Seven courtroom victories over the Trump administration and corporate bad actors

Big news to share: in recent weeks there were seven courtroom victories over the Trump administration and corporate bad actors. Here's a quick rundown of the cases:

• Keystone XL tar sands oil pipeline: A federal court in Montana ruled in favor of NRDC and our allies that the Trump administration violated the law when it fast-tracked review of the Keystone XL's new route through Nebraska. It ordered the government to go back to the drawing board and conduct a proper environmental review. This ruling throws up yet another obstacle to the climate-wrecking pipeline, and leaves investors questioning the need for the project. Find out more.
• Nerve gas pesticide chlorpyrifos: The U.S. Court of Appeals ordered Trump's EPA to act within 60 days to ban the dangerous pesticide chlorpyrifos, which is linked to learning disabilities and developmental delays in children. The court said the agency had broken the law by allowing the toxic chemical to be used on fruits and vegetables despite solid evidence that it harms the developing brains of children. Find out more.
• Monsanto and toxic chemicals: The California Supreme Court refused to review a lower court decision that rejected Monsanto's attempt to remove glyphosate — found in the company's Roundup pesticide products — from the state's public list of cancer-causing chemicals. The victory sends a clear message that corporations cannot dodge the public's right to information that directly threatens our health. Find out more.
• Endangered porpoises: The Court of International Trade sided with NRDC and our partners by ordering the Trump administration to immediately ban seafood imports from Mexico caught with gillnets that often injure or kill critically endangered vaquita porpoises, rejecting the Trump administration's attempt to narrow an earlier order. Find out more.
• Clean water in California: A federal court in Los Angeles ordered Trump's EPA to protect water quality and health by banning or regulating polluted stormwater discharges from commercial and industrial sites. Find out more.
• Clean water around the nation: A federal judge in South Carolina blocked the Trump administration's illegal suspension of the Clean Water Rule early this year, reinstating critical clean water protections in 26 states. While NRDC was not a party to this suit, we've been staunch supporters of the Clean Water Rule and cheer this decisive win for the millions of Americans whose water supplies are now better protected from pollution. Find out more.
• Safety of chemical plants: A federal appeals court threw out the Trump administration's attempt to delay important safety regulations meant to protect communities from disasters at industrial facilities that use high-risk, hazardous chemicals. The EPA continues its push to chip away at these safety regulations and NRDC, alongside our environmental justice and community partners, the Environmental Justice Health Alliance, Coming Clean, and others, have mobilized tens of thousands of people to send messages to the EPA protesting rollbacks of these critical safeguards. Find out more

NRDC has engaged in more than 60 lawsuits against the Trump administration, and we have notched victories in 21 of the 25 cases that have been resolved. The courts remain our environment's last, best line of defense. Many tough battles lay ahead.

But we will be ready to fight them and to hold this president and his administration to account.

- Mitch Bernard, Chief Counsel, NRDC

More Information:

(As of May 5, 2017) Trump has been sued 134 times in federal court since inauguration

(08/17/2018) Trump Administration Hit With 7 Major Environmental Setbacks In Court In Past Week

Tell the Senate: Ban this extremely toxic brain-harming pesticide

The petition to the Senate reads: "Chlorpyrifos, the toxic insecticide that damages the developing brains of children and infants, has been banned for home use since 2001, yet millions of pounds are still sprayed on crops, threatening farmworkers, rural children and our food supply. Pass the 'Protect Children, Farmers and Farmworkers from Nerve Agent Pesticides Act' to ban the use of chlorpyrifos in food." Add your name:

Despite overwhelming scientific evidence, climate-denier Scott Pruitt and his polluter-friendly Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) refused earlier this year to ban chlorpyrifos – the extremely toxic pesticide linked to a whole host of debilitating neurological disorders, long-term damage to children's brains and even cancer. Chlorpyrifos is so dangerous that the EPA banned the toxin for home use nearly two decades ago, yet Big Ag still sprays nearly 10 million pounds of the chemical on crops across the country, which poses a major health risk to farmworkers — many of whom are immigrants — and children in rural communities. Since the EPA would rather give handouts to the chemical industry than protect consumers, farmworkers and children, a group of Democratic senators have introduced the "Protect Children, Farmers and Farmworkers from Nerve Agent Pesticides Act" to completely prohibit the use of chlorpyrifos in food. We must demand the Senate act immediately to pass this critical legislation. Tell the Senate: Ban toxic chlorpyrifos now. Click here to sign the petition. Chlorpyrifos is the most widely used insecticide in the world and belongs to the same family as sarin nerve gas.1 People who have been exposed to the chemical have experienced permanent changes in brain structure, loss of IQ, increased likelihood of children developing ADHD or other developmental and behavioral disorders, reduced lung function, asthma, and cancer.2 In 2015, President Obama's EPA proposed banning chlorpyrifos for all agricultural use, but earlier this year, Donald Trump's anti-science, pro-industry EPA administrator, Scott Pruitt, well-known for denying climate change, reversed that decision, claiming the science behind the chemical's toxic effects were inconclusive.3 Media reports at the time suggest Dow Chemical, the major manufacturer of chlorpyrifos, played a significant role influencing Pruitt's decision.4 Activism to force lawmakers to more strictly regulate chlorpyrifos is working – but we can't stop now. This summer, CREDO, along with our allies at the Pesticide Action Network, Friends of the Earth and other organizations, delivered more than 167,000 petition signatures urging California Gov. Jerry Brown to ban this pesticide. In response, California regulators are drafting new rules for chlorpyrifos use.5 That's why we must now call on the Senate to pass this bill to protect the developing brains of small children, the health and safety of farmers and farmworkers, and our food supply from this dangerous and extremely toxic pesticide immediately. Tell the Senate: Ban toxic chlorpyrifos now. Click on this link to sign the petition. - Josh Nelson, Deputy Political Director CREDO Action from Working Assets Add your name: References Zoë Schlanger, "The US government is ignoring its own scientists’ warning that a Dow pesticide causes brain damage in children," Quartz, March 30, 2017. Pesticide Action Network, "Chlorpyrifos," accessed Aug. 29, 2017. Eric Lipton, "E.P.A. Chief, Rejecting Agency’s Science, Chooses Not to Ban Insecticide," The New York Times, March 29, 2017. Lorraine Chow, "EPA Chief Met With Dow Chemical CEO Before Deciding Not to Ban Toxic Pesticide," EcoWatch, June 28, 2017. The Associated Press, "California tightens rules on popular pesticide for farmers," Aug. 18, 2017.