On Tuesday the Trump administration issued an executive order that seeks to initiate an attack on state laws and policies that address the environmental pollution and climate-wrecking emissions resulting from fossil fuel and nuclear energy development.

In response, Food & Water Watch Legal Director Tarah Heinzen issued the following statement:

“This malicious and destructive order goes further than ever before in proving that President Trump cares nothing about states’ rights, or clean air, or healthy people, or anything else of any virtue that he has ever claimed to prioritize. It proves that Trump cares only about doing the bidding of filthy, polluting industries that poison our air and water, sicken our communities and wreck our climate.

“This executive order baselessly threatens to weaponize the justice department against state climate protections adopted with broad public support. States have clear authority to act to protect people and communities from toxic pollution – including carbon emissions that drive climate chaos. 

“Laws like the Climate Change Superfund Acts in New York and Vermont, which ensure that the largest industrial polluters are held responsible for their harmful impacts on the land and communities, are currently at the vanguard of responsible environmental protection in the country. Trump’s attack on these common-sense laws are an attack on everyday Americans who bear the brunt of toxic pollution and climate change-fueled weather catastrophes.

“We will monitor closely how the administration may seek to implement this preposterous order, and we will pursue any and all legal avenues to help ensure that states and communities are not harmed by this shameful assault on public health, environmental protection and climate stability.”