practices. He is currently on trial in New York for allegedly falsifying business records related to hush money payments to cover up sex scandals during the 2016 election cycle. The twice-impeached former president has been open about his use of campaign donations to pay his legal costs.
The new CLC filing comes a day after the watchdog filed separate FEC complaints urging investigations into a pair of Trump-affiliated "scam PACs," which "pretend to fundraise for major candidates or issues while secretly diverting almost all of their donors' money back into fundraising or the fraudsters' own pockets."
Keep ReadingShow Less
'One Step Closer': Arizona House Votes to Repeal 1864 Abortion Ban
"With a total ban still set to take effect June 8, the Arizona Abortion Access Act is needed now more than ever," one state campaigner said of a November ballot measure.
Apr 24, 2024
Three Republicans in the Arizona House of Representatives on Wednesday joined with Democrats to advance legislation that would repeal an 1864 ban on abortion—a development rights advocates welcomed while stressing that the fight is far from over.
The 32-28 vote on House Bill 2677—with GOP Reps. Tim Dunn (25), Matt Gress (4), and Justin Wilmeth (2) voting in favor—was the third attempt in as many weeks to pass repeal legislation since the Arizona Supreme Court upheld the ban.
"The state Senate could vote on the repeal as early as next Wednesday, after the bill comes on the floor for a 'third reading,' as is required under chamber rules," according toNBC News. Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs on Wednesday toldThe Washington Post that "I am hopeful the Senate does the right thing and sends it to my desk so I can sign it."
Applauding the House passage of H.B. 2677, Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona president and CEO Angela Florez said that "today, Arizona is one step closer to repealing the state's Civil War-era total abortion ban. While the repeal still must pass the Senate, this is a major win for reproductive freedom."
"We must celebrate today's vote in support of abortion rights and harness our enthusiasm to spread the word and urge lawmakers in the Senate to support this necessary repeal bill," she continued. "Despite this step forward, Arizonans cannot stop fighting."
Florez noted that "even with the repeal of the Civil War-era ban, the state will still have a ban on abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy that denies people access to critical care. And lawmakers continue to attack Arizonans' ability to access reproductive healthcare. Our right to control our bodies and lives is hanging on by a thread."
"Thankfully, voters will have the opportunity to take back control if the Arizona Abortion Access Act is on the ballot this November," she added. "Abortion bans are out-of-step with the will of Arizonans and will force pregnant people to leave their communities for essential healthcare. Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona will continue fighting to ensure everyone has the right to make decisions about their health and futures."
The Arizona Abortion Access Act is a proposed state constitutional amendment that would prevent many limits on abortions before fetal viability and safeguard access to care after viability to protect the life or physical or mental health of the patient.
The coalition supporting the amendment, Arizona for Abortion Access, highlighted on social media that the House-approved bill "did not include the emergency clause required to stop the 1864 ban from taking effect on June 8," meaning H.B. 2677 wouldn't apply until 90 days after the end of the legislative session.
Coalition campaign manager Cheryl Bruce said that "with a total ban still set to take effect June 8, the Arizona Abortion Access Act is needed now more than ever. We remain committed to taking these decisions out of the hands of extremist politicians."
Arizona is one of multiple states where rights advocates are promoting abortion rights ballot measures this cycle. Reproductive freedom is also dominating political races at all levels, including the presidential contest. Democratic President Joe Biden is set to face former Republican President Donald Trump in November.
"Donald Trump is responsible for Arizona's abortion ban. Women in the state are still living under a ban with no exceptions for rape or incest and have been stripped of the freedom to make their own healthcare decisions," said Julie Chávez Rodriguez, Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris' reelection campaign manager.
While the presumptive GOP nominee has tried to distance himself from the Arizona Supreme Court's reinstatement of a 160-year-old abortion ban, he has also campaigned on his three appointees to the U.S. Supreme Court who helped reverse Roe v. Wade.
"Trump brags that he is 'proudly' the person responsible for these bans and if he retakes power, the chaos and cruelty he has created will only get worse in all 50 states," Chávez Rodriguez said. "President Biden and Vice President Harris are the only candidates who will stop him."
Keep ReadingShow Less
US Dodges Growing Calls for Probe of Mass Graves at Gaza Hospitals
"Somehow I don't think the U.S. State Department would defer to Russia as a credible source to investigate itself if a mass grave were discovered in Ukrainian territory it had occupied," said one legal expert.
Apr 24, 2024
While continuing to give Israel billions of dollars in support to wage war on the Gaza Strip, the Biden administration this week has declined to join the growing global demands for an international probe into mass graves discovered at hospitals in the besieged Palestinian enclave.
