Milestones: A reprieve from Trump’s rollbacks

Reviewing the list of protections for the environment that the Trump administration either ended or worked to undermine is like flipping through a scrapbook of favorite photographs — which someone has defaced with a Sharpie.

In four years, the Trump administration rolled back or attempted to roll back nearly 100 environmental protections, including eight on water pollution, 12 on oil and gas drilling, 15 on wildlife preservation, and 28 on air pollution.

Yet in its haste to undo the nation’s bedrock environmental safeguards, the administration inadvertently laid the groundwork for challenging its actions in court — and reducing the damage done by the administration to our air, water, climate and wild places.

Not above the law

In multiple instances, as the administration attempted to weaken the rules that are supposed to enforce environmental laws, it took legal shortcuts — leaving its environmental policy rollbacks more vulnerable to court challenges.

In four such cases, Environment America attorneys filed or joined cases taking the Trump administration to court. Between Nov. 2019 and Aug. 2020, we filed suits to block oil and gas leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge; restore energy-efficient lightbulb standards; keep Clean Car standards in place; and stop the administration from weakening Clean Water Act protections.

The case for the Arctic: Situated on the northeastern coast of Alaska, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is a unique wilderness and wildlife habitat. Each summer, nearly 200,000 caribou gather on the refuge’s coastal plain to give birth; in the winter, polar bears den and birth their cubs.

The Arctic Refuge may also sit atop a sea of oil — and to allow companies to get that oil, the administration ignored laws designed to protect the refuge’s land, water and wildlife. When it announced plans to open the Arctic Refuge to oil and gas leasing in August 2020, we sued.

The case for energy efficiency: In 2019, the Trump Energy Department rolled back Obama-era standards for energy-efficient lightbulbs — violating a law that bars the loosening of efficiency standards.

The case for Clean Cars: In May 2020, the Trump administration moved to overturn Obama-era auto emission and gas mileage standards and to revoke California’s authority to set standards stronger than the federal government’s. Yet in so doing, the administration violated a slew of federal laws in the process. In response to both violations, we sued.

The case for clean water: The administration violated one more law, the enforcement of which first drew us into the courtrooms some 40-some years ago. In spring 2020, the administration contravened the Clean Water Act by revoking protections for wetlands and streams across the country that provide drinking water for millions of Americans. Just like we did in New Jersey in the 1980s, we took the Trump administration to court to make sure the Clean Water Act was being followed.

Buying time for the environment

None of these cases persuaded Trump administration officials to change course. Through the end of their term, the administration continued to pursue anti-environmental policies.

Yet today there is still no drilling in the Arctic Refuge; light bulbs are still getting more energy-efficient; automakers are making new commitments to produce more cars and trucks that pollute less or not at all; and developers and other companies must still think twice before degrading the nation’s streams and wetlands.

The power of citizens to hold government officials accountable for following the law bought some time for the environment. The work to keep organizing the public support necessary to win stronger and more durable protections for it goes on.