Center for Biological Diversity v. Department of Interior

Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit in federal district court in the District of Columbia seeking to compel four agencies (Department of Interior, Department of Commerce, Department of Agriculture, and EPA) to disclose records—excluding emails—that document the agencies’ implementation of President Trump’s “Unleashing American Energy” executive order, which directed the heads of federal agencies to “develop and begin implementing action plans to suspend, revise, or rescind all agency actions identified as unduly burdensome” to the identification, development, and use of domestic energy resources. CBD alleged that the records sought “are important for the public to understand how Defendants’ deregulatory activities threaten the numerous environmental protections embodied in regulations, orders, and guidance documents, and other agency actions relating to energy development.” CBD also alleged that the information was important to CBD’s setting of priorities and to its efforts to keep its members, the public, and policymakers informed about “mounting threats to clean air and water, wildlife and nature protections, public lands, climate, and vulnerable communities and potential avenues for response.”