Two journalists on Tuesday questioned Vedant Patel, a spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, about the administration's response to the hundreds of bodies found at Gaza City's al-Shifa Hospital and Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis as well as United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk's call for an independent investigation.
"Would you support such an independent investigation?" Said Arikat asked during a press briefing. Patel responded, "Right now, Said, we are asking for more information... That is squarely where we are leaving the conversation."
Patel added that "I don't have any details to match, confirm, or offer as it relates to that. We're aware of those reports, and we have asked the government of Israel for additional clarity and information. And that's where I'm at."
When Said asked a follow-up about potential U.S. support for a probe, Patel reiterated that the administration is awaiting information from the Israeli government.
Later, Niall Stanage asked Patel to explain U.S. "resistance" to supporting a probe, the spokesperson insisted that "it's not about resistance to this particular situation, it is me not wanting to speak in detail about something which Said posed as a hypothetical question when, from the United States' perspective, I don't have any additional information on this aside from the public reporting."
After Patel again stressed that the administration has asked Israel for more information, Stanage inquired, "And do you believe the government of Israel is a credible source in enlightening you?"
The spokesperson interrupted Stanage to say, "We do."
While supporting the six-month Israeli assault on Gaza that the International Court of Justice has found to be plausibly genocidal, the Biden administration is also arming Ukrainians' resistance to a Russian invasion. Brian Finucane, a senior adviser for the Crisis Group's U.S. program and a former legal adviser at the State Department, pointed to the latter.
"Somehow I don't think the U.S. State Department would defer to Russia as a credible source to investigate itself if a mass grave were discovered in Ukrainian territory it had occupied," Finucane said on social media in response to Stanage's questioning.
Meanwhile, European Union spokesperson Peter Stano made clear Tuesday that the E.U. supports an independent probe.
"This is something that forces us to call for an independent investigation of all the suspicions and all the circumstances, because indeed it creates the impression that there might have been violations of international human rights committed," Stano said. "That's why it's important to have independent investigation and to ensure accountability."
Human rights groups around the world joined the call for an independent investigation on Wednesday, as the official death toll in Gaza hit 34,262 with 77,229 people injured and thousands more missing and presumed dead beneath the rubble.
In an Arabic statement translated by Al Jazeera, the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor said that the number of bodies found in the mass graves is "alarming, and requires urgent international action, including the formation of an independent international investigation committee."
The group added that some of those killed were subjected to "premeditated murder as well as arbitrary and extrajudicial executions while they were detained and handcuffed."
Amnesty International senior director of research, advocacy, policy, and campaigns Erika Guevara Rosas said in a statement that "the harrowing discovery of these mass graves underscores the urgency of ensuring immediate access for human rights investigators, including forensic experts, to the occupied Gaza Strip to ensure that evidence is preserved and to carry out independent and transparent investigations with the aim of guaranteeing accountability for any violations of international law."
"Lack of access for human rights investigators to Gaza has hampered effective investigations into the full scale of the human rights violations and crimes under international law committed over the past six months, allowing for the documentation of just a tiny fraction of these abuses," she noted. "Without proper investigations to determine how these deaths took place or what violations may have been committed, we may never find out the truth of the horrors behind these mass graves."
Guevara Rosas continued:
Mass grave sites are potential crime scenes offering vital and time-sensitive forensic evidence; they must be protected until professional forensic experts with the necessary skills and resources can safely carry out adequate exhumations and accurate identification of remains.
The absence of forensic experts and the decimation of Gaza's medical sector as a result of the war and Israel's cruel blockade, along with the lack of availability of the necessary resources for the identification of bodies such as DNA testing, are huge obstacles to the identifications of remains. This denies those killed the opportunity to have a dignified burial and deprives families with relatives missing or forcibly disappeared the right to know and to justice—leaving them in a limbo of uncertainty and anguish.
Noting that the International Court of Justice directed Israel to preserve evidence in its initial genocide case order, Guevara Rosas said that "amid a total vacuum of accountability and mounting evidence of war crimes in Gaza, Israeli authorities must ensure they comply with the ICJ ruling by granting immediate access to independent human rights investigators and ensuring that all evidence of violations is preserved."
"Third states must pressure Israel to comply with the ICJ orders by allowing the immediate entry into the Gaza Strip of independent human rights investigators and forensic experts, including the U.N.-appointed Commission of Inquiry and investigators of the International Criminal Court," she added. "There can be no truth and justice without proper, transparent independent investigations into these deaths."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Most Popular