The U.S. Chamber Continues Legal Support For The Fossil Fuel Industry
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce - the country’s top-spending business lobbying group - has long been heavily involved with oil litigation, supporting fossil-fuel interest cases for decades with the use of amicus briefs.
By Jenny Kim, December 8, 2020
The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Photo: Florian Schulz
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce - the country’s top-spending business lobbying group - has long been heavily involved with oil litigation, supporting fossil-fuel interest cases for decades with the use of amicus briefs. These briefs are a document providing relevant information and influence surrounding the issues of the case, giving the ability to dominate and possibly reverse court case results for the benefit of oil and gas production.
Key Legal Disputes
League of Conservation Voters v. Trump: Ten environmental groups filed a lawsuit in the federal district court for the District of Alaska to challenge President Trump’s executive order on “Implementing an America-First Offshore Energy Strategy”, an attempt to eliminate protections for lands in the Arctic and Atlantic Ocean from oil and gas leasing. The U.S. Chamber filed an amicus brief highlighting the economic and societal benefits of offshore oil and gas development in litigation brought by environmental groups against executive order, authorizing federal agencies to permit oil & gas development.
Standing Rock Sioux Tribe v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: On July 27, 2016, The District Court for the District of Columbia allowed the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe to decide if the Army Corps of Engineers can run an oil pipeline through their land. On September 2, 2020, the Chamber filed an amicus brief in support of an interpretation of "rule of capture" law that establishes a by-right system of natural resource obtainment to eliminate any legal problems with fracking. The Chamber also claimed that impeding fracking now will also impede things such as carbon sequestration programs later.
Northern Plains Research Council v. US Army Corps of Engineers: On July 1, 2019, The Northern Plains Research Council had challenged and later won against the U.S Army Corps of Engineers’ approval of the Keystone XL pipeline project under the reissued Nationwide Permit 12. The NWP12 is a permit under the Clean Water Act that authorizes discharges associated with the construction, maintenance, repair, etc. of associated facilities including oil and gas pipelines, streamlining the approval process for pipelines across the nation. The U.S Chamber and business groups filed an amicus brief urging the Ninth Circuit (Federal Court of Appeals) to reverse the district court order of the vacatur of NWP 12, saying that the court applied the wrong standard when evaluating the US Army Corps bases for reissuing a nationwide permit.
The Chamber’s litigation center does not sit idly by. Having been involved in over 2300 lawsuits since 2008, the Chamber has also won ⅔ of their involved cases, according to MSNBC.
Because of their legal status as a 501 organization, the Chamber and its subsidiaries do not fully disclose their donors or their donations. This discretion allows the Chamber to gain power and influence without great exposure. Therefore, with their participation and their success rapidly increasing over the past few years, corporate and fossil fuel interests have used the Chamber to protect their interests in the courts.
Furthermore, the Chamber hires expensive lawyers that are influential in court, such as Rachel Brand, a lawyer specializing in regulatory litigation who worked in the Bush Justice Department. These lawyers know the court and can be key in the outcome of court cases.
With the nurturing of their litigation power, opposing forces to the Chamber have begun to dwindle in their success by pushing out and triumphing against lesser known parties. The use of amicus briefs are powerful and dangerous to the progress of climate action, and the Chamber has utilized this legal technique to their own advantage. In order to implement real change in climate mitigation, we must Change the Chamber.
The Chamber pushes for more than just fossil fuels. They also push against financial regulation and consumer protections to suit the economic interests of their corporate donors, leading to a system that benefits only one side of an issue and creates numerous vulnerable populations.
To learn more about the Chamber Litigation Center’s work for yourself, visit: https://www.chamberlitigation.com/