Judge Bars Trump From Taking Energy Panel’s Advice

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A judge barred the Trump administration on Tuesday from acting on the recommendations of an energy advisory panel that was created to make it easier to extract fossil fuels from public lands and waters.

U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy sided with a Montana-based conservation group that alleged the Royalty Policy Committee had been established in violation of public transparency laws.

The committee was disbanded without explanation in April when its two-year charter expired.

Created in 2017 by then-Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, the Royalty Policy Committee attracted sharp criticism from conservationists and others who said its membership was stacked in favor the energy industry.

In a 28-page ruling, Molloy said a lawsuit from the Western Organization of Resource Councils that challenged the creation of the panel “identified a gaping hole in government accountability.”

The 20-member panel was supposed to find ways to remove barriers to drilling and mining while making sure taxpayers aren’t shortchanged by energy companies. It included industry executives; officials from energy states such as Texas, Wyoming and North Dakota; academics and at least one industry consultant.

Molloy noted that none of the members was from an environmental organization.

“While the agency can point to a group of members with diverse interests, it does not explain why certain groups were omitted or included,” he said.

Critics said that resulted in one-sided recommendations that favored industry and weakened environmental protections. Those included calls to speed up oil and gas lease sales in the Arctic, hasten approvals for new drilling and allow coal companies to largely self-determine the value of fuel they sell on the export market.

The Western Organization of Resource Councils and Democracy Forward, which represented the environmental group in court, said Tuesday’s ruling confirmed the administration unlawfully “stacked” the advisory committee with industry lobbyists.