Washington, D.C. — In response to today’s oral arguments at the Supreme Court on Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County, the League of Conservation Voters (LCV) released the following statement from Senior Director of Judiciary and Democracy Doug Lindner:

“Today’s oral arguments show how extreme Supreme Court Justices are once again threatening bedrock protections for our communities, our environment, and our future generations. Following a series of recent cases rolling back environmental protections and limiting the EPA’s ability to do its job, today’s case could dangerously strip critical rights for communities to know and provide input on environmental impacts of proposed projects by weakening the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). It could force federal agencies to ignore major environmental impacts of proposed projects–even obvious ones.

A rail line built exclusively to transport oil and subsequent new oil wells and processing would be detrimental for communities in its path, the region, and the country, especially for communities of color and communities with low wealth who are already experiencing the worst impacts of the climate crisis and fossil fuel pollution. It would increase risk of rail accidents, wildfires, and water contamination. And by weakening NEPA to approve this project, the Justices would imperil protections from harm and pollution from countless future projects. While Justice Gorsuch finally recused himself from this case due to his ties to a Big Oil billionaire who stands to profit, Justices Thomas and Alito continue to hear cases that could drastically increase profits for Big Polluters, despite their own conflicts of interest. The Supreme Court must do the right thing by protecting the people, not just Big Polluters.”

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