PROVIDENCE — Attorney General Peter F. Neronha on Friday joined a coalition of 15 attorneys general in filing a lawsuit challenging President Trump’s declaration of a “national energy emergency,” calling the declaration a false effort “to line the pockets of Big Oil by handing out free passes to pollute the environment.”

On Inauguration Day, Trump declared a “national energy emergency” under the National Emergencies Act, which was passed by Congress in 1976 to prevent presidents from declaring national emergencies for frivolous or partisan matters — “exactly what the president has done here,” Neronha said in a press release.

“We know that this president has a very tenuous relationship with the truth, so it should come as no surprise that he fabricated an ‘emergency’ to get his way,” Neronha said. “Here’s the truth: If we don’t do everything within our power to address climate change, including spearheading the transition to clean and renewable energy sources, future generations will suffer the irreparable consequences. Under this executive order, fossil fuel producers would be allowed to extract from anywhere they see fit while bypassing important environmental and historical reviews, thereby disrupting and destroying the land and habitats of Americans and wildlife alike. We must stop the illegal, unnecessary actions of this President before it’s too late.”

At Trump’s behest, federal agencies are bypassing or shortening critical reviews under the Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act, and the Historic National Preservation Act for energy projects. The administration has issued orders to open up more federal land and waters for fossil fuel extraction, but suspended renewable energy development.

Meanwhile, energy production in the United States is at an all-time high. The country is producing so much oil and natural gas that energy companies do not plan to increase output in response to the president’s order. The president is simultaneously seeking to increase exports which, according to the U.S. Department of Energy, will increase prices for American consumers.

“The president is illegally using emergency authorities to keep the nation reliant on energy sources like coal, oil, and gas,” Neronha said. “The order excludes wind, solar, and batteries — among the cheapest and cleanest modern energy sources that exist today. The end goal is clear: eliminate the competition so his oil and gas donors can keep gouging Rhode Islanders and polluting the state in the process.”

Until now, federal agencies have only used emergency procedures during actual emergencies such as hurricanes and catastrophic oil spills.

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, names as defendants President Donald Trump, the head of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation.

The lawsuit seeks to declare the President’s directive, and the agencies’ implementation of it, illegal and stop them from issuing emergency permits under the executive order. 

Neronha joins the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, Oregon, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin in the lawsuit.