Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill’s Office filed an amicus brief before the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a decision that threatens the energy industry of States.

NEPA, the National Environmental Policy Act, is a law that requires federal agencies to assess the environmental effects of proposed actions and to allow public input.

At issue is a proposed railroad in Utah that would transport crude oil to the interstate network. The Surface Transportation Board authorized the construction. But the D.C. Circuit vacated the authorization, citing the need to consider potential downstream environmental effects of oil that might be transported on the line across the country, specifically to the Gulf Coast. The court referenced Louisiana, despite Baton Rouge being approximately 1,536 miles away from the new line and the State’s long-standing and highly regulated oil industries.

“This is another example of federal bureaucratic overreach that will harm Louisiana and other States whose economies depend on energy, and all Americans who depend on those products. We’ll continue to defend Louisiana and fight the Biden-Harris administration’s disastrous energy policies every step of the way,” said Attorney General Liz Murrill.  

 “The case is as much about federalism and State sovereignty as it is about environmental law,” the brief states. The court’s decision undermines the federal and state regulatory schemes that already govern a barrel of Utah oil that may travel to Louisiana. As a result, the decision below threatens the foundation of cooperative federalism on which our environmental law is built. And even more fundamentally, the red tape demanded by the D.C. Circuit will only harm States whose economies depend on the energy industry and every American who depends on the products refined by such States.

Louisiana’s brief serves as a reminder that “States are not children, and the federal government is not our mother.” 

Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming joined Louisiana’s friend of the court brief.