1 Burst results for "Public Employees Environmental Responsibility"

Environment: NPR

01:58 min | 3 years ago

A Lawsuit Seeks The Removal Of The Directors For Park Service And BLM

"A lawsuit filed today seeks the removal of the controversial acting directors for two federal agencies. The agencies are in charge of millions of acres of public land energy development and the country's national parks. Npr's Kirk siegler reports the National Park Service and the Bureau of Land Management Have Not had permanent Senate confirmed directors for the entire trump presidency. That's a violation of the Constitution which requires Senate oversight of these key positions according to a lawsuit filed by to Washington DC and Idaho based conservation groups. And they're just a freewheeling detouring around the constitution in allowing these lower level political appointees to be running a show Peter Jenkins is senior counsel for Public Employees Environmental Responsibility the overall pattern is to weaken the environmental bureaus and allow state interests in private extractive industry interest particularly in the case of Bureau land-management to be able to call the shots. This lawsuit is the latest to shine light on the trump administration's unprecedented use of acting agency. Heads but the group's suing have long been suspicious of William Perry pen-li in particular leading the B. M. His temporary appointment has been extended now five times since taking over the agency last summer. Penalty once advocated for transferring ownership of the very public lands. He now manages over two states and private interests but in a recent interview. Pen-li told me that is not part of president trump's agenda regardless of what I've said in the past the one thing is clear is I'm a marine. I understand how to follow. Orders follow orders in this case in a statement the trump administration called the lawsuit that seeks to oust penalty and David Vella the park service. Baseless and a distraction as the park service in particular is trying to safely reopen national parks during the corona virus. Pandemic Kirk Siegler. Npr News Boise